Diamond Dust Could Cool the Planet At a Cost of Mere Trillions

Scientists have proposed a new geoengineering idea to cool the planet by shooting diamond dust into the stratosphere. The plan involves releasing 5 million tons of diamond dust each year to reflect radiation and potentially cool the planet by 1.6C. This could be enough to mitigate the worst effects of global warming. Researchers modeled the effects of seven compounds, including sulfur dioxide, diamond, aluminum, and calcite, and found diamond particles to be the most effective. Diamond particles stay aloft longer and avoid clumping, and are also chemically inert, which means they won't form acid rain like sulfur. However, the plan comes with a hefty price tag, estimated to be nearly $200 trillion over the remainder of this century. The cost is largely due to the high price of synthetic diamond dust, which would need to be produced on a massive scale. At $500,000 per ton, synthetic diamond dust is 2,400 times more expensive than sulfur. The estimated cost of deploying diamond dust from 2035 to 2100 is $175 trillion. The proposal is still in its early stages and would require significant advancements in synthetic diamond production and high-altitude aircraft technology.