The problem with direct air capture is that it only is good if it exclusively uses renewables, and right now it would be much better to instead use that energy to replace fossil fuels. Only excess renewable energy should be used for it, maybe in places like Scotland that have too much wind power. Capture directly from the source is also better as the concentration of carbon is much higher in the output from a smokestack, and as such has more impact and is more energy efficient too
Comment on Study: Carbon offsets aren’t doing their job, overstate impact
Aesthesiaphilia@kbin.social 1 year ago
Instead of offsets, companies should be pursuing direct carbon sequestration like with https://climeworks.com/
No estimates, no accounting magic. Just a direct measure of physical, measurable tons of carbon directly removed from the atmosphere.
astropenguin5@lemmy.world 1 year ago
bioemerl@kbin.social 1 year ago
Except carbon sequestration is not ever going to work and it's always going to be more expensive than having just burned that fuel in the first place.
Maybe you'll get an advantage if it's nearly free to do and you use exclusively solar power in areas with excesses of it.
But on average? Sequestration is not an answer. The carbon dioxide in our atmosphere is just too rare to effectively pull out, and it's never going to be capable of even reaching fractions of what we're emitting right now.
We have one answer to this problem and one answer only.
Stop. Using. Fossil. Fuels.
Tax carbon.
Start getting ready to do geoengineering, because we are going to need it.
People like to bitch and say that we shouldn't be changing the environment, but guess what, we're changing the environment if we like it or not, it's only a question of it it's in our interests or if it's an uncontrolled self-destructive form.
NathanielThomas@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I agree with everything you’re saying except that carbon taxes, at least in Canada, do not seem to really have worked. Since we have no genuinely reliable public transportation infrastructure, we all still drive. And we pay the carbon tax just like we pay excise taxes on it, and provincial taxes, and federal taxes (and, ironically, transportation taxes). It’s why our gasoline in Vancouver is $2.10 per litre. Albeit, lower than Europe, but higher than America. Yet it hasn’t changed the fact we drive ICE cars.
The wealthier people have started driving Teslas. I would say there are times you’re driving and one-third are Teslas, but it’s really region-dependent. Outside Vancouver they’re all ICE, and not just cars but raised pickups.
bioemerl@kbin.social 1 year ago
A carbon tax is designed to be placed on the sources of oil and then ramped up over time. If you haven't felt the carbon tax it's because the tax isn't high enough yet.
The only problem with the carbon tax is that it's going to be difficult to get people to support it. Otherwise it's the single most effective way to actually produce change across the whole economy.
NathanielThomas@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I have felt the carbon tax, it’s just that it doesn’t really matter how high it is because there aren’t transportation alternatives. At a certain point I guess I’d have to give up my car, which would make travel for recreation difficult, especially in British Columbia
Addica@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Carbon taxes are getting the ball rolling which is the main point. We’re just seeing short term effects at the moment, its literally only been 4 years, so you can’t really yet say it didn’t work because it takes place on a larger time scale than just a couple years. Economically the policy makes a lot of sense.
It goes like this: Corporations have a fiduciary duty to their share holders, they legally have to make profit for the people who hold ownership shares. If something eats into their profit, they might raise prices in the short term, but in the long term, companies which innovate and can do similar processes without releasing as much carbon will be taxed less, and they will be able to offer services for lower than their competitors.
People see the lower prices and will try to go for the more cost effective service, And so the competitors selling for lower prices take market demand away from companies who refuse to innovate, leading to less profits for them, forcing the company charging higher prices, to adopt the new cost-effective method or go out of business.
High-prices are the short-term effects of the market-paradigm. Innovation really only comes if there is a need. Why would a company try expensive new ‘non-polluting’ methods, if the methods that pollutes will make them more money? You just can’t expect companies to make investments to change if they have no financial reason too. However if the the old polluting methods become more expensive (like through a carbon tax) then companies are more likely to invest in the newer processes, often driving the newer way to become cheaper due to economy of scales effects.
Also btw regular people at least get money back through tax credits to help offset costs. Sure things are more expensive atm, but long term if our current economic system is to do what its ‘advertised’ to do, then we should allow the policy time. Entire supplychain changes don’t just happen in 4 years.
So yea maybe Carbon Tax isnt enough to affect quick change, maybe we need more serious policies aswell, but it’s a direction and a start. We can’t really claim yet it hasn’t worked.