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April 17, 2005
Isn't Carbon Sequestration A Dumb Idea?
By: Rowan Wolf
I have wondered since I heard the first reports several years ago about pumping carbon dioxide into the ocean floor (a process known as "carbon sequestration") whether it might be harmful to the oceans. In fact, I raised questions about the process last October in the article Where to Put the Pollution We Make. At the Climate Change Conference in Devon, Ireland in February 2004, scientists warned that the carbon dioxide emissions that are a consequence of burning fossil fuel, and a major source driving global warming, are likely dramatically change the ocean (Scientists warn growing acidity of oceans will kill reefs, Greenhouse gas 'threatens marine life').
Greenhouse gas emissions are increasing the acidity of the sea resulting in:
Gigantic changes to the oceans, leading to the extinction of marine life from cod to coral reefs, are likely because of the main greenhouse gas causing global warming, British scientists warned yesterday.Researchers have found a new and potentially devastating danger from the huge volumes of carbon dioxide (CO2) produced by industry and transport, already threatening the planet with climate change.
Now, they warn, it is also rapidly turning the world's oceans acid as it is dissolved in seawater, and putting an enormous array of marine life at risk. Ocean acidification may wipe out much of the microscopic plankton at the base of the marine food web, and have a knock-on fatal effect up through shellfish to major human food species such as cod. It is already having a serious impact on organisms such as coral, and putting a question mark against the future of coral reefs. (Independent)
Extra carbon dioxide in the air, caused by the burning of fossil fuels, is not only spurring climate change, but is making the oceans more acidic - endangering the marine life that helps to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. (Guardian)
I see two problems here. First, if the existing levels of atmospheric CO2 are triggering changes in the oceans, then what will pumping tons of the stuff into the oceans do? Second, if the marine life that helps to remove CO2 from the atmosphere is the marine life that is most at risk, then isn't that going to dramaticlly increase the levels of accumulated atmosphericCO2? And if that is the case, isn't that likely to further accelerate global warming?
It seems to me that the only sane approach is to dramatically reduce CO2 emissions, and climate scientists concur with that solution:
To have half a chance of curbing global warming to within safe levels, the world's greenhouse gas emissions need to fall dramatically to between 30% and 50% of 1990 levels by 2050, a new study suggests.This is needed to achieve the European Union's ambition of trying to limit global warming to below 2°C over this period - a crucial goal which now appears wildly optimistic.
Carbon sequestration makes no sense to me - especially if it effectively kills much of the ocean. So why in the world is it still being pushed? Well maybe because those depleted deep water oil wells are available, and maybe because it would give oil companies a new revenue source.
The government is considering giving tax concessions to oil companies to pump carbon dioxide from coal-fired power stations into nearly exhausted oil and gas wells in the North Sea to help solve global warming.
Ah well (pun intended) there is an odd irony in pumping oil out of the earth, which when used poisons the atmosphere with a gas that burns the planet and then taking those gases and pumping them bak into the original wells. Now there is a cycle for you. Now wouldn't it be amazing if you could take the global warming gases, pump them back into oil fields, wave some magic wand transmorgify them back into oil? I imagine that petroleum companies will be hiring alchemists in the near futrue to attempt just such transmutations. After all, if you capture the component parts of a substance and put them back together shouldn't you get the original substance? Well, maybe something close anyway?
trans·mog·ri·fy
tr.v. trans·mog·ri·fied, trans·mog·ri·fy·ing, trans·mog·ri·fies
To change into a different shape or form, especially one that is fantastic or bizarre.
Posted by Rowan at April 17, 2005 7:21 PM Category: Global Warming
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Comments
I am somehow reminded of a medical analogy here. We see on tv the advertisement for various pills and at the end of each Ad comes a warning of possible side affects. Certain process' of the body are inhibited or even shut down in order to gain the desired affect of the advertised medicine. Common sense tells us this is not wholesome or natural, and so it is with sequestering. The intent of Nature is not to sequester these types of gases in solids in this manner. How could it not be detrimental in the long run? Earth is on a biological/geological/evolutionary clock, not some stupid Julian calander. To use a crude analogy, it would be like taking the gas from a fart and pumping it into the abdominal cavity so no one would have to smell a bad odor.
Posted by: goesh at April 18, 2005 12:24 PM
Excellent analogy goesh!
Posted by: Rowan at April 18, 2005 8:38 PM
Great analogy, Goesh! I had to chuckle.
My thought on sequestering:
What if this digging and pumping into upsets fault lines, volcanic areas and so on. Those working for the Discovery Channel are claiming that we are due for a massive earthquake that will devastate most of North America. There are other movies depicting catastrophes as well. Last night, the Discovery Channel put on a production from the Science Channel called "The Next Megaquake." In this movie, they point out a fault line in the Pacific called Cascadia. Disruption of this fault line could cause a quake that hits 9 on the Richter Scale and a Tsunami that reaches our coastline in 30 minutes; Hawaii in 5 hours and Japan a few hours later. Within 12 hours, our lives as we know it would be dramatically changed.
Now, imagine these fault lines being 'accidentally' disrupted by the stupidity of people who think they can control the natural world.
So, yes, sequestering is a really dumb idea! It amazes me what the desperately wealthy will do to maintain their wealth and lifestyle. It makes me think of an old fashioned medical remedy- causing people to "bleed" out their ailments. It makes about as much sense.
Posted by: Shawna at April 18, 2005 9:39 PM
This stupid notion fits nicely with the fast food, quick fix, take-a-pill, instant gratification, egocentric, consumption as status mentality that infests our society. You see this sickness in car/SUV commercials where the vehicle is ripping and tearing through the natural environment, you see this sickness in the garbage that litters our streets and highways, you see this sickness in tv commercials that wage war against the natural environment with pesticides wherein weeds and insects are deemed evil and needing extermination, you see this sickness in obese, waddling children whose parents allow them to continually gorge on processed sugar and trans-fats, you see this sickness in the 4 wheeler and snowmobile trails in our national parks, you see this sickness in pill commercials for impotency that desperately and vainly try to overcome a dire warning from nature that a parasitic species is crossing a threshold into extinction with disruption of mating and reproduction, and you see this sickness on the worn, beaten foot trails in parks where by the thousands people walk by screaming trees and hear nothing.
Posted by: goesh at April 19, 2005 12:29 PM
Screaming Trees
I am the dominator
I am axe
I am saw
flame, bulldozer
I am the opposable thumbs
I am the frontal vision
I am the canine teeth
that bite and rip
and gouge and tear
and eat you
my God sanctions you
commands the domination
and wills your muteness
deaf dumb fucking Birch!
you will house me
you will warm me
and make room for a swing set
in MY BACKYARD
Posted by: goesh at April 19, 2005 12:44 PM
It seems a large experiement in this is likely to begin off the Australian coast - have a read of this if you're interested:
Posted by: Big Gav at April 20, 2005 2:51 PM
Thought to ponder:
In reading prophecies in Revelations, there is a portion that speaks of the waters becoming like blood and basically undrinkable. Considering the understanding of things when this was written, I cannot help but wonder if what is being referred to here is simply the water becoming so polluted that no one can drink it. We already buy water or use filters, but these would become of little use if the waters were this incredibly polluted.
Again, CO2 Sequestration is an unbelievably foolish choice.
Posted by: Shawna at April 20, 2005 5:53 PM