On Fri, 18 Sep 2009 14:18:38 +0100, Steve Thackery wrote:

That one's been already cracked. It's called a tree.

Nope, doesn't work, and one of the greatest green myths of all time.
Everybody knows that trees absorb CO2 when they grow, converting it into
plant mass.

Unfortunately, every living tree eventually dies, rotting away. As it rots,
it releases all the CO2 back into the atmosphere again. The same is true if
you burn it, of course.

The only way a tree can make a lasting contribution to CO2 reduction is if
we cut it down when it is fully grown, and then either store it in such a
way it can never rot, or drop it into a subduction zone so that it releases
the carbon so deep in the earth it can never escape again.

Of course, planting more trees will act as a temporary buffer as they grow,
but that's all. They have no nett CO2 reduction effect when considered over
their whole life.

SteveT

Well, sort of: coal. Left alone, that stores CO2 captured by trees for
quite a few years - until some idiot comes along and digs it up and burns
it.
--
Peter.
The head of a pin will hold more angels if
it's been flattened with an angel-grinder.