Reply #9: You've missed the point entirely

[OKIsItJustMe]

It doesn't matter whether you want to build a fleet of nuclear plants, 1,000's of wind farms, 1,000's of square miles of solar collectors or some combination of these and other technologies. We will continue to burn coal for several years.

Take that as a given.

Now, the question is, do you want to pump all of the resulting emissions straight into the air? Or would you prefer to capture it and sequester it somehow?

http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagID=51027

Carbon Capture and Sequestration

Appropriate regulations can guarantee the integrity of emissions reductions from carbon capture and storage

Because the transition away from coal and other fossil-based fuels will take time, EDF supports the development of technologies that substantially reduce emissions especially those that reduce carbon dioxide (CO2), a major cause of climate change. One technology in particular has the potential to make a huge contribution in reducing CO2: carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), also sometimes referred to as carbon storage.

CCS is a process that prevents CO2 from being released into the atmosphere through capture and storage underground in geologic formations. It is a proven, viable technology and ready to begin deployment today. Carbon dioxide has been captured from industrial processes for many decades. And for many decades, the oil business has injected millions of tons of CO2 per year for enhanced oil recovery, where oil not recovered in the initial withdrawal process is pushed to the surface by injecting CO2. (Learn more about http://blogs.edf.org/climate411/2008/03/03/geo-sequestration/">geological sequestration.)

With a price on carbon we'll begin to see widespread deployment, but already many demonstration projects exist, most notably: In Salah in Algeria, Sleipner in the North Sea, and Weyburn in North America.

While there are many challenges to CCS – including an incomplete regulatory framework, high costs and in some regions, the challenge of finding suitable sequestration sites – there are also opportunities. With job creation and CO2 reduction, CCS has potential to be a win-win solution for the economy and the environment.

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