# All this CO2 in the air...is there anything we can practically do with it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 28, 2015, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-this-co2-in-the-air-is-there-anything-we-can-practically-do-with-it/718744 "2015-04-28T20:45:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2015, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-this-co2-in-the-air-is-there-anything-we-can-practically-do-with-it/718744/1 "2015-04-28T20:45:55Z")
For a while I’ve been wondering if there is anything that we can actually do with all of this CO2 in the air. I don’t mean do about it…obviously, we need to do something about global climate change happening do to high concentrations of CO2 in the air…but I mean, economically do WITH it. From what I understand, we are at historically (for humans) unprecedented levels of CO2 in the atmosphere. But, we are talking about carbon (as well as oxygen of course), something that we use a lot of. Anyway, I was reading [this](http://money.cnn.com/2015/04/28/technology/audi-diesel-air-water/index.html) article which seems to show that it’s possible to do something with all that CO2 (the article is about Audi using CO2 from the atmosphere as well as green energy to produce basically diesel) . I have no idea how practical it is, but surly we can do something with it as a resource, not just as something that’s bound to change our climate and shake things up on the planet. Can’t we? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2015, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-this-co2-in-the-air-is-there-anything-we-can-practically-do-with-it/718744/2 "2015-04-28T20:50:47Z")
Anything we do with it requires an input of energy, and that energy has to come from somewhere. It would make far more sense to just use that energy to replace some number of coal-burning power plants, for the same effect on atmospheric CO2 at a much smaller cost. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2015, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-this-co2-in-the-air-is-there-anything-we-can-practically-do-with-it/718744/3 "2015-04-28T20:54:02Z")
Generally speaking, CO2 is what’s left over after we’re done using the carbon for something useful. It’s sort of like asking why we don’t use ash as fuel. Any process that pulls CO2 out of the air will require energy, and right now in today’s world, that means releasing more CO2 into the air than we get back out of it. This applies to Audi’s fuel trick, which I understand is a process that’s been around for quite a while. They use electricity to get hydrogen from water, and then react that with atmospheric CO2. The only way in which their process makes sense as an environmental strategy is if you’re getting electricity from a non-carbon releasing source. There are also lots of far more accessible sources of carbon compounds around now - notably, oil and coal - that are much more attractive, easier to work with raw materials. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2015, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-this-co2-in-the-air-is-there-anything-we-can-practically-do-with-it/718744/4 "2015-04-28T21:00:13Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Anything we do with it requires an input of energy, and that energy has to come from somewhere. The sun seems a likely source. Phytoplankton blooms can be induced/enhanced with liberal application of iron powder; see [iron fertilization.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_fertilization) The plankton absorb CO2 and use it to build their mass. If they right plankton can be made to grow, and they can be made to sink to the deep ocean without decomposing, then you’ve sequestered some CO2. A lot of research yet to be done, but it’s something. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2015, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-this-co2-in-the-air-is-there-anything-we-can-practically-do-with-it/718744/5 "2015-04-28T21:01:50Z")
nm. Waaay too slow for this crowd. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2015, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-this-co2-in-the-air-is-there-anything-we-can-practically-do-with-it/718744/6 "2015-04-28T21:02:33Z")
Perhaps a CO2 enriched isolated environment can be made to accelerate plant (food) growth either land or sea based, genetic engineering may be required. This would lead to conversion back to CO2 when the food is metabolized, but perhaps we can get more food out of it. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2015, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-this-co2-in-the-air-is-there-anything-we-can-practically-do-with-it/718744/7 "2015-04-28T22:14:29Z")
grow useful plants. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2015, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-this-co2-in-the-air-is-there-anything-we-can-practically-do-with-it/718744/8 "2015-04-28T22:34:47Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **kanicbird** : > > Perhaps a CO2 enriched isolated environment can be made to accelerate plant (food) growth either land or sea based, genetic engineering may be required. This would lead to conversion back to CO2 when the food is metabolized, but perhaps we can get more food out of it. And what would you do with that food? Food is useless if it doesn’t get eaten, and the amount of food that gets eaten depends on the number eating it, which won’t change. If you’re making so much food that you’re burying the excess to sequester the carbon in it or something, then you might as well just skip the step where you turn it into food in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2015, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-this-co2-in-the-air-is-there-anything-we-can-practically-do-with-it/718744/9 "2015-04-28T22:41:39Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Anything we do with it requires an input of energy, and that energy has to come from somewhere. It would make far more sense to just use that energy to replace some number of coal-burning power plants, for the same effect on atmospheric CO2 at a much smaller cost. Ok, that makes sense. So, we COULD do stuff with it, but it’s basically not worth the cost, and we could better spend the resources elsewhere. [QUOTE=Smeghead] It’s sort of like asking why we don’t use ash as fuel. [/QUOTE] I didn’t say we had to use it as a fuel source…just that was an example that sparked my interest and thinking about the question. As to ash, we DO use it for stuff, so it’s actually a good example…could we use all that carbon in the atmosphere for something useful. Seems that perhaps energy wouldn’t be the thing based on the responses so far. ---
**Author:** ![jezzaOZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9a28c/32.png) [@jezzaOZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jezzaOZ)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2015, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-this-co2-in-the-air-is-there-anything-we-can-practically-do-with-it/718744/10 "2015-04-28T22:43:12Z")
CO2 and higher temperatures have one major effect - a huge spike in plant growth. Global starvation will be significantly reduced. Plus there will be matching increases in precipitation. The technology also exists today to use bacteria to produce all the fixed nitrogen and phosphorus required. The bacteria/processes have been in place for millions of years, but a bit of gentle optimisation now makes it useful in a much wider range of applications. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2015, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-this-co2-in-the-air-is-there-anything-we-can-practically-do-with-it/718744/11 "2015-04-28T22:49:33Z")
Sadly one of the plants thriving on increased CO2 levels is poison ivy. > **[Is Poison Ivy Getting Nastier?](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/is-poison-ivy-getting-worse)** > > The shiny three leaves of poison ivy. Photo by Susan Biddle/The Washington Post/Getty Images. Ahh, summertime. A long wilderness hike followed by a refreshing swim in the river followed by -- music screeches to halt -- a nasty case of poison ivy. Few... > **[Climate Change Brings Super Poison Ivy](https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/features/climate-change-brings-super-poison-ivy)** > > Researchers say climate change may increase your chances of getting a really bad case of poison ivy. Good news though, sugar cane also benefits from the increased CO2 levels and is a very good source of bio-fuel so in theory we could increase the sugarcane crops, sequester the waster portions of the plants to slightly reduce CO2 and make CO2 neutral fuels in theory\*\*\*\*\* from the rest of the plant. I know Brazil is doing far better with their sugarcane base fuel than we have done with our corn based fuel. \*_[SIZE=2]_ \*\*Reality is that they are not CO2 neutral but much closer to neutral than coal and oil at least.[/SIZE] ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2015, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-this-co2-in-the-air-is-there-anything-we-can-practically-do-with-it/718744/12 "2015-04-28T23:09:54Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > …sequester the waster portions of the plants to slightly reduce CO2… How would this work? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2015, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-this-co2-in-the-air-is-there-anything-we-can-practically-do-with-it/718744/13 "2015-04-28T23:14:28Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > How would this work? Bury it in pits/landfills. As layers go on, it slows decomposition. If a deep enough pit is available it pretty much stops decomposition. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2015, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-this-co2-in-the-air-is-there-anything-we-can-practically-do-with-it/718744/14 "2015-04-28T23:38:45Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Bury it in pits/landfills. As layers go on, it slows decomposition. If a deep enough pit is available it pretty much stops decomposition. Any CO2 sequestered would be more than offset by the equipment use to bury the waste. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2015, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-this-co2-in-the-air-is-there-anything-we-can-practically-do-with-it/718744/15 "2015-04-28T23:39:45Z")
There have been experiments for years (I recall reading articles from over a decade ago) on various methods to do this both organically (algae farms) and via manmade technology (catalysts and solar panels, etc). I don’t know what happens with them, I’m assuming that is isn’t feasible either on a large scale either technologically or economically. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2015, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-this-co2-in-the-air-is-there-anything-we-can-practically-do-with-it/718744/16 "2015-04-29T00:39:31Z")
Plant big trees and leave them there ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2015, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-this-co2-in-the-air-is-there-anything-we-can-practically-do-with-it/718744/17 "2015-04-29T01:00:24Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > grow useful plants. > [@drachillix](#): > > Plant big trees and leave them there There are calculators that can tell you [how much different trees will take up](http://www.fs.usda.gov/ccrc/tools/cufr-tree-carbon-calculator-ctcc)over how many years. [This one is newer](http://www.ecosmartlandscapes.org/), but it requires registration (free). I think they concentrate on typical landscaping trees. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2015, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-this-co2-in-the-air-is-there-anything-we-can-practically-do-with-it/718744/18 "2015-04-29T01:23:21Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **jezzaOZ** : > > CO2 and higher temperatures have one major effect - a huge spike in plant growth. Global starvation will be significantly reduced. Global starvation is not caused by a shortage of food. It’s caused by difficulties, mostly of human doing, in getting the food where it’s needed. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2015, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-this-co2-in-the-air-is-there-anything-we-can-practically-do-with-it/718744/19 "2015-04-29T02:02:56Z")
CO2 can be used for enhanced oil recovery, making our drinks fizzy, and as a reagent for some chemicals. It’s easier to pull CO2 out of power plant effluent than from the air. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2015, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-this-co2-in-the-air-is-there-anything-we-can-practically-do-with-it/718744/20 "2015-04-29T02:06:30Z")
Re: plants, I see some scholarly articles on enriching greenhouse atmospheres with carbon dioxide. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-this-co2-in-the-air-is-there-anything-we-can-practically-do-with-it/718744.md?page=2)