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Carbon Capture and Storage

Wouldn’t it be easy if we could just bury all those nasty greenhouse gas emissions and make them go away?

Researchers say this is one option that’s worth looking into. However, they caution that even if it worked, it should only be part of the solution; we still need to continue to develop alternative energy sources and reduce our dependence upon burning fossil fuels.

Researchers in Canada are exploring what happens when you inject carbon dioxide emissions into the ground. What they’ve found so far is that burying them in oil fields not only gets rid of the dirty emissions, it boosts oil production, helping to recoup the costs of burial. As for where the CO2 emissions end up, results so far suggest they will eventually dissolve into the underground brine and adhere to the rock in the form of minerals. It remains to be seen whether any harmful consequences will occur, such as leakage back into the atmosphere or pollution of ground water.

Though research continues, President Bush has already made CO2 burial part of his energy plan. The plan calls for power companies to capture 90 percent of emissions for underground storage by 2012, reducing U.S. CO2 emissions by 40 percent. Other countries, such as Japan, are also studying the technology.

For more information about this story, visit the Christian Science Monitor. 

To read more about this and other environmental health issues, go to: www.environmentalhealthnews.org, www.ourstolenfuture.org, or www.healthandenvironment.org