4 ms·

It’s hard for me to believe that the answer isn’t biological given the whole self replication thing.

• samatman 3y ago
  The Industrial Revolution is a history of various industrial processes outcompeting biology within a narrow boundary. Cars pull more than any horse, trains as well, an airplane flies faster and with much more cargo than any bird, and the industrial production of nitrogen is faster than bat guano. CO2 fixation might also follow this curve, in fact, as a technology in isolation that's what I would bet on. Economics aside, a machine that sucks CO2 directly out of the air will remove much more CO2 than the equivalent parcel of land would if biology were used.
  • bradleyjg 3y ago
    As a technology in isolation, sure. But something like iron seeding, assuming it works, would be orders of magnitude cheaper because most of the work is being done by algae and they don’t have to be paid. I don’t think horses are particularly similar, but nitrogen fixation in the fertilize vs crop rotation case gets closer.