The solution seems obvious, doesn't it? Since we have too much carbon dioxide, we just need to plant more trees. We learned that in elementary school science. The problem is, biological mechanisms are too slow. Think about it - half the planet is already covered with plants, and our ecosystem cannot keep up with the greenhouse gases being generated by mankind. Of course, we are doing exactly what we shouldn't do - cutting down trees and simultaneously increasing the human population.
In Rethinking Artificial Trees, I posted - The Colorado Trees website provides some interesting
statistics about natural trees. An average tree absorbs about 48
pounds of CO2 a year. It takes about one acre of tree coverage to
compensate for driving an automobile about 8000 miles. As much as I like photosynthesis, it does not seem scalable for 6.8 billion people on the planet.
Yet I encourage researchers to keep trying. Asking 'What would nature do?' leads to a way to break down a greenhouse gas explains a University of Michigan biochemist has mimicked a form of photosynthesis. Steve Ragsdale's discovery is that an enzyme-coated titanium oxide with a photosensitizer bonded to the titanium can convert carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide.
His team hypothesized this is something that nature might accomplish, although none knows of an organism that actually converts CO2 into CO. Of course, the surface of the earth would not be a healthy place with too much carbon monoxide, since it is highly toxic to animals and humans. But it demonstrates scientists attempting to learn from the design patterns of nature.
Sheesh. I am more and more convinced we simply must reduce greenhouse emissions through alternative energy sources.
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