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Researchers from the University of Florida have discovered certain bacteria on the ocean floor could neutralize massive quantities of industrial carbon dioxide.
Because carbon dioxide, the primary greenhouse gas emitted by human activity, is a key culprit in climate change, scientists from a variety of disciplines have been searching for ways to effectively capture and neutralize the gas.
The UF researchers discovered that an enzyme produced by the bacteria Thiomicrospira crunogena, can convert the harmful gas into a benign compound. The enzyme carbonic anhydrase can actually strip carbon dioxide from organisms, the researchers say.
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Could Deep-sea Bacteria Be the Latest Weapon Against Climate Change?
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To be a kind of moral Unix, he touched the hem of Nature's shift.
-- Shelley
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 27 2015, @03:01AM
Without molten salt reactors, hydrogen will probably be generated from fossil fuels for a very long time.
The main problem with electric vehicles is that you have to store the reaction products: which adds weight. While electric vehicles are now good enough for typical commutes, they will likely always be impractical for long road trips or taxi/delivery services running all day.
Molten salt reactors make it possible to close the carbon cycle with respect to diesel (I guess bio-diesel already counts, but food-to-fuel is problematic). Call it vapourware if you want, but I think it can already be argued that natural gas is now renewable (via landfill capture).
Note: I found the toyota AD about this [youtube.com] not credible because they really glossed over the difference in energy produced by chemical and nuclear reactions. We will never have nuclear powered cars since there is no way to shield the gamma rays and alpha particles without a lot of mass. Also notice in that video that Marty fills his pick-up with trash, yet they still needs to supplement the collected "bio-gas" (3:08) with fossil fuel from "the grid" (3:12).
In short, hydrogen-powered cars will be burning fossil fuels until such time as molten-salt reactors become a reality, At that point, you might as well just use diesel for the better energy density.
According to this video, you do not get (heavy) rare-earth minerals [youtube.com] without Thorium.
(Score: 2) by TrumpetPower! on Tuesday October 27 2015, @03:29AM
Teslas are already perfectly suited to long cross-country road trips, and would make awesome taxis.
Today.
Not some vague distant future, but today.
And the rest of your post...is vaporware that nobody is actually doing. In stark contrast to the solar panels I myself have on my very own rooftop.
Again, today.
If somebody figures out a way to make a profit from thorium, and do so in a way that's not pushing hazardous externalities onto the public, fantastic. But you know when people are doing that?
Not today.
b&
All but God can prove this sentence true.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 27 2015, @06:44AM
Industry won't touch thorium because of all the regulations around it being a nuclear per-cursor material (and is regulated under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty).
As for the Tesla, I think think that the 85kWh version may work as a taxi. Would require over-night charging (on a fast charger) (and no "insane mode"), but the driver needs to sleep sometime.
My second link speaks directly to the stuff you say is here today, and not some speculation. "Green" technologies are being built in China because that is the only country willing to mine thorium. As a result, they control the vast majority of the rare earth market.