Stanford researchers outline vision for profitable climate change solution
A relatively simple process could help turn the tide of climate change while also turning a healthy profit. That's one of the hopeful visions outlined in a new Stanford-led paper that highlights a seemingly counterintuitive solution: converting one greenhouse gas into another.
The study, published in Nature Sustainability on May 20, describes a potential process for converting the extremely potent greenhouse gas methane into carbon dioxide, which is a much less potent driver of global warming. The idea of intentionally releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere may seem surprising, but the authors argue that swapping methane for carbon dioxide is a significant net benefit for the climate.
"If perfected, this technology could return the atmosphere to pre-industrial concentrations of methane and other gases," said lead author Rob Jackson, the Michelle and Kevin Douglas Provostial Professor in Earth System Science in Stanford's School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences.
The basic idea is that some sources of methane emissions -- from rice cultivation or cattle, for example -- may be very difficult or expensive to eliminate. "An alternative is to offset these emissions via methane removal, so there is no net effect on warming the atmosphere," said study coauthor Chris Field, the Perry L. McCarty Director of the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment.
Methane removal and atmospheric restoration (DOI: 10.1038/s41893-019-0299-x) (DX)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 22 2019, @03:10AM (2 children)
Yes - the issue is that (for better or for worse...) the concentration of methane in our atmosphere is less than 1ppm, and well below the flammability limit so you can't just light a match and watch all of the methane in the atmosphere burn. Their proposal is to use a catalyst and blow large amounts of air over it that will slowly remove the methane over time, possibly extracting some energy out in the process.
(Score: 3, Touché) by Freeman on Wednesday May 22 2019, @02:29PM (1 child)
I'm also thinking a global fireball from lighting that much methane would have some environmental impact.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 22 2019, @02:42PM
On the positive side, afterwards you would no longer have to fear any anthropogenic contributions.