David Keith, a professor of geophysical sciences at the University of Chicago, and Daniele Visioni, an assistant professor of earth and atmospheric sciences at Cornell University, have highlighted recent developments in solar geoengineering technology. An American-Israeli company named Stardust recently announced it secured $60 million in funding, marking the largest venture capital round for a solar geoengineering startup to date. The company claims that this funding will assist in developing a system that could be operational by the beginning of the next decade, as reported by Heatmap.
The development of private entities working on climate-altering technologies raises concerns among scientists such as Keith and Visioni. They express apprehension regarding the implications of private investments in solar geoengineering and contest some technical assertions made by companies in this sector. These concerns underscore the complex relationship between emerging technologies and scientific integrity.
The article is part of Heat Exchange, a MIT Technology Review guest opinion series that explores legal, political, and regulatory aspects related to climate change and clean energy.
In a separate context, there are discussions around the animated series “The Simpsons,” which has been claimed to have predicted future events multiple times. Notable examples include the prediction of Donald Trump’s presidency and the depiction of a fictional flu in 1993 that some have likened to the COVID-19 pandemic. Al Jean, a long-serving showrunner of the series, addresses the theories surrounding these apparent premonitions.
This piece belongs to a broader series titled “The New Conspiracy Age,” examining how current conspiracy theories are influencing science and technology.
Source: https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/11/05/1127627/the-download-the-solar-geoengineering-race-and-future-gazing-with-the-the-simpsons/