From "How We Survive": How to Dim the Sun

A private startup called Make Sunsets is literally launching balloons filled with sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere—on a rooftop in Northern California—claiming it can cool the planet by mimicking volcanic eruptions. The episode follows journalist Amy Scott as she documents the launch of these experimental 'cooling credits,' where customers pay as little as $1 to offset a ton of CO2 by releasing one gram of sulfur into the upper atmosphere. While the founders, Andrew Song and Luke Eisman, frame their work as a desperate but necessary step to combat climate change, the episode reveals deep ethical, scientific, and political fissures. Climate scientists like David Keith and Kate Marvel warn that solar geoengineering is not a silver bullet—it can’t reverse ocean acidification, may disrupt rainfall patterns, and risks creating a dangerous moral hazard by letting fossil fuel emitters off the hook. Critics like environmental activist Gary Hughes argue that such decisions should not be left to billionaires or startups, especially without global consent. The real-world test case of the USS Hornet in Alameda, where a cloud-brightening experiment was shut down by local officials, underscores the public’s fear of untested, unilateral climate interventions. As the episode closes, the central question lingers: if we’re already altering the planet, who gets to decide how—and at what cost? The episode challenges the myth of 'easy fixes' in climate action.