Can science save us from our self-inflicted climate and environmental hemorrhaging? As I pondered climate change I got “outside the box” and started looking for answers beyond stopping the use of fossil fuels. Some don’t want to stop because of, as usual, money and profits. Changing our behaviour would be easier than a technological solution, but humanity’s avarice and lust for power (pun intended) makes it almost impossible to do this.
The possibility of a carbon capture system that pumps carbon dioxide underground has been put forth, but there are numerous problems with this approach. You would need a massive number of huge facilities and significant infrastructure to remove carbon from the atmosphere. And what would the effect be on the planet putting carbon dioxide into it?
But, some sort of Herculean technological breakthrough could still be the answer. It is possible. For example, maybe there is a way to “vacuum” carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and funnel it into space, which is infinite, so therefore would likely do very little or no damage to the universe. Why not?
Yes, continue to vigorously pursue clean sources of energy. However, this will take too long to avoid disaster for reasons that range from technological implementation to political and business resistance. What is needed right now are brilliant people who will come up with some other viable option to “clean” the atmosphere. We need scientific and technological “outside the box” thinking geniuses in large numbers working on some sort of mechanism to remove carbon emissions from the atmosphere and save the planet. Unfortunately, humanity will never really be up to the task of changing its behaviour. That’s the reality.
By the way, some are thinking going to Mars will give us an escape hatch. Well, let’s say in fifty years this becomes possible in some way. Do you really think there will be enough room for eight billion people to use this hatch? No. You already know who will be the only ones to escape.
The World According to Glissando 