User:Hetmann/Biophysics 101 2007/Past Ideas
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Recent MSNBC article, published 16 March 2007, which outlines 4 proposals for carbon sequestering.
Summary:
- Geritol plan
- This is the plan that Prof. Church mentioned in class.
- Involves dumping iron to increase stocks of natural plankton and algae.
- Planktos Inc. sent a ship out to the Pacific ocean to dump 50 tons of iron dust.
- Mentioned in the 2001 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as one possible solution.
- Problems:
- Biomass increases, but CO2 sequestered may be limited.
- Toxicity to organisms?
- Counterargument: Planktos CEO Russ George claims that the amount of iron injected into the oceans is much less than the amount currently present.
- Potentially affects sea temperature and local fauna & flora.
- Political implications: International agreements regarding the oceans.
- Atmospheric Sulfur Injection
- Proposed by Nobel Laureate Paul Crutzen and by Edward Teller.
- Plan consists of utilizing jet engines, cannons or balloons to infuse sulfur into the atmosphere.
- Doing so decreases the temperature of the Earth.
- Problems:
- Sulfur is the main component of acid rain, which was fought against pretty rigorously a decade ago.
- Temperature decreases are only temporary.
- High cost.
- Does nothing to alleviate the main problem: overabundance of CO2.
- Sun Shades
- Brainchild of Roger Angel.
- Proposal to place a cloud of spaceships between the Earth and the Sun to reflect heat.
- Angel claims that this project is equivalent to reducing 2 percent of the sun's effect.
- Problems:
- High cost: The Earth is very big and a spaceship is very small - Estimated cost: $4 trillion over 30 years (1/3 the size of US national debt).
- Technological limits.
- Close Encounters of the Sixth Kind.
- Does nothing to alleviate the main problem: overabundance of CO2 (again).
- Air Capture
- Instruments coined as "artificial trees."
- Use of air filters that sequesters CO2 using chemical absorbers.
- Captured CO2 would be converted into a liquid or gas.
- Problems
- Expensive; less expensive technologies exist.
- Pollution due to leakage.
- Storage issues.
- Geritol plan