Science Special!

So, when I was in Junior High School, we learned about our environment, recycling, and the effects we were having on our planet.  This was in the very early 80’s and people scoffed at this information.  We are now very aware of the problem and have tag lines like “Global Warming” and “Carbon Footprint”.  So what is my point?

 

I paid attention in science class to all of this information.  To make a long story short, I figured the problem was two fold.  First, stop the pollution and Second, reverse the damage already done.  This leads to two entirely different paths to travel.

 

Stopping the pollution is not happening.  We, as a society have jumped on the “Save the Planet” bandwagon, but we are not stopping the pollution at all.  In fact, at best, we are simply increasing it’s production at a slightly slower pace then normal.  It has been my experience that the human species on the whole, finds comfort in what is best for themselves, and not for the good of all.  This is reflected in the fact that money is more important then the planet.  I have little hope that this process will ever work.  We are too self-centered.  Don’t agree? Don’t we still use fossil fuels?  Don’t we go to the coffee shop in droves every day and toss the billions of cups into landfills?  Don’t we still make and use polystyrene, disposable diapers, cigarettes, plastic bags for single use, and a gazillion other items manufactured out of substances that would never have occurred naturally?  There is no argument here, at best we will simply continue to destroy ourselves, just at a slower pace then expected.

 

So, our planet is in turmoil.  Weather patterns out of cycle, ocean currents slowing and warming, sea levels rising, ice caps are melting.  What do we do?

 

CO2 is the problem. 

 

1)      We simply stop producing it through combustion.  We are creating CO2 and releasing into the atmosphere while it is at a higher then normal temperature.  It then rises and sticks in the stratosphere.  What is left of our forests can not convert the CO2 in the stratosphere, and the “breathing” oceans can not handle what they have as it is (even if they could reach the stratosphere).  So, we know it is a problem, and the problem is growing.  Every excuse in the book, and all the time left of this planet will not change this.  It simply must end, and not just reduce.

2)      We must remove CO2 from the stratosphere.  The CO2 has broken down the atmosphere, then cause and effect, cause and effect, ice caps are melting.  The ice caps have historically reflected a percentage of the sun’s energy back out to space.  It is now being trapped in the atmosphere by the pollution, ice is melting, reflecting less energy, melting more ice, warming oceans, and on and on!  You can see that the destruction cannot, or better yet, will not continue for long.  So, how do we breakdown CO2?  This is the question I have been asking myself since Junior High School.

 

 

CO2 is very strong, and would take containment with a lot of energy to break apart.  It is also in the stratosphere, a little outside the average persons reach.  It is not easily visible, and is mixed with other gases.  This is where I go crazy.  The answer is right there.  Break down CO2.  The problem is, how do we do it?  I sounds so simple at first, then feels so impossible.

 

I have spent the last 25 years thinking about this, and I am failing.  What do you have?  Any ideas?  Seriously, how do we do this?