Thanks for publishing my photo, in Do we need carbon-eating machines to fight climate change? Some scientists say yes.  (I say “I’m not sure”) – Greater Greater Washington

Thanks for publishing my photo, in Do we need carbon-eating machines to fight climate change? Some scientists say yes.  (I say “I’m not sure”) – Greater Greater Washington

2019.12.06 Fire Drill Fridays, Washington, DC USA 340 60018
2019.12.06 Fire Drill Fridays, Washington, DC USA 340 60018 (View on Flickr.com)

Thanks for publshing my photograph, @ggwash, in this helpful piece written by Will Schick (twitter:schick_will), taken at a climate change rally in Washington, DC in December, 2019, headlined by Jane Fonda. See: Photos: Fire Drill Fridays with Jane Fonda, Washington, DC USA – yes, it is a climate emergency

I reviewed the post as well as some of the National Academy of Sciences Report referenced, because

  • Climate change is still an emergency
  • I haven’t seen positive reviews (or really any comprehensive review) of carbon capture technology. Glad one exists.

This comment struck me in the report:

At the same time, reducing the average 2050-2100 fossil fuel and land-use emissions to the ~3.3 Gt/y CO2 in Figure B (less than 10 percent of today’s emissions) would likely be very difficult without the use of NETs to offset emissions that would be prohibitively expensive or disruptive to eliminate, such as some agricultural methane and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, or CO2 emissions from air travel.Negative Emissions Technologies and Reliable Sequestration A Research Agenda (2019)

Clearly, this report is now dated, because the prohibitively expensive, disruptive innovation, has been undertaken (near elimination of air travel, a massive source of carbon pollution). See: The Environmental Lessons We Need to Learn from Coronavirus Lockdown – VICE

I’d also comment that it’s interesting that elimination of meat from the diet is considered in reports like this to be required, whose creation of widespread malnutrition is not considered disruptive, yet reduction of air travel is considered optional. Nutrition vs transportation….

Perhaps we’re getting to a place where we are understanding what essential truly is. Enjoy the photo, and let us hopefully enjoy a long term reduction in carbon emissions.

Here’s an additional photo from Fire Drill Friday – Ms. Fonda’s work was inspirational and mostly on-point. I had incredible and meaningful conversations with the other participants about healing our planet, and the science behind it.

2019.12.06 Fire Drill Fridays, Washington, DC USA 340 60065
2019.12.06 Fire Drill Fridays, Washington, DC USA 340 60065 (View on Flickr.com)

Because carbon lingers for up to a thousand years, many believe that reducing emissions is not enough to save the planet from falling deeper into its current climate crisis.

Source: Do we need carbon-eating machines to fight climate change? Some scientists say yes. – Greater Greater Washington

Ted Eytan, MD