(Ken Silva, Headline USA) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Tuesday that it’s investigating a startup that’s been launching balloons filled with sulfur dioxide (SO2) into the atmosphere, allegedly as part of a scheme to “geoengineer the planet.”
According to the EPA, the company in question, Making Sunsets, has already launched dozens of balloons filled with SO2, which is an air pollutant that can be harmful to humans.
Make Sunsets is a startup that is geoengineering by injecting sulfur dioxide into the sky and then selling “cooling credits.” This company is polluting the air we breathe. I’ve instructed my team that we need to quickly get to the bottom of this and take immediate action. pic.twitter.com/9b6xPzMf4v
— Lee Zeldin (@epaleezeldin) April 15, 2025
“Their website states they want to scale this activity significantly and have already conducted over 124 deployments. It is unclear where the balloons are launched and where the SO2 is from,” the EPA said in a press release.
“Furthermore, it is not known if the company has been in contact with any state, local or federal air agencies.”
The EPA also noted that Making Sunsets is already banned in Mexico.
“The idea that individuals, supported by venture capitalists, are putting criteria air pollutants into the air to sell ‘cooling’ credits shows how climate extremism has overtaken common sense,” added EPA Administrator Zeldin. “Based on Make Sunsets’ responses to our information request, we will look into all our authorities to ensure that we continue maintaining clean air for all Americans.”
Making Sunsets has been pushing back against the EPA’s accusations online. Its cofounder, Andrew Song, quipped that it “only takes 124 balloons filled with sulfur dioxide deployed into the stratosphere to start the stop of global warning.”
Fun fact, it only takes 124 balloons filled with sulfur dioxide deployed into the stratosphere to start the stop of global warming.https://t.co/dqLngWk9vw
— Andrew Song (@ASong408) April 16, 2025
On its Twitter/X account, the firm also shared an article that explains what it’s trying to do.
“SO2 injection occurs naturally from volcanic eruptions: the 1991 Mt. Pinatubo eruption contained some 15–20 million tons of SO2, and lowered global temperatures by about 0.5º C for more than a year. We could do it artificially using planes or balloons. One startup, Make Sunsets, will launch a balloon to release SO2 in the stratosphere for you right now. Their costs are only $0.28/g,” stated an article on the site The Roots of Progress.
“At that price, we could reflect the entire excess heating of all human CO2since the Industrial Revolution for a total of $634 million/yr. Round up to a cool billion for overhead, and it would still only cost one penny per month for each person on the planet—or if Americans were feeling generous, we could fund the whole thing ourselves for less than $3/person/yr.”
Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
