Hardware Podcasts

Cooling Earth by Using Mirrors to Reflect Sunlight with Dr. Ye Tao, Founder and Executive Director of MEER

Hardware to Save a Planet · 18 Jul 2024 · 49m · Episode 57

What this episode covers

Dr. Ye Tao, Founder and Executive Director of MEER (Mirrors for Earth's Energy Rebalancing), explains his company's approach to using ultra-thin reflective films to mitigate global warming. He argues that renewable energy alone is insufficient due to the loss of aerosol cooling effects and the massive energy return on investment (EROI) required for carbon removal. Tao details MEER's deployment of these mirrors on roofs in Sierra Leone to cool homes, as well as plans for agricultural shading and floating reservoir covers, noting that covering just 1% of Earth's surface could reduce global temperatures by 1°C.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
MEER, Harvard, MIT, ETH Zurich, Reflective Earth
Materials
PET, Mylar

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