Not only have scientists and engineers been working on solutions in order to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, but individual countries have recognised the importance of doing this and so have put various laws and regulations in place. From doing so, we now are at a stage where we can collectively fight this cause.
Government Intervention and Treaties
There has been heavy political involvement in trying to reduce the amount of CO2 emissions in to the atmosphere, one of which being the Kyoto treaty, a world treaty, which has resricted emissions of greenhouse gases. As humans, we are the main culprits of carbon dioxide emission but there are still countries trying to avoid it.
Alternative Energy
Using alternative methods of generating electricity from using fossil fuels is a more straightforward way to reduce the amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Examples include; wind power, solar power, hydrokinetics, nuclear and geothermal power. However, a problem with some of these alternative methods, such as natural gas, is that they are highly toxic and flammable which makes them a danger. Also, as fossil fuels provide over 80% of our energy, we are heavily-reliant on them for energy because we currently have the foundations in place which make it easy for us to go through the extraction process of coal/oil/gas, and so will take a lot of time and money to switch to these alternative methods.
Carbon Sequestration
This method involves capturing CO2 from the atmosphere and storing it either within plants and soils supporting plants or mechanically injected underground. It is an effective method to address the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere because it involves growing trees that remove CO2 faster than it is released. 15 million tonnes of CO2 have already been stored underground and almost one million tonnes are pumped beneath the sea bed every year. However, some now have the opinion that there are many problems with the concept, including the ability to store in the future and the huge amounts of money invested in to it.
Artificial Trees
In 2011, a Boston group had their sights on developing artificial city trees that would offer shade and absorb CO2. The trees would be placed where soil was too shallow to host existing trees. It is an effective method to address the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere because it involves growing trees that remove CO2 faster than it is released. However, not much has come from the initial revolutionary idea, because of the lack of funding.
A possible setback is that there are currently not enough trees that could level out the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. There has been much research that has gone into the production of a “chemical tree that could effectively extract CO2 out of the air”, to which many critics have exclaimed that technology “will never be efficient or cheap enough”.
A possible setback is that there are currently not enough trees that could level out the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. There has been much research that has gone into the production of a “chemical tree that could effectively extract CO2 out of the air”, to which many critics have exclaimed that technology “will never be efficient or cheap enough”.
Carbon Scrubbers
Another way to trap CO2 would be to use carbon scrubbers which would take one ton of CO2 out of the atmosphere per day and used in a productive way or buried underground. One flaw in this solution is that it would total $200,000 and the only way excess carbon emissions can be taken up is by making hundereds of millions of them.
|