Scientists suggest a giant sunshade in the sky could solve global warming

It sounds like the stuff of science fiction: the creation, using balloons or jets, of a manmade atmospheric sunshade to shield the most vulnerable countries in the global south against the worst effects of global warming.

Solar geoengineering has been floated as an
‘outlandish and unsettling’ answer to climate change.

But amid mounting interest in “solar geoengineering” – not least among western universities – a group of scientists from developing countries has issued a forceful call to have a greater say in the direction of research into climate change, arguing that their countries are the ones with most at stake.

Scientists have long known that manmade events like pollution in the atmosphere, smoke from forest fires and volcanic eruptions can create a cooling effect.

Read the story from The Guardian by Peter Beaumont - “Scientists suggest a giant sunshade in the sky could solve global warming.”

Final straw? Darebin bans balloons, other plastics from council parks

Balloons, water bottles and other plastics, including bags, straws and cups, are to be banned from public land in part of Melbourne’s north in a bid to reduce pollution.

There'll be no balloons at your next park party.

Darebin Council, which includes Northcote, Thornbury and Preston, has voted unanimously to prohibit single-use plastics from being used or sold on council land.

“They are polluting our parks and waterways, including our many creeks,” Greens councillor Trent McCarthy said.

The ban includes the use of balloons at parties, festivals, workshops and markets and during election campaigns on all council property, including public parks. 

Read the story by Chloe Booker in The Age - “Final straw? Darebin bans balloons, other plastics from council parks.”