Seeking+Companion+with+Sunny+Outlook


==Basic Inf**or****mation**  ==
 * **Location:** Planet Earth
 * **Sex:** Nope
 * **Birthday:** Approximately 13 billion years ago
 * **Relationship Status:** Divorced
 * **Body type:** More to love!

====**//"Plans to protect air and water, wilderness and wildlife are in fact plans to protect man." -Stewart Udall, environmental advocate & Secretary of the Interior under President John F. Kennedy//  **====

Personal Information

 * ** About Me: ** I am the Earth's Atmosphere, but some people might know me as "their own personal trash receptacle" or a "swirling vortex of unregulated carbon dioxide emissions." I reside several hundred kilometers above the ground mostly in the form of smog and am composed of different gases that surround the globe. My job is to protect life from harmful solar radiation and regulate temperatures worldwide. I used to be quite self-sufficient, but ever since the Industrial Revolution, I've become needier than ever. Due to increasing levels of carbon dioxide in my system, I have found it difficult to function properly in recent decades. I am currently seeking a companion with a sunny outlook on life that could help me clean up my act. So, introduce me to your friends, since most people forget that I exist.
 * ** Who I'd Like to Meet: ** Clean coal technology, Renewable energy sources, environmental advocates.
 * ** Activities: ** Floating, drifting, traveling.
 * ** Favorite Movies: ** // An Inconvenient Truth, and:   //

media type="custom" key="3787439" "http://www.teachertube.com/embed/player.swf

 =Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) = 


 * warning: this presentation may include highly boring and/or scientific information

How it works: **Capture- ** **carbon emissions are prevented from being released into the air** <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">**<span style="display: block; text-align: left; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> Leading method: Integration Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) - removes impurities from coal at high temp, which forms synthetic gas to power turbines **

** Coal + Heat = CO2 CO2 + Oxygen = Carbon monoxide (CO) CO + steam (H2) = Syngas Syngas (CO + H2) = Electricity

<span style="text-align: left; display: block; color: rgb(255, 0, 31);"><span style="font-size: 150%; font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;"> Sequestration- <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">S <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 120%;">torage of captured carbon underground   <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">    **** - used in conjunction with IGCC - before reaction with H2, remaining CO2 is pumped beneath Earth's crust **



<span style="display: block; font-size: 180%; font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif; text-align: left; color: rgb(255, 0, 31);"> Why we need it: ** - Scientists estimate current carbon dioxide levels to be approximately 370 parts per million (ppm) - Acceptable levels: below 600 ppm **



- Would result in adverse health effects and climate change **
 * - Projected ppm by 2080 without any interference by humans: approximately 1200


 * <span style="font-size: 170%; font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif; color: rgb(255, 0, 31);">What is happening right now: **

of development to incorporate carbon capture and sequestration
 * - Several experimental stations worldwide are currently in operation or in stages

United States: FutureGen- $1.5 billion program to develop CCS technology in United States first initiated by Bush administration, then cut from budget. Obama administration hopes to recover FutureGen

Africa: Salah gas project in Algerian desert

Europe: forefront of CCS technology

Germany- Schwarze Pumpe <span style="font-size: 14.4px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">" o  **<span style="font-size: 14.4px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> **ne of the world's first coal-fired plants ready to capture and store its' own emissions"**  ** UK- encourages power companies to convert to CCS Norway- initiating carbon regulation -using ocean sequestration to store carbon dioxide -rewarding eco-friendly companies with tax exemptions -taxing diesel, petroleum, and coal use -developing new sources of energy (renewable, as well as CCS) - hopes to become "carbon neutral" by 2050 **


 * <span style="font-size: 180%; font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif; color: rgb(255, 0, 31);"> Pros:

- Could temporarily help reduce carbon emissions and carbon concentration in atmosphere

- If implemented domestically on a commercial scale, CCS could take advantage of the abundance of coal in the United States, making America more independent from foreign oil providers as well as stimulating regional economies that rely on coal (Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Texas)

- Heavily supported abroad **

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif; font-size: 180%; color: rgb(255, 0, 31);">**Cons:**

Inflated cost per kilowatt hour because of small-scale use
 * <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> - Costly

- Largely irregulated: - No reward to offset cost for power companies who do convert to CCS - No penalty for emitting carbon dioxide

- Potential Safety Hazard Large, rapid of CO2 is dangerous because "high concentrations can kill humans and wildlife" <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lake Nyos in Cameroon, Africa (1986)

"Between 100,000 and 300,000 tons of CO2 of volcanic origin that had seeped beneath a nearby lake escaped in just a few hours. Since carbon dioxide is heavier than air, the gas flowed down through two valleys, asphyxiating 1,700 surrounding villagers and thousands of cattle and other livestock" <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> -Robert Socolow, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Princeton University

- Not a permanent solution

Critics of carbon capture and sequestration argue that "<span style="line-height: normal; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">it represents a continuation of old, irresponsible habits in that it justifies the construction of more coal power plants," according to Tobias Munchmeyer, a Greenpeace representative.

Believe researchers should focus on renewable energy sources (wind, water, solar) instead of using "dirty" coal **

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif; font-size: 170%; color: rgb(255, 0, 31);">**What I Think:**

**<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> The <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">environment will always be a global issue. Ways to help improve its condition will continue to challenge scientists, legislators, and citizens who are scrambling for a solution to our dire problem. Although carbon capture and sequestration represents the world's increasing concern for the environment, CCS simply does not completely fulfill the need for long-term CO2 pollution defense due to its' high cost, health hazards, and lack of regulatory standards. In order to "protect air and water, wilderness and wildlife," we has humans must take responsibility and initiative beyond a temporary solution. **

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif; font-size: 170%; color: rgb(255, 0, 31);">**Some long-term solutions:**



Sincerely, Lydia Catone

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