Carbon Storage Gains Support - AP

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Carbon Storage Gains Support

Sunday December 2, 2007 9:31 PM

By JOSEPH COLEMAN

Associated Press Writer

BALI, Indonesia (AP) - In western Japan, researchers
fuss over tubes that look like coiled strands of linguini.
But this is no cooking class: the scientists are trying
to pull carbon dioxide - the leading cause of global
warming - from power plant exhaust.

The work, on filters that separate CO2 from other
gases, is part of an expanding global race to trap
greenhouse pollutants and bury them deep
underground, an experimental and costly technology
known as carbon capture and storage, or CCS.

-snip-

The programs are not without critics.

Much of the focus of global warming efforts is on
reducing production of carbon dioxide, not storing it.
Many environmentalists argue that the billions spent
on researching carbon storage should go instead to
developing renewable energy sources.

Safety concerns abound. Some fear carbon dioxide
could seep out of its underground storage,
contaminating groundwater or poisoning the air. Carbon
stored at the bottom of the ocean, as others have
proposed, could wreak havoc with marine ecosystems.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-7121274,00.html