Secret Billionaire-Backed Cloud Brightening Project Faces Backlash
The controversy exploded after a small-scale pilot test aboard the retired aircraft carrier USS Hornet in Alameda, California, was abruptly shut down by city officials in mid-2024. City leaders were never informed of the test and learned about it through news reports. Internal communications, texts, and funding proposals obtained by E&E News reveal that this test was merely a prelude to a much larger experiment intended to span an area larger than Puerto Rico.
Documents show researchers hoped to access federal ships, planes, and millions in government funding to scale up their cloud brightening geoengineering project. The effort was reportedly supported by wealthy donors including Chris Larsen, Rachel Pritzker, and venture capitalist Chris Sacca, and had already received over $16 million from the Quadrature Climate Foundation.
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