{"id":274746,"date":"2023-08-21T12:39:44","date_gmt":"2023-08-21T10:39:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=274746"},"modified":"2023-08-21T12:39:56","modified_gmt":"2023-08-21T10:39:56","slug":"bidens-multi-billion-dollar-carbon-capture-gamble","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=274746","title":{"rendered":"Biden\u2019s Multi-Billion Dollar Carbon Capture Gamble"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n


<\/a>It appears that the Biden administration is steadfastly determined to invest billions into addressing a carbon dioxide non-problem.\u00a0Ari Natter and Brian Kahn of Bloomberg report on the administration\u2019s decision to sink a cool $3.5 billion into technologies designed to pull carbon dioxide out of the air.<\/a>\u00a0But given the nature of carbon dioxide and the energy dynamics involved, one has to wonder: Is this just an expensive venture chasing after a non-issue?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm describes the technology as<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cessentially a giant vacuum that can suck decades of old carbon pollution straight out of the sky.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a multiple leaps of faith here: not only in assuming carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is an \u2018old pollution\u2019 problem, but also in the hope that this tech can help achieve \u201cnet-zero emission goals.\u201d However, I would like to argue, from an energy perspective, this endeavor might prove to be more wasteful than\u00a0beneficial<\/s>\u00a0effective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember our basic energy equations? The energy required to reverse a process is roughly equivalent to the energy that was originally released. Translated into this context: removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere could require as much energy as was released when the fossil fuels were burned in the first place. Doesn\u2019t this seem like a cycle of wasted effort and expenditure?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Granholm suggests that,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cOnce operational, the hubs are expected to remove more than 2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide a year from the atmosphere.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

But let\u2019s take a closer look. The largest DAC plant in the world, operated by Swiss startup Climeworks in Iceland, can capture a mere 4,000 tons of CO2 annually. As the report states, this is \u201cequivalent to a few seconds of humanity\u2019s carbon emissions.\u201d The energy and resources put into this, relative to the output, are ludicrously disproportionate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The article goes on to highlight the considerable energy requirements of these Direct Air Capture (DAC) plants, stating,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cEven with these efforts, DAC remains costly and requires a large amount of energy.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Here lies the irony: Are we potentially using more energy, perhaps sourced from fossil fuels, to capture a gas that plants use for photosynthesis?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report leans heavily on global warming predictions, stating that<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cNearly every scenario to limit global warming to 1.5C\u2026 will require removing billions of tons of carbon from the atmosphere each year by mid-century.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

However, considering the infinitesimal impact of current DAC projects and the immense costs associated, We are compelled to ask: How badly are we throwing resources at the wrong solution to a nonexistent problem?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In all, while the push for DAC technologies is clear, the practicality, necessity, and feasibility of these solutions are anything but. When one understands the energy dynamics and questions the premise that atmospheric carbon dioxide is even an issue, Biden\u2019s multi-billion dollar gamble seems less like a visionary leap and more like a costly misstep. Instead of costly ventures with dubious returns, it might be wiser to reevaluate our stance on carbon dioxide and refocus our resources more judiciously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

H\/T nhasys<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It appears that the Biden administration is steadfastly determined to invest billions into addressing a carbon dioxide non-problem.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":274753,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691818076,691821973,691818154,691818772],"class_list":{"0":"post-274746","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-co2","9":"tag-direct-air-capture-dac","10":"tag-net-zero","11":"tag-u-s-president-joe-biden","13":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/03bf649ec-f2da-429b-a5c6-943e78c18ee5-biden-climate-change-topper-desktop-v2.webp?fit=2400%2C1029&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-19to","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":254553,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=254553","url_meta":{"origin":274746,"position":0},"title":"EPA to Propose First Controls on CO2 Emissions From Power Plants \u2013 \u2018Will be 1st time fed gov\u2019t has limited CO2 from existing power plants\u2019","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"25\/04\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Mr. Biden has said that he is willing to use his executive authority to act on global warming\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Biden\"","block_context":{"text":"Biden","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=biden"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/0EPA-Biden-control.jpeg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/0EPA-Biden-control.jpeg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/0EPA-Biden-control.jpeg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/0EPA-Biden-control.jpeg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/0EPA-Biden-control.jpeg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":200605,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=200605","url_meta":{"origin":274746,"position":1},"title":"$3.5 Billion To Eliminate a Life-Giving Substance","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"20\/05\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today released a Notice of Intent (NOI) to fund the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law\u2019s $3.5 billion program to capture and store carbon dioxide (CO2) pollution directly from the air.\u00a0 Biden Administration Launches $3.5 Billion Program To Capture Carbon Pollution From The Air | Department of\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/00Image-4057.png?fit=912%2C291&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/00Image-4057.png?fit=912%2C291&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/00Image-4057.png?fit=912%2C291&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/00Image-4057.png?fit=912%2C291&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":200825,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=200825","url_meta":{"origin":274746,"position":2},"title":"US launches $3.5 billion gamble on \u201acarbon removal\u2018 tech","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"22\/05\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"CO2 is not pollution Carbon removal? 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