Scientists create new idea on how to hack a warming planet: drying the upper atmosphere

By SETH BORENSTEIN
AP Science Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Government scientists have cooked up a new concept for how to potentially cool an overheating Earth: Fiddle with the upper atmosphere to make it a bit drier. Water vapor — water in its gas form — is a natural greenhouse gas that traps heat, just like carbon dioxide from burning coal, oil and gas. So researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA figure if they can just inject ice high up in the air, water vapor in the upper atmosphere would get a bit drier and that could counteract a small amount of the human-caused warmth. The study’s lead author says this is just an initial idea, but many scientists worry about side effects.