Swiss firm Climeworks announced a major breakthrough on Thursday, revealing that it has successfully extracted carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and stored it underground, where it will eventually turn into rock.
Climeworks has raised $780 million from multiple investors and has Microsoft, Stripe, and Shopify as clients.
The company reveals that it has begun constructing its second commercial-scale plant, which can capture and store a staggering 36,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year.
Recently, a startup called Make Sunsets announced that it has successfully launched weather balloons into the stratosphere as part of a solar geoengineering initiative. The company aims to release reflective sulfur particles in the stratosphere, which will reduce the amount of sunlight reaching the Earth’s surface.
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy is also leading a comprehensive five-year research initiative to investigate the potential of solar geoengineering methods.
As climate manipulation technology continues to advance, the use of geoengineering is becoming increasingly common. However, it is crucial to consider the potential hazards associated with these efforts.
Those who oppose attempts to alter the climate argue that the solution to human-induced climate change should not be further human intervention. The long-term effects of removing or adding gases to the atmosphere are still unknown, and geoengineering could have unintended consequences that endanger life, agriculture, and the Earth’s natural systems. If too much carbon dioxide is removed from the air, humans will not have enough oxygen to survive.
Additionally, there is a natural carbon cycle that must be taken into account, making the idea of storing carbon underground questionable.
It is important to note that the process of absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and converting it into oxygen through photosynthesis is a natural function of trees and other plants. Is it truly necessary to invest millions of dollars in developing technology that duplicates the natural processes of plants when plants do the same thing for free?
There are many other ways that we can help the environment. For example, nearly 100 million trees are cut down for junk mail every year in the U.S., which is then distributed using gas-powered vehicles. Junk mail should be made illegal just like email spam. This simple thing would be more beneficial to the environment than any artificial intervention.
