Should we reflect sunlight to cool the planet?

Solar geoengineering might help lower temps, but it’s a controversial approach.

The climate change crisis has become so dire that we’re being forced not only to think of ways to curb emissions and mitigate greenhouse gases, but of ways to adapt to our current situation to buy ourselves more time.

One of those technologies is called solar geoengineering. It happens in nature when huge volcanic eruptions cover the stratosphere with ash: That ash forms a layer that reflects sunlight and cools the planet underneath. Solar geoengineering takes advantage of that principle, using different scientific methods to make the planet more reflective overall. The problem is, deploying it would require messing with our very complicated climate on a massive scaleThe climate change crisis has become so dire that we’re being forced not only to think of ways to curb emissions and mitigate greenhouse gases, but of ways to adapt to our current situation to buy ourselves more time.

To get an in-depth look at the pros and cons of solar geoengineering, we interviewed a slew of experts on both sides of the issue. Watch our explainer to decide where you stand.

You can find this video and the entire library of Vox’s videos on YouTube.