For years, scientists and innovators have been chasing affordable carbon capture technology, which is able to soak up and reuse, or alternatively sequester, destructive carbon dioxide emissions.
San Francisco-based startup Living Carbon went back to carbon capture's roots, with a comic book twist, because plants have been doing that for a long time.
CO2 is needed by trees in order to grow. The Living Carbon founders told CNN that trees don't grow fast. Natural carbon capture can be sped up if the process is speeded up.
The company published a study earlier this year that showed a lot of success. According to the company, one modified poplar grew 53 percent more mass than its average un-modified counterpart, which is the equivalent of 27 percent more carbon being removed from the atmosphere.
The company's trees will have removed an extra 604 million metric ton of carbon from the air by the year 2030.
About 75 percent of the world's land has been degraded by humans. How do we create species that can capture carbon on the land? You have to use technology to do that.
These trees aren't quick fixes. According to CNN, there is a chance that they could become an invasion, and that humans still have to stop burning fossil fuels. Carbon will be released into the soil when the trees die.
We can say that trees are a good idea. We're looking forward to seeing where this startup goes.
The tree may help fight climate change.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
