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Because the rotting process would create methane which would seep out easily, its wasteful and ethically questionable (people are still starving, so not even us
by Roritharr 10y ago
Because the rotting process would create methane which would seep out easily, its wasteful and ethically questionable (people are still starving, so not even using corn as fuel is pretty horrible). Storing Carbon cheaply and safely is to me an unsolved problem. Especially if you want to do it without wasting tons of minerals (before someone talks about vacuumed dried algae or stuff like that).
- tim333 10y agoI like the idea of building stuff out of wood. Then we can have nice buildings and store carbon.
- dredmorbius 10y agoThere's actually a really good idea in there. After transport, building materials are a large energy consumer. Coming up with alternatives to concrete, steel, aluminium, and similar materials, possibly though biologics, whether low-tech like wood, or self-forming biocrete and biobrick. Paving, especially.
- tim333 10y agoPeople are working on it eg. http://woodforgood.com/sustainability/build-with-carbon http://woodforgood.com/sustainability/build-with-carbon and a TED talk https://www.ted.com/talks/michael_green_why_we_should_build_wooden_skyscrapers?language=en https://www.ted.com/talks/michael_green_why_we_should_build_...
- dredmorbius 10y agoI'm aware of that (and pointed to a few examples myself). What I'm pointing out is that energy is a means to some service goal, and in the case of construction, alternate means to ends may well obviate much the need for new energy supplies. Or taking an alternate formulation: rather than tap energy and convert and store and transform it multiple times to accomplish some goal, employ biological means to achieve the same end with far fewer (loss-entailing) energy transforms. Trees, plants, algae, and/or microbes, operating over a large area, accomplish a very large net throughput. The questions are whether we can manage that, what outputs are possible, at what rates, and what subsequent changes in capabilities result. I suspect no biologic will have, say, the capabilities of steel. If we're limited to masonry or ceramic-based structures, the age of the 100-storey supertower is gone, but there are a many 10-20 storey towers which might be possible, resulting in high urban densities, if that's what we want.
- DiabloD3 10y agoYou're half right on the wasteful and ethically questionable part: corn is very low nutrition, and is basically junk food. Growing it at all while people are still starving is pretty horrible.
- visarga 10y agoWhat about Iron fertilization of the upper ocean to stimulate a phytoplankton bloom?