If direct air capture (DAC), a CO₂ removal (CDR) technique, costs $500 per tonne, removing just US emissions would cost ~$3 trillion annually (that's ~4x US military spending).
It would also require twice the total power generation capacity of the US today (and it has to be 100% carbon-free).
It would also require twice the total power generation capacity of the US today (and it has to be 100% carbon-free).
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There's literally no downside, and the "better solutions" don't exist yet
Which highlights just how cooked we are given neither have been feasibly demonstrated yet.
Obviously replanting the trees as they are harvested to sequester the next lot.
It would probably be far easier and efficient to capture the carbon in our seas though 🤷🏼♂️
We could also boost the ability of the Sea to absorb Co2 in form of ideas like floating seaweed farms.
Now I'm not saying biochar is *THE* solution, because choosing just one solution would be foolish, we need multiple angles
Will never, ever work at the scale required.
Phrased another way, if we rolled back GDP to 2018 levels, we could be a net-zero carbon emitter *right now.*
Obviously it's most cost effective to stop producing the CO2. And tree planting will give *some* benefit.
And with that level of funding initially, there should be a fairly rapid drop in cost.
Just don't look up.
Anything else is just mitigation & not at any level that will get us back to where we were at any earlier point in history.
This presidency is so unfathomable horrible.
And if you throw in efficiencies in production plus ongoing reduction & only use of it to cover say 50%..
Cool, let's do.
I can see the Exxon ad, full of flowers and blue skies
I’d rather not assume we’ll get our act together quickly and won’t need DAC
the CO²output is so important
and a lot cheaper !
But we also need DAC on top of reducing,
to eliminate PAST pollution !
So don't get distracted
😉
Still easier to irrigate the Sahara as an agricultural carbon sink
Even if we get this tech tomorrow it could take many decades to replace our outdated generators.
Now, if we get stuff that are relatively easy and quick to build.. That would be amazing. 2/2
🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳
But there are ways. Pyrolysis of wood into charcoal and landfill the charcoal.
Producer gas from pyrolysis can be used to power whole operation.
Most carbon capture today uses CO2, often injected into oil wells to increase yield.
Landfill of charcoal would be an excellent way to carbon capture. Literally coal mining in reverse.
The problem of removing CO2 from the atmosphere will not fundamentally change, the chemistry is well understood.
The research should continue, because I'm willing to bet we can improve this just like we've improved solar panels over the decades.