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It is one of the great dilemmas of climate change: We take such comfort from air conditioning that worldwide energy consumption for that purpose has already tripled since 1990. It is on track to grow even faster through mid-century—and assuming fossil-fuel–fired power plants provide the electricity, that could cause enough carbon dioxide emissions to warm the planet by another deadly half-degree Celsius.
A paper published Tuesday in the Nature Communications proposes a partial remedy: Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (or HVAC) systems move a lot of air. They can replace the entire air volume in an office building five or 10 times an hour. Machines that capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere—a developing fix for climate change—also depend on moving large volumes of air. So why not save energy by tacking the carbon capture machine onto the air conditioner?
This futuristic proposal, from a team led by chemical engineer Roland Dittmeyer at Germany's Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, goes even further. The researchers imagine a system of modular components, powered by renewable energy, that would not just extract carbon dioxide and water from the air. It would also convert them into hydrogen, and then use a multistep chemical process to transform that hydrogen into liquid hydrocarbon fuels. The result: "Personalized, localized and distributed, synthetic oil wells" in buildings or neighborhoods, the authors write. "The envisioned model of 'crowd oil' from solar refineries, akin to 'crowd electricity' from solar panels," would enable people "to take control and collectively manage global warming and climate change, rather than depending on the fossil power industrial behemoths."
Source: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/could-air-conditioning-fix-climate-change/
(Score: 2, Funny) by realDonaldTrump on Tuesday May 07 2019, @05:59AM (4 children)
I do that all the time. I go to the Fridge. Open up my robe. And, open the door. It feels MAGNIFICENT! And now they found out, it helps our precious environment. Good to know. So good to know!
(Score: 2) by Pslytely Psycho on Tuesday May 07 2019, @06:53AM (2 children)
As a public service, to help eradicate the vision of DT, robe open, flashing the ham in his fridge...
I link the following:
https://www.eyebleach.me/babes/ [eyebleach.me]
http://www.eyebleach.me/cats/ [eyebleach.me]
http://www.eyebleach.me/dogs/ [eyebleach.me]
http://www.eyebleach.me/nature/ [eyebleach.me]
You're welcome.
Alex Jones lawyer inspires new TV series: CSI Moron Division.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 07 2019, @09:14AM (1 child)
Why the bleach? Not like there'd be anything to see...
(Score: 3, Funny) by zocalo on Tuesday May 07 2019, @09:52AM
UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday May 07 2019, @05:36PM
Try the freezer, it's even more refreshing.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.