Introducing 1% Brighter
If the earth was 1% brighter, it would stop warming. If we were 1% brighter, we'd make it so.
Our climate is broken. And so is our climate discourse.
As temperatures skyrocket, our debate turns poisonous. We grieve for the ecosystems we’re destroying, and the “solutions” we’re sold won’t scale. Caught between the greenwashers, the doomers and the deniers, it’s easy to lose sight of the big picture.
We’re introducing 1% Brighter to talk about climate in a whole new way: on the basis of science, common sense, and compassion.
The clue is in the name
Scientists have known for decades that if the earth reflected just 1% more of the sun’s energy back out into space, the planet would stop warming. We, collectively, are going to have to get brighter as well to realize the potential of that idea.
The realization that would can cool the planet by increasing is albedo (that is, its brightness) is old hat to researchers. In the public square, it remains taboo. No solution to the climate crisis is possible so long as that taboo remains in place.
The good news is that real solutions are closer than you may realize.
Scientists in Australia and the United States are moving ahead with research that could make the world brighter sooner that you think. The techniques they propose involves nothing scarier than spraying a mist of sea water over the sea, to brighten the clouds that are already there.
We don’t need a UN agreement to start. We don’t actually need anyone’s permission, since this can be done in international waters. The risks involved are real, but modest compared to the risks of the trajectory we’re on.
We need a space to talk about these ideas without hype or histerics. That’s what 1% Brighter hopes to become. Help us get there.
Cleverly put. I don't know anything about the science of making the earth brighter, but I have thought a lot about the challenge of making people brighter. 1% would be a great step.
Albedo is the answer!