Editor’s Note: Here’s a good example of a VERY EARLY technology. First, it’s puny — 36 thousand tons of CO2. That’s right, thousands. Not megatons or gigatons. Secondly, the cost is $1,500 per ton. That’s…
In an open-air warehouse in California’s Central Valley, 40-foot-tall racks hold hundreds of trays filled with a white powder that turns crusty as it absorbs carbon dioxide from the sky. The start-up uses direct air capture, which involves vacuuming greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
Editor: This beatifully written, illustrated and documented essay lays out CO2’s role in the climate crisis. It is the best summary I”ve ever seen. Its wonderful charts, footnotes and clear explanatoins address each source of uncertainty with overwhelming evidence. Skim this article and remember it for anyone skeptical about global warming but open to science.
The researchers hope to utilise microbes that have naturally evolved to absorb CO2 as an efficient way of removing the greenhouse gas from the atmosphere. Ending the burning of fossil fuels is critical in ending the climate crisis, but most scientists agree CO2 will also need to be sucked from the air to limit future damage.
