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>Turning massive amounts of biomass into charcoal and burying it seems to be the most low-tech solution If you've found a way to convince people to do that wou

>Turning massive amounts of biomass into charcoal and burying it seems to be the most low-tech solution If you've found a way to convince people to do that wouldn't it be easier to just not burn coal for energy? Or do you mean doing it at such a massive scale we reverse the net flow of coal from the ground to the atmosphere?

adrianN 9y ago
Not burning coal kills the job market for coal miners. Presidents have been elected on promises of keeping them employed. Burying more charcoal than the amount of coal we dig out creates jobs ("clean coal" can even be reused as a slogan!), and you can sell the energy you get from burning the wood gas.
- mavhc 9y ago
  There's not many coal miners, don't worry about that. 50000 in usa, just pay them all to not work.
  - kbob 9y ago
    Or pay them to be coal sequesterers.
- majewsky 9y ago
  Not sure if clever satire.
annabellish 9y ago
>Or do you mean doing it at such a massive scale we reverse the net flow of coal from the ground to the atmosphere? We have no other choice. We either do that or it's possible that somebody is alive today who will see the collapse of human civilization.
- PeterisP 9y ago
  There's always a choice. Even assuming that "We either do that or it's possible that somebody is alive today who will see the collapse of human civilization." is literally true (it's debatable - even the worst case scenarios stop at major population reduction, but quite a few areas would do no worse than the aftermath of a major war), choosing not to take major action and accept that the destruction will happen is not only possible, but actually very, very plausible for all kinds of political reasons. I'd be willing to bet with more than 50% odds that those who can do that will choose not to do actions like this and that plans like this won't actually be done.
- gepi79 9y ago
  There is no way that human civilization collapses because of climate warming. Among all higher life forms (fish, reptiles, mammals and even most plants), humans with technology are the most robust. Some billionaires waste even time and money for the colonization of dead spaces like Mars or the Moon.
  - majewsky 9y ago
    You're assuming that we don't drive the entire ecosystem into the wall. The life forms with the highest chance of survival are bacteria, and maybe cockroaches and other insects, because of their fast reproduction rate and associated fast evolution.
DennisP 9y ago
Not burning coal is a critical first step, but at this point we already have enough CO2 in the atmosphere to cause serious damage, especially considering feedback effects.

adrianN 9y ago

Not burning coal kills the job market for coal miners. Presidents have been elected on promises of keeping them employed. Burying more charcoal than the amount of coal we dig out creates jobs ("clean coal" can even be reused as a slogan!), and you can sell the energy you get from burning the wood gas.

mavhc 9y ago
There's not many coal miners, don't worry about that. 50000 in usa, just pay them all to not work.
- kbob 9y ago
  Or pay them to be coal sequesterers.
majewsky 9y ago
Not sure if clever satire.

annabellish 9y ago

>Or do you mean doing it at such a massive scale we reverse the net flow of coal from the ground to the atmosphere? We have no other choice. We either do that or it's possible that somebody is alive today who will see the collapse of human civilization.

PeterisP 9y ago
There's always a choice. Even assuming that "We either do that or it's possible that somebody is alive today who will see the collapse of human civilization." is literally true (it's debatable - even the worst case scenarios stop at major population reduction, but quite a few areas would do no worse than the aftermath of a major war), choosing not to take major action and accept that the destruction will happen is not only possible, but actually very, very plausible for all kinds of political reasons. I'd be willing to bet with more than 50% odds that those who can do that will choose not to do actions like this and that plans like this won't actually be done.
gepi79 9y ago
There is no way that human civilization collapses because of climate warming. Among all higher life forms (fish, reptiles, mammals and even most plants), humans with technology are the most robust. Some billionaires waste even time and money for the colonization of dead spaces like Mars or the Moon.
- majewsky 9y ago
  You're assuming that we don't drive the entire ecosystem into the wall. The life forms with the highest chance of survival are bacteria, and maybe cockroaches and other insects, because of their fast reproduction rate and associated fast evolution.

DennisP 9y ago

Not burning coal is a critical first step, but at this point we already have enough CO2 in the atmosphere to cause serious damage, especially considering feedback effects.