Ask HN: Why does no one talk about greenhouse gas reclamation?

3 points by enknamel 10y ago ↗ HN

I understand why we always talk about reducing emissions but I never hear anyone talk about increasing reclamation of emissions. Maybe it isn't very feasible but it seems it would be possible to mass harvest a fast growing crop and then landfill it repeatedly to reduce the overall carbon in the air. For instance, wouldn't it be possible to take 1 million acres as a test project, cover it with bamboo, harvest the bamboo, cure it, and then place it all in a landfill and repeat? Wouldn't also be possible to do something similar with mass producing and harvesting sea algea?

There's also probably some process I do not know about where you could mass ingest and filter the air of all greenhouse gasses but since I haven't heard of anyone doing it, I'm guessing it's either unscalable or cost prohibitive.

I feel like there are many simple options for massively increasing the reclamation of emissions but I have never heard this addressed. I would love to know why or find any other sources discussing this topic.

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LeoSolaris 10y ago ↗

That is the idea behind some carbon offsetting strategies that involve reforesting efforts incentivized by lower emissions taxes. Some programs are more successful than others, but the government's are deincentivized to provide these breaks because they are often the smaller nations who actually need the revenues.

The sea algae idea strikes me as a cure that is potentially worse than the disease. I could just see use causing the 6th great extinction by (either intentionally or accidentially) introducing a genetically modified algea into the open ocean which over oxygenates the atmosphere, swinging the planet into an ice age.

Build more nuclear reactors, try the thorium reactor to reduce the waste, and invest in solar power for the long run. Hell, if the Serbian physicists who uncovered Tesla's notes on the world power distribution tower managed to get it working, we can sacrifice a desert or two to build solar farms large enough to power the world.