3 ms·
>Cover every rooftop, every parking lot, every desert with solar panels as much as we can. Cover every windy plain with wind turbines. Take all the excess power
by sbierwagen 6y ago
>Cover every rooftop, every parking lot, every desert with solar panels as much as we can. Cover every windy plain with wind turbines. Take all the excess power and instead of building expensive batteries, use it to power this CO2 -> synthetic liquid fuel process.
This makes our current infrastructure carbon-neutral, yes. But that doesn't solve global warming? Atmospheric CO2 levels are already too high. We're at 413ppm, and we need to go back to 350ppm. Doing that requires carbon sequestration, which by definition makes no useful product.
The scale of the problem is thus: every kilogram of coal that has ever been dug up needs to be unburnt and buried, and every barrel of oil ever pumped out of the ground needs to be put back. That's the only way you can get to 350 ppm.
- firebaze 6y agoAdding to your points, CO2 is also consumed by biological and geological processes (plants, algae, absorption in water etc.). Expanding on this, we could support the natural CO2 reducing mechanisms by for example stopping deforestation and supporting local tree planting initiatives. I'm not sure it is helpful to support the narrative we're all lost already - we won't ever put all our produced CO2 back into earth. We should give a positive spin on the potential ways out from my point of view. At least I didn't ever hear someone object against planting trees :) I know this wouldn't be enough to keep up with CO2 emissions, but it definitely wouldn't hurt and it could give momentum to environmental protection initiatives.
- aaomidi 6y agoWe NEED carbon capture that's fast and efficient. Potentially biologically modified algea or something can speed this up too.
- dredmorbius 6y agoEngineer bogs. Per unit area, wetlands sequester more carbon than any other terrestrial habitat. Some ocean habitats maay do better. Constructed freshwater or saltwater bogs might be the most effective way forward. Existing and novel wetlands. Side effects are interesting to contemplate.