Course: REEC 120 Sustainability and Renewable Energy

Unit 11 Overview

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There are means to reducing the CO_2: chemical pumps trees weathering of rocks ocean nourishmentThere are a few ideas to absorb CO_2 and then store it. This noble idea is only now being explored and tried.

Trees are available now and offer a two-for-one deal. They first capture carbon using energy from the sun. The amount of trees required to do this task is generally about two to three times the size of Britain or the United States. Let’s say that will not exactly work.

There is possibly a way to crush rock and allow the rocks to absorb the carbon. It is a very small amount, but it is a means.
The last method is ocean nourishment. By feeding the ocean with fertilizer, mainly nitrogen-rich fertilizer, the result will increase the growth of carbon-absorbing plant life. The plants will be used to set up a food chain that will increase fish populations. With greater fish populations to fish there can be more food. The down side to this is the risk and necessary scale to implement.

So where does all of this leave us? The biggest issue is cause and effect. There are no easy answers to the problems but many problems with no good solutions. Hopefully, the result is a balance of production and consumption with renewable and sustainable practices.