CO2 sequestration....

Today’s post: Wednesday, 6-17-2009

We need an 80% reduction in fossil fuel use by 2050 to avoid the worst global warming effects. And, practically speaking, we need to also double our electricity generation and double the useful work done per unit of electricity & other energy sources as well during that same time to have a decent economy.

Clearly, massive additions of renewable energy both at the locations where it will be used and at very large sites from which a new smart grid delivers it where it will be used is the number one priority.

Very close behind is making dramatic increases in the work and value we get out of the energy we use. From heat proofing homes to insulating them to technologies like LED light bulbs to servers that generate far less heat and are cooled by extremely efficient systems, we need both small scale and large scale improvements—thousands of them all at once.

And, for both of these priorities we need to make an international effort similar to what the US did during World War II. Virtually everyone needs to make some extra effort for many years.

(And in some locations, for the same reasons, we may add some nuclear power to deliver to the new smart grid.)

But right now, much of the electricity we depend on is generated by burning coal or natural gas.

If there was some way to store, “sequester”, the CO2 generated by these existing sources while they are still needed, it would be prudent to do so if we can.
Recently, I’ve read that Norway has developed ways to do this & has locations to put the collected CO2 that are believed to be able to prevent it from escaping and which have from 100 to 600 years of capacity at the rate Europe is generating them. And, if I read the article correctly, Norway is already doing it. Even better, it apparently costs little enough to be 100 % funded by their existing carbon tax which is not very high.

For now, while we are still burning far too much fossil fuels, the less CO2 going into our already overloaded air, the better.

There are two problems. One is that very likely some of the CO2 we thought we stored away may gradually escape. And, these storage areas will likely get filled at some point.

So we very much need to do everything we can to stop burning fossil fuels and switch to other energy sources as fast as we can. If we do that well, by the time we’ve used up the storage that for sure doesn’t leak and is relatively inexpensive to use, we can begin to withdraw from burning these fossil fuels.

Then, as oilman J Paul Getty foresaw years ago, fossil fuel deposits will be used for materials like plastics and chemicals instead of energy. And, we will get our energy elsewhere.