OUR ENVIRONMENT

JULY 2010
TURNING THE TABLES ON CO2

The scourge of the atmosphere – CO2 – is widely portrayed as a major global climate change culprit.  For decades our policy has focused on reducing the production of this ubiquitous gas.   Reducing the burning of fossil fuels to produce energy, and power our transportation systems, has been the Holy Grail.

Unfortunately, the global appetite for oil, coal, natural gas and other greenhouse gas producing fuels continues to grow daily.  So much so that the US, long considered the top fuel hog on the planet, recently lost the dubious distinction of being the largest user of fossil fuels.   As the online dictionary Wikipedia reports in the chart below, that “honor” now belongs to China.  However the US still has what seems to be an insurmountable lead in another important category:  “Reduction needed to reach world per capita average.  For more on Wikipedia’s coverage of this topic click here.
List of countries by 2006 emissions
Rank?
Country?
Annual CO2 emissions[8][9]


(in thousands of metric tons)?
Percentage of global total?
Per Capita[10]


(metric ton)?
Reduction needed to reach world per capita average?
Emissions intensity[11]


(kg of CO2 per $1 GDP (PPP))
?
-
World
28,431,741
100.0 %
4.4[12]
0.48[12]
1
China
6,103,493
21.5 %
4.62
4.8 %
1.03
2
United States[13]
5,752,289
20.2 %
18.99
76.8 %
0.45
-
European Union[14]
3,914,359
13.8 %
8.07[7]
45.5 %
0.42[7]
3
Russia
1,564,669
5.5 %
10.92
59.7 %
0.86
4
India
1,510,351
5.3 %
1.31
-236 %
0.56
5
Japan
1,293,409
4.6 %
10.11
56.5 %
0.33
6
Germany
805,090
2.8 %
9.74
54.8 %
0.30
7
United Kingdom
568,520
2.0 %
9.40
53.2 %
0.28
8
Canada
544,680
1.9 %
16.72
73.7 %
0.47
9
South Korea
475,248
1.7 %
9.89
55.5 %
0.44
These data suggests that we may not be able to manage our disengagement from fossil fuels fast enough to avoid the consequences that are already in the pipeline.  The world runs on oil and spews the waste products into our air, water, and land.  Combine this with accidents like the Gulf spill and the conclusion is that we can’t afford to continue our petroleum addiction too much longer.  More and more we are coming to realize that we need alternatives to this highly toxic and heavily subsidized substance.  It is also important to remember that fossil fuels are a finite resource.  Many experts believe we have already passed the “peak oil” tipping point.  Peak oil is defined by Wikipedia as “…the point in time when the maximum rate of global petroleum extraction is reached, after which the rate of production enters terminal decline.” 
One result is the furious race to invent, develop and deploy renewable energy production around the planet.  This has spurred intense activity and interest in many new technologies.  One such technology is known generically as biofuels, which use biomass as feedstock.  These products include biodiesel, made in some cases from fats, oils and greases that were formerly land filled.  In Europe biodiesel made from fats and greases is the dominant transportation fuel.  Another emerging technology, which features a unique use for CO2, is algae-derived fuels.  Known variously as “oilgae” or “green crude,” these are liquid fuels derived from algae -- one of the simplest and most prolific forms of plant life on the planet.  Growing algae is simple – just add water, sunshine and CO2.  That’s right – CO2 – the universal culprit.  In this case the CO2 is vital to the production of algae based fuels.  And, in a wonderful twist, using this greenhouse gas in the production of biofuel results in the CO2 being sequestered in the biofuel.  Thus the CO2 is not available to contribute to the greenhouse effect.  Even when it is burned in a power plant or automotive engine its CO2 emissions are 60% to 70% less than the fossil fuels it displaces and may be “scrubbed” out of the smokestack emissions and thus made available for a second sequestration.
In addition to biofuels other technologies to capture CO2 are under development.  One involves capture of emissions from factory and power plant smokestacks.  Here the CO2 is “scrubbed” from the smokestack and combined with a chemical catalyst.  The result is the sequestration of the CO2 in several products used worldwide in the production of cement and other industrial commodities.

As these and other “carbon capture” technologies mature we will have an opportunity to “turn the tables on CO2.”  No longer will this material be a universal pollutant.  Instead it will also be an industrial commodity which will help fuel our transition to the clean energy economy that is the true holy grail of the environmental movement.
WHAT WE CAN DO

Although the biofuel industry is still in its infancy its progress is accelerating.  Successful demonstrations of biofuels replacing petroleum-based fuels include a successful Boeing 737 test flight conducted in 2009.  Several industrial-scale refineries and other production facilities are now in the works and the amount of equity investment in the industry increased last year to over $4 billion.   As noted above, other technologies are also under intense development.  As time goes by we should see more technologies utilizing this strategy grow and mature.

However, many observers contend that until CO2 becomes a commodity, and can be traded via an open market exchange, our progress will be slow.  This is the philosophy at the heart of the various “cap and trade” proposals currently in play.  As individual citizens we have many opportunities to help make this change in our perceptions of CO2.  We can begin by learning more about initiatives currently underway.  In the US the major initiative is housed in the Chicago Climate Exchange.  This is the only US-based national exchange market dealing with not only CO2 but all major greenhouse gases.  To find out more, including how to help support this revolutionary approach, visit the Chicago Climate Exchange website.

EDITOR'S NOTE: OUR ENVIRONMENT ONLINE was originally published in 1995. In that publication we reprinted a piece entitled "DEBUNKING RUSH LIMBAUGH ON THE ENVIRONMENT." It was originally published by the Environmental Defense Fund in New York. Over the years it has consistently been the most viewed page on this website.