Sunday, January 13, 2013

Pulling Carbon Dioxide Out of Thin Air


Title: "Pulling Carbon Dioxide Out of Thin Air"
Author: Anne Eisenberg
Publication: The New York Times
Date: January 5, 2013
Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/06/business/pilot-plant-in-the-works-for-carbon-dioxide-cleansing.html   
Summary:
Pulling carbon dioxide out of thin air? This sounds a little crazy, but not to some Canadian scientists who are part of the Carbon Engineering Company. Created with a $3.5 million grant from Bill Gates, the company is building a pilot plant to harness carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and use it for possible fuel. Hopefully, by 2014, this plant will be finished and up and running, reducing the carbon footprint of the world. If the cost of this carbon dioxide is used for fuel and lowers its price range of $20-$2,000 a ton to $20-$100 a ton, it would increase the carbon dioxide fuel popularity.  However, until the actual testing of the collection of the gas is performed, we will not know the risks of the process. The pilot plant needs to be up and running in the next few years. The hope is to collect 100,000 tons of gas each year. The average car driver exhausts about five tons a year. Wherever the plant is, it could collect emissions from everywhere on Earth. This is the beauty of the process.

The building of the pilot plant in Canada.

Opinion:
I think that this plan to harness carbon dioxide is great because there is so much of it in the atmosphere and it could be put to good use. It would also help lower the oil dependency in the United States, as the oil reserves, on average, have about 43 years left. We need to start looking at alternative ways to power our cars. If people are not sold on electric cars, this gives them a more natural fuel source, because it is almost the same as gasoline, only it is carbon dioxide.

Questions:
1. Would you purchase this carbon dioxide fuel if you were driving?
2. If you were the United States government, would you allow the building of these carbon dioxide processing plants if the pilot plant was a success? Why or why not?
3. What is your opinion on this type of fuel?

2 comments:

  1. 1.) Would you purchase this carbon dioxide fuel if you were driving? If I knew that it was safe, and that it works correctly.
    2.) If you were the United States government, would you allow the building of these carbon dioxide processing plants if the pilot plant was a success? Why or why not? Yes, I would, because I think it is necessary to preserve the air and do anything possible to reduce our carbon footprint
    3.) What is your opinion on this type of fuel? I think that it is a really good idea, but only if the pilot plant works and effectively removes pollutants from the air.

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  2. 1. Would you purchase this carbon dioxide fuel if you were driving?
    I would use it as long I knew it was safe and would working my car.
    2. If you were the United States government, would you allow the building of these carbon dioxide processing plants if the pilot plant was a success? Why or why not?
    yes, becuase it would be a great way for use to relay more on our own for fuel and it is important to keep out air clean

    3.What is your opinion on this type of fuel?
    I think that it is great idea, but more reascreach should go in to make sure that it is safe.

    ReplyDelete