In a field in northern British Columbia, a white mineral covering the ground–magnesite, also called magnesium carbonate–has slowly been sequestering CO2 from the atmosphere since the last ice age. That’s very helpful: We need to sequester more carbon. But the small crystals of the mineral, made by taking CO2 from the air, can take hundreds of thousands of years to grow, and we need fixes that work faster than that. In a Canadian lab, researchers recently demonstrated that they could speed up the process to 72 days. It’s something that could potentially happen at a large scale to help fight climate change, since a metric ton of magnesite can capture half a metric ton of CO2 (the world emitted 32.5 gigatons of carbon in 2017). Other scientists have also experimented with other ways to speed up this type of “CO2 mineralization.” But while other processes often involve high heat and a lot of energy, the new process can happen at room temperature, so it should be cheaper. Magnesite sediments in a playa in British Columbia. [Photo: Ian Power] “Other researchers have looked at forming this mineral using high-temperature, high-pressure reactors,” says Ian Power, an environmental geoscientist and professor at […]
Latest Articles
Oil has Long Been Used as a Geopolitical Weapon. Could Electrified Transport Change That?
Takeaways: One crucial step to reducing carbon emissions is by moving the transportation system from fossil fuel to electricity.
Electricity is a major commodity...
Two Students Made Compostable Water Filters From Food Waste
Takeaway: Two students from Pratt Institute have created Strøm, a compostable water filters made from food waste.
The filters use activated charcoal which are...
A $1.1 Billion Gift Launches Stanford Sustainability School
Takeaways: Stanford University has announced a $1.1 billion donation to a new school designed to accelerate interdisciplinary scholarship on climate and sustainability issues.
The...
Protecting Nature’s Rights in the Court Room
Takeaways: A lawsuit has been filed against the developers planning to build on Lake Mary Jane in Orange County, to stop construction on the...
The Top 5 Happy Eco News Stories for May 16, 2022
The Top 5 Happy Eco News Stories for May 16, 2022 Thanks for reading the Top 5 Happy Eco News! This week we have two guest...
A New Electric Microcar Could Redefine Urban Mobility. By Folding?
Takeaways: The City Transformer can shrink down from 98 inches long to 39 inches in tight spots.
This car promises to reshape urban mobility...