Molecule Eats Carbon Dioxide
Paul Burman on July 17th, 2009
A new and interesting development in the field of potential global warming solutions has arisen: a molecule that eats carbon dioxide has been found. A University of Maryland scientist doing research unrelated to global warming made the discovery as he noted that a newly created bowl-shaped molecule was collecting carbon dioxide that was present in the room.
The implications of this discovery are potentially huge. This carbon ’scrubbing’ molecule may be used in industrial processes to remove CO2 from smoke stacks, or it could potentially be used to simply remove CO2 from the atmosphere.
One interesting implication of this discovery is that it demonstrates the power of science and innovation. A big reason that Carbonfund.org is a big supporter of global warming solutions is because that encourages innovation.
Global warming is potentially the greatest crisis that has ever faced mankind, but with great crisis comes great opportunity. Who knows what will happen when we raise fuel standards — maybe we will accidentally discover a way to make cars go significantly farther on a gallon of gas or discover an algae based biofuel that is cheap and clean. Or maybe there will be a break through in solar technology that enables us to turn every roof into a power generating machine.
In short, who knows? If a scientist in Maryland can accidently discover a molecule that eats CO2, anything can happen. Although it’s too early to determine the future outcomes of this. Let’s continue to provide the motivation and impetus to act and innovate.
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Obama must be stopped with his recent OK to log Tongas National Forest, another rainforest now at risk!
There are two kinds of carbon dioxide – biogenic and anthropogenic. Biogenic or carbon-neutral CO2 is emitted by the combustion of biomass whereas anthropogenic CO2 is generated by the combustion of fossil carbon resources. Does this new molecule recognize which "bad" CO2 it should remove? Probably not. This molecule may remove the CO2 that the plants need for photosynthesis. Still, it is a very interesting discovery…
there is no "bad" CO2, just "bad" levels of it in the atmosphere – biogenic or anthropogenic doesn't matter.
I beg to differ, Scott. Biogenic CO2 is not "bad" as it is natural – animals respire biogenic CO2, plants absorb it, and biomass produces it when burned. The cycle goes on. It is anthropogenic CO2 that is considered as a greenhouse gas and can be viewed as the bad CO2 as it is not carbon-neutral. There is a reason why biogenic CO2 is deducted from greenhouse gas inventories while anthropogenic CO2 is capped.