When it rains, the carbonic acid dissolves minerals that are commonly found in rocks on the Earth’s surface.
What’s more, the carbonates that form raise the alkalinity of the oceans, allowing even more CO2 to be absorbed directly by the sea from the atmosphere.
But while CO2 is being pumped into the air at a record pace, this offsetting process can take millions of years – and planet Earth isn’t feeling very patient these days.
Project Vesta plans to leverage the ability of minerals, such as the green igneous rock olivine, to absorb greenhouse gases as it dissolves.
Green beaches may sound like they belong on the planet Krypton, but olivine beaches naturally exist on earth.
The idea of using weathering for carbon sequestration isn’t new.
Unlike agricultural land, where he can establish defined boundaries, coastal zones, with daily tidal fluctuations, are more challenging to study.
He even mailed me a sample of this sand – I can verify that it looks like typical Caribbean white sand.
But looks can be deceiving, and Romaniello and his team will have to demonstrate that the sand is ecologically safe.
But for their product to be competitive in the carbon offset market, Romaniello figures they need to buy 50,000 tons at a time.
You might be thinking about the carbon costs of shipping that much sand – and so is Vesta.
The recent surge in companies – like Amazon, Delta, and Microsoft – who aim to be carbon-neutral will likely rely on purchasing carbon offsets to reach their “net-zero emissions” goals.
We’re not going to meet our climate goals unless we have carbon removal technologies,” Beerling says.
“You just spent 30 years adapting to a warmer climate.
There’s nothing to suggest that taking the CO2 out of the atmosphere will be faster, or easier than putting it there.
Deepfakes have ignited fierce media criticism and call into question the public’s ability to discern fact from fiction.