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Vinod Khosla is pouring his own millions into science experiments to counter global warming

25 points by nickb 18y ago

Alex3917 18y ago
A couple paragraphs from Earth: The Sequel on one of their competitors: "Global cement production is responsible for about 5 percent of the world's greenhouse gases-- more than all global air travel combined. Half those emissions come from calcium carbonate (limestone), which releases carbon dioxide when heated; half come from the 1450C flame needed to 'calcine' the cement, or drive off bound molecules of water so that it will be ready to react when new water is added." (p. 212) "European manufacturers like Lafarge have invested millions of dollars trying to clean up the process; so far, they have cut emissions by only 20 percent. The Portland Cement Association, which represents North America's manufacturers, says the U.S. industry will decrease emissions to 10 percent below 1990 levels by 2020. Porat calls that target 'insanity--stupid.' He claims that his newest company, CalStar Cement, will use a reformulated recipe (replacing large amounts of calcium carbonate with fly ash, the fine residue left after coal combustion) and a proprietary heat-generating chemical reaction to eliminate 90 percent of cement's carbon emissions. 'The 10x change is what we're after, in all we do,' says Porat. 'Silicon Valley is a great place to lodge those dreams.' Will they come true? The answer is unclear. But the Portland Cement Association acknowledges that cement can be made almost entirely of fly ash using 'chemically unique, more rare fly ashes.' And Porat has assembled an impressive team of technical advisers who are betting he may be right." (p. 212)
michaelneale 18y ago
But isn't this really a supply side problem? If we had cost competitive green sources of energy which are trending to be cheaper then carbon emitting ones - how much optimisation can we do just to minimise carbon? Its like someone loosing their job, and then thinking "I know, I'll just cut back on spending money" - no, you find an income source (and maybe cut back as well).
deleted 18y ago
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25 points by nickb 18y ago

A couple paragraphs from Earth: The Sequel on one of their competitors: "Global cement production is responsible for about 5 percent of the world's greenhouse gases-- more than all global air travel combined. Half those emissions come from calcium carbonate (limestone), which releases carbon dioxide when heated; half come from the 1450C flame needed to 'calcine' the cement, or drive off bound molecules of water so that it will be ready to react when new water is added." (p. 212) "European manufacturers like Lafarge have invested millions of dollars trying to clean up the process; so far, they have cut emissions by only 20 percent. The Portland Cement Association, which represents North America's manufacturers, says the U.S. industry will decrease emissions to 10 percent below 1990 levels by 2020. Porat calls that target 'insanity--stupid.' He claims that his newest company, CalStar Cement, will use a reformulated recipe (replacing large amounts of calcium carbonate with fly ash, the fine residue left after coal combustion) and a proprietary heat-generating chemical reaction to eliminate 90 percent of cement's carbon emissions. 'The 10x change is what we're after, in all we do,' says Porat. 'Silicon Valley is a great place to lodge those dreams.' Will they come true? The answer is unclear. But the Portland Cement Association acknowledges that cement can be made almost entirely of fly ash using 'chemically unique, more rare fly ashes.' And Porat has assembled an impressive team of technical advisers who are betting he may be right." (p. 212)

michaelneale 18y ago

But isn't this really a supply side problem? If we had cost competitive green sources of energy which are trending to be cheaper then carbon emitting ones - how much optimisation can we do just to minimise carbon? Its like someone loosing their job, and then thinking "I know, I'll just cut back on spending money" - no, you find an income source (and maybe cut back as well).

deleted 18y ago

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