Capturing Carbon and Magic Straws
A reminder that brilliant minds are trying to save us, and the planet from global warming
Hiya!
Spring is slowly but surely making its way to the Pacific Northwest. I’m spotting some greenery poking out of the soil, leaves budding on the trees, and even the first honey bee! It’s also been raining pretty consistently, normally by now the grey and gloom would be starting to get to me. But this year, I’m thankful for every drop of water we get.
Summer was always my favorite season for all of the obvious reasons, though now I find myself weary while thinking of the next few months. Because summer is now synonymous with fire-season. So, I thought I’d make myself feel better by learning about a few awesome inventions and ideas our fellow humans created to make a positive impact on global warming.
Straws to Filter Drinking Water
To begin with, have you heard of the Lifestraw? I hadn’t until recently but it’s remarkable! It magically makes any water drinkable. They have straws and water filters that remove microplastics, chemicals, lead, viruses, plus bacteria and parasites! See? Sorcery.
Okay, fine. Technically it’s science but is there really much difference? Lifestraws are made of a bunch of tiny “membrane microfilters” (only 0.2 microns in diameter) made from similar technology used in kidney dialysis. The filters are so good, that dirty water sucked in from the bottom transforms into clean water by the time it reaches your mouth. One straw is able to filter up to 4,000 liters (1,056 gallons) of dirty water.
According to their website,
LifeStraw’s membrane microfilters are capable of removing 99.999999% of bacteria (including E. coli), 99.999% (log 5) of parasites (Giardia, Cryptosporidium, etc.), and 99.999% of microplastics.
This innovative concept could revolutionize the health of millions who already suffer from a lack of clean drinking water. Something that will only become worse in the coming decades. Could these filters become a staple for health?
Transforming CO2 in the Air into Supplies We Can Use
Most people are aware that carbon dioxide (CO2) is a greenhouses gas and a big factor contributing to global warming. While it’s a natural process, too much of it in our atmosphere creates a bubble that traps heat and energy from the sun, which results in a warming planet.
This is why it’s important we restore balance in our atmosphere by either producing more oxygen to counter it or somehow suck the CO2 out. Thankfully, there are several ways we can capture and use CO2, but turning carbon into stone is what inspired a Swiss start-up, Climeworks AG, and the Icelandic carbon storage firm Carbfix to team up.
Together, the two companies developed a plant that can suck up to 4,000 tons of CO2 from the atmosphere per year. Then they take all that carbon dioxide and turn it into stones, similarly to how Nature does it, except the process takes around two years versus thousands. Transforming the CO2 into stone allows us to store or up-cycle it into building materials. Which also prevents us from harvesting natural materials like trees and queries.
Though, this solution alone isn’t enough, at least not right now. Sucking 4,000 tons of CO2 from the air may sound like a lot, but it’s about the equivalence of the annual emissions from just shy of 800 cars. We’d need to build about another 250,000 plants before we could remove the amount of carbon dioxide needed to stabilize the planet. Still, it’s a great beginning with lots of room to grow.
Can Algae Save the Day?
Sucking carbon from the air like a vacuum is a fun idea. But the thought of building thousands of new plants to do it may be a bit daunting and expensive. We also don’t know if the process of building and running the plants will ultimately cause more harm than good when it comes to protecting the environment. But there is another, more, natural idea — via a single-celled organism, algae.
Microalgae, while tiny, is able to transform carbon dioxide from forest fires, power plants, volcanic eruptions, and of course, automobiles into oxygen. Even better, it’s possible to capture the CO2 microalgae captures, and then recycle them into biomass. Then, the biomass could be used to create bioenergy which could theoretically replace our need for petroleum-derived fuel sustainably, without negatively impacting crops or food supply chains. Phew.
In essence, it would be a slower process than the carbon capture technology, but using algae is a more natural method capable of accomplishing the same result while also adding additional value. Using algae in this regard would have a smaller carbon footprint than building giant plants. But could algae remove enough carbon from the air before it’s too late?
Perspective Shift
It warms my heart that more people are taking active and innovative roles when it comes to finding solutions to combat global warming. With a global pandemic and now potentially another world war, climate change might drop a few lines on the list of things to be concerned about. Yet, that won’t deter it from happening anyway.
It’s true we have a long way to go before we can feel secure in that regard. But it’s nice to remind ourselves of the good that’s happening too. We humans are creative and I have no doubt that we’ll find a way to persevere. We’re already discovering new ways to heal our planet and are opening our eyes to look beyond ourselves. Which is a big step in itself considering our views a few decades ago. Knowing this reminds me of the weather as I write this, it may be gloomy right now, but above these grey clouds is the expansive blue sky of spring — a time of new beginnings.
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