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Scientists Push For Government Research Program Focused On Sucking Carbon From Air
In a 369-page report, the nation's leading scientific body (consisting of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine) is urging the federal government to begin a research program focused on developing technologies that can remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in order to help slow climate change. It is now believed that in order to avoid significant further warming of the planet, big chunks of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere may need to be removed. The New York Times reports: The panel's members conceded that the Trump administration may not find the climate change argument all that compelling, since the president has disavowed the Paris Agreement. But, Dr. Pacala said, it's quite likely that other countries will be interested in carbon removal. The United States could take a leading role in developing technologies that could one day be worth many billions of dollars.
Right now, there are plenty of ideas for carbon removal kicking around. Countries could plant more trees that pull carbon dioxide out of the air and lock it in their wood. Farmers could adopt techniques, such as no-till agriculture, that would keep more carbon trapped in the soil. A few companies are building "direct air capture" plants that use chemical agents to scrub trace amounts of carbon dioxide from the air, allowing them to sell the gas to industrial customers or bury it underground. But, the National Academies panel warned, many of these methods are still unproven or face serious limitations. There's only so much land available to plant new trees. Scientists are still unsure how much carbon can realistically be stored in agricultural soils. And direct air capture plants are still too expensive for mass deployment. One solution that the National Academies panel recommended was for the United States to set up programs to start testing and deploying carbon removal methods that look ready to go, such as negative emissions biomass plants, new forest management techniques or carbon farming programs.
"At the same time, federal agencies would need to fund research into early-stage carbon removal techniques, to explore whether they may one day be ready for widespread use," reports the NYT.
Right now, there are plenty of ideas for carbon removal kicking around. Countries could plant more trees that pull carbon dioxide out of the air and lock it in their wood. Farmers could adopt techniques, such as no-till agriculture, that would keep more carbon trapped in the soil. A few companies are building "direct air capture" plants that use chemical agents to scrub trace amounts of carbon dioxide from the air, allowing them to sell the gas to industrial customers or bury it underground. But, the National Academies panel warned, many of these methods are still unproven or face serious limitations. There's only so much land available to plant new trees. Scientists are still unsure how much carbon can realistically be stored in agricultural soils. And direct air capture plants are still too expensive for mass deployment. One solution that the National Academies panel recommended was for the United States to set up programs to start testing and deploying carbon removal methods that look ready to go, such as negative emissions biomass plants, new forest management techniques or carbon farming programs.
"At the same time, federal agencies would need to fund research into early-stage carbon removal techniques, to explore whether they may one day be ready for widespread use," reports the NYT.
And yes, scientists are aware that planting trees will help, but you need an incredible surface of forest to now make a little difference - twice the size of India is what I read a while ago.
Likely multiple techniques will need to be used to be successful. And also a serious effort in reducing new co2 of course.
I know everyone is joking about trees, but a much more effective way, according to many researchers including this guy, are by restoring grasslands.
Carbon sequestration starts with soil biology. We have already figured out the solution to this problem. The issue is: not many people hear the answer. If we converted big agriculture to a polyculture based system along the lines of permaculture, we could sequester just about all the carbon released in the atmosphere within about a decade. Permaculture systems create soil, sequester carbon and reverse desertification at an incredible rate. We can build soil at a rate of 1-3 inches per year whereas nature normally takes 1,000 years to create 1 inch of soil. Farmers make more money, have more stable and diversified crops and animal products, soil biology is repaired, carbon is sequestered at an incredible rate, water is held in the soil - regulating stream flows, mitigating floods... Come on people. Don't make this harder than it needs to be. We have the answer. I'm actively doing it myself. Hope in a Changing World - Reforesting the Yellow River Basin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...