The New, Uncertain Climate Change Strategy: Direct Carbon Capture
The United States is spending more than $3 billion to fight against climate change. But the government isn’t going to use this money for reducing emissions, replacing aging power plants, embracing nuclear fuel, or requiring that more energy come from renewable sources.
Instead, this funding is going to a new strategy that has many scientists concerned — but fossil fuel companies love.
If you asked an eight-year-old how to solve the problem of too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, they might recommend sucking it up with a big vacuum. And that, essentially, is a large part of the new U.S. strategy. It’s called direct air capture.
It is a working strategy, but many experts argue that it’s not a good one. And it may quickly become an excuse for us to continue to indulge our worst climate-destroying choices.
Just take the carbon out of the air
One of the biggest contributors to man-made climate change is the increasing level of carbon dioxide in the air. We produce carbon dioxide each time we exhale, but far more comes from emissions as a result of burning fossil fuels. It’s produced by gasoline and diesel powered cars, and by coal, oil, and gas burning power plants that generate electricity.
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