Private companies are deploying sun-blocking technologies without government approval, turning climate science fiction into reality while dodging federal oversight and potentially endangering public health.
Story Snapshot
- Startups like Make Sunsets and Stardust Solutions are launching particles into the atmosphere to reflect sunlight and cool the planet
- EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin demands answers from companies conducting unregulated geoengineering experiments
- Twenty-two states are advancing legislation to ban these sun-blocking activities amid chemtrail conspiracy concerns
- Companies have raised over $75 million to commercialize solar radiation management despite unknown health risks
Private Companies Bypass Government Oversight
Make Sunsets, founded in 2022, has conducted 213 balloon launches releasing sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere, selling over 207,000 “cooling credits” at $1-5 per gram. The California-based startup claims compliance with the 1976 Weather Modification Act while operating without explicit federal approval. Meanwhile, Stardust Solutions recently raised $60 million to develop what they claim are safer, non-sulfate particles for government-only deployment by decade’s end.
EPA Demands Accountability Under Trump Administration
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has demanded information from Make Sunsets, criticizing what he calls “climate extremism” backed by venture capital funding. The agency flagged the company’s activities as involving criteria pollutants that could harm air quality and public health. Despite EPA demands for compliance information, Make Sunsets continues its balloon deployments across the United States, defying federal oversight while claiming legal authority under weather modification statutes.
States Push Back Against Unregulated Sky Tampering
Twenty-two states are advancing anti-geoengineering legislation, with Tennessee, Louisiana, and Florida already prohibiting such activities. The CLEAR Skies Act in Congress would ban solar radiation management and cloud seeding operations nationwide. This bipartisan backlash reflects growing public concern about chemtrail conspiracies and unauthorized weather modification, as states assert their sovereignty over atmospheric activities within their borders.
Risks Outweigh Unproven Climate Benefits
Scientists warn these sun-blocking schemes could cause ozone depletion, acid rain, and disrupted weather patterns while providing only temporary cooling without addressing underlying carbon dioxide levels. The 1991 Mount Pinatubo volcanic eruption, which cooled the planet by 0.5 degrees Celsius, serves as the model for these interventions, but experts question whether private companies should wield such planetary-scale influence. Cornell University researchers doubt the technical feasibility of aircraft-based deployment at the scale these companies propose.
Constitutional Concerns Over Private Weather Control
These unregulated geoengineering experiments raise fundamental questions about private entities affecting weather patterns that cross state and national boundaries without consent. The profit motive behind cooling credits creates perverse incentives for companies to deploy unproven technologies that could harm agricultural regions, disrupt precipitation patterns, and violate state sovereignty. This represents government overreach in reverse—private companies assuming powers traditionally reserved for elected officials while circumventing democratic oversight and constitutional protections.
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Companies are raising millions to dim the sun. What could go wrong?
EPA demands answers from unregulated geoengineering start-up launching sulfur dioxide into air
The startup trying to regulate itself before blocking out the sun
The United States, Geoengineering, Carbon Removal, and Bipartisan Backlash
Private companies have raised millions to block the sun. What could go wrong?
