Everyone remembers that iconic ‘Who Shot Mr. Burns’ episode of The Simpsons, and if you don’t you should be deeply ashamed of yourself. But if you’re actually a decent human being and remember the episode, you’ll know that Mr Burns infamously tried to block out the sun. Well, someone in South Africa has clearly watched way too much Simpsons, because the country is literally going to attempt to dim the sun.
Unlike Mr Burns, the intention for blocking out the sun is not evil. It’s actually to prevent South Africa from a deadly drought, according to the NY Post.
Incase you forgot, in 2017 Cape Town nearly bloody ran out of water and were forced to dramatically cut their useage. By the skin of their teeth they managed to save the city from a deadly water shortage, and are obvs keen for it not to happen again.
The plan to dim the sun has been devised by the University of Cape Town, who in their paper they suggest injecting particles of sulphur dioxide gas into the Earth’s atmosphere directly above the city. The cloud of gas would reflect sunlight and dim the ground below.
It may seem like a no brainer to implement the plan when it could save South Africa from a potential “Day Zero” drought. However, the plan is controversial due to its climate impacts and geopolitical implications.
This is because the findings of the research do not take into consideration the effects injecting gases into the atmosphere would have on the climate. Experts also warn that it shouldn’t be seen as an alternative to cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
Science advocacy group Climate Analytics say that dimming the sun would “likely become a source of a massive conflict between nations.”
Hm, let’s just hope the plan doesn’t backfire.
Oh, fiddlesticks indeed.
