Take a COOL Guess – the Fun Quiz on Clean Energy. Today’s Topic: Sequestering Carbon

Question: What role can (and should) basalt play in the subject of carbon sequestration?

Answer: Can be found at Clean Energy Answers.

Relevance: Our civilization, as denizens of planet Earth, is badly losing the battle to hold the concentration of CO2 in our atmosphere at a level that will not cause runaway global warming (thus the name “350.org”). In particular, largely via our consumption of fossil fuels, we’re pumping 30 times more carbon into the atmosphere than nature is sequestering (9 gigatons vs. 0.3 gigatons). Fortunately, you and I live among smart people who actually care about stuff like this.

Linked on the answers page above is a slide from my colleague Dr. Alex Canarra that explains the role of basalt, and why it’s far better than the caverns that we are starting to use today.