Extracting CO2 Directly From The Atmosphere

[punychicken]

apologies if this is here already or a cross post but...

ORLANDO, Fla., April 9, 2002 - Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory are studying a simple, cost effective method for extracting carbon dioxide directly from the air - which could allow sustained use of fossil fuels while avoiding potential global climate change.

story

 

[Anonymous]

thats asumeing that global warming exists... and that if it does anthing can be done about it by silly humans... id recomend then working on stopping volcanos spewwing out CO2 stop one of them and well probably have another ice age!......

 

[Anonymous]

Exactly. First show global waming is manmade, then we can try and find a solution to it.

 

[Anonymous]

Exactly. First show global waming is manmade, then we can try and find a solution to it.

Why do people immediately assume that any environmental change has to be counteracted? I think most of us in the middle to high latitudes would end up a lot better off with a warmer planet. You'd have a longer growing season with milder winters. At the moment, unless some clear drawbacks to the Western nations start to become apparent, I'm in favour of global warming. That being said, I regret to also say that I don't think any of our activities are capable of doing very much to influence the planet's temperature.

 

[Anonymous]

So you only care about the western countries? What about the rest of the world that will get flooded?

 

[Anonymous]

So you only care about the western countries? What about the rest of the world that will get flooded?

I'm not proposing that we force the inhabitants of those places to stay and drown or anything. Still, if a longer growing season for north America can be had for the price of losing a few Pacific island nations whose major source of income seems to be selling internet domains, that's not a difficult choice.

 

[Anonymous]

Americans...

 

[_schnor]

I'm not proposing that we force the inhabitants of those places to stay and drown or anything. Still, if a longer growing season for north America can be had for the price of losing a few Pacific island nations whose major source of income seems to be selling internet domains, that's not a difficult choice.

I'm gobsmacked. lol I don't know what to say

 

[mejane]

A warmer world could also mean a stormier world - even America might suffer from more tornadoes, flooding, etc. A longer growing season won't do you much good if the crops rot in the fields.

I say "could" and "might" because of course we only have one planet and flawed computer models to show what may happen... it might all turn out nice and dandy and future generations will critizise us for failing to burn enough coal... but those future generations probably won't be in Bangladesh or Holland, or even Florida for that matter.

For a moving account of a previous man-made environmental and social disaster, I suggest John Steinbeck's "Grapes of Wrath".

Jane.

 

[Anonymous]

I'm not proposing that we force the inhabitants of those places to stay and drown or anything. Still, if a longer growing season for north America can be had for the price of losing a few Pacific island nations whose major source of income seems to be selling internet domains, that's not a difficult choice.

Wow! American foreign policy encapsulated in one paragraph!

 

[intaglio]

H'mm. Suppose that the folks in the States check out the EPA's estimate of sea level rise

On that most optimistic figure you loose New Orleans, Miami and Galveston. I don't know what happens on the West Coast. It has huge effects on the Mississipi backing water up and increasing both height and extent of flooding.

Links to EPA maps and a BBC article

I have seen much larger estimates of rise (back in the '80s there were even guesstimates of 100m rises)

That'll teach me for not googling befor I write

 

[Anonymous]

On that most optimistic figure you loose New Orleans, Miami and Galveston

New Orleans, at least, is already below sea level. The whole area's kept liveable by dikes and pumps.

 

[Anonymous]

Back in the 80' ies is also when they said we'd reach a new ice age about now.

 

[madmath]

Wow! American foreign policy encapsulated in one paragraph!

Only because the idiot Nader ran and took votes from Gore, along with morons in Florida who couldn't read a ballot.

It's not just a few Pacific islands, or just New Orleans, either. New York City is only a few feet above high tide. In the early 1990's downtown flooded during a major storm, including the PATH and car tunnels. A bit of global warming and a passing ferry does the same.

And calling for yet more evidence of global warming is ludicrous. Once the evidence is swimming around your neck it'll be too late. Things have to be done _now_. The problem is that the damn fools that can do something about it are more concerned with the next election and this quarter's profit.

 

[intaglio]

Oh, I forgot to mention that 70 - 80 cm rise in sea-level is to mean sea level. For spring tides (4 times per month) you will get another 20 - 30 cm on top of that. Add a mild low pressure system and you've got 1.3 m make it a tropical storm LPS - 3m and upwards.

I forgot too the Everglades and the Keys, thanks for the info about NYC, I wasn't sure about that. Many of the low sandy islands in off the New England coast go. Factor in massively increased erosion.

Note also that the EPA report is based upon only the expansion of the current warm waters above the oceanic thermocline, if the thermocline falls then all bets are off there could well be 1 m plus mean sea-level increase.

It is pointed out confidentely that New Orleans is kept dry by levees and pumps The EPA estimate of sea-level rise adds an extra 1 tonne (2200 lbs) of pressure to each square meter of sea defenses before you factor in tides. Seepage and mechanical strain on already inadequate sea defenses will increase drastically.

If you live in Nyorlins, better take swimming lessons.

 

[Anonymous]

Also as the oceans get warmer they will expand on themselves.

BTW the Earth is going to end tommorow. You don't have time to look for evidence, because at that time it will be too late. So just sell all your wordly possesions and give the money to me

I'm not saying global waming isn't happening. I'm just saying nobody has given any good reason why it shouldn't be natural.

 

[mejane]

The cheque is in the post Xanatic. You probably won't get it until it's too late, but then there won't be any banks left, or people under the strange delusion that little bits of paper have any intrinsic worth... erm, did you think this through properly?

Seriously, global warming is a misnomer - the problem is global climate change which will effect millions of people, disrupt entire ecosystems, etc. Yes, it could be a natural pattern which we arrogant primates think is all down to us but I for one am arrogant enough to think that we have a duty to investigate.

Oh, and windwhistler, you are joking, right?

Jane.