Summary

Carbon sequestration, particularly through the development of "supercharged" plants, is presented as a promising solution to counteract carbon emissions and mitigate climate change.

Abstract

The article discusses the potential of carbon sequestration as a means to combat climate change, emphasizing the innovative approach of using genetically modified "supercharged" plants to absorb and store atmospheric carbon dioxide more effectively. These plants, engineered by a team led by biologist Joanne Chory, are designed to grow larger roots to sequester carbon deeper in the soil. The concept of carbon sequestration is divided into two main types: geological, which involves storing CO2 in underground formations, and biological, which focuses on increasing vegetation. While biological sequestration, such as planting more trees, is more straightforward, the world faces challenges in re-vegetation due to deforestation and increasing resource demands. The article acknowledges the early stage of research on supercharged plants and the need to balance land use for food versus carbon sequestration, as well as the potential for these plants to improve soil fertility by restoring carbon levels.

Opinions

The author is convinced of the reality of climate change, citing personal observations of climate anomalies.
There is a clear endorsement of carbon sequestration as a necessary counterbalance to carbon emissions.
The author expresses skepticism about the feasibility of geological sequestration due to its complexity and infrastructure requirements.
Biological sequestration, particularly the development of supercharged plants, is seen as a more sustainable and practical approach.
The author highlights the challenges of balancing the need for increased food production with the land required for supercharged plants.
There is optimism about the potential benefits of supercharged plants, including their ability to restore soil carbon levels and contribute to sustainable agriculture.
The author suggests that while the research is still in early stages, supercharged plants could be a significant part of the long-term solution to climate change.

Carbon Sequestration: The Potential Counter to Carbon Emissions

Can supercharged plants solve all our climate change problems?

Like many other socially aware citizens in today’s age of internet and information, I like to keep a check on the latest developments in the issues that matter. For our generation, more than any before us, climate change is definitely a real issue.

I’ve seen warm Decembers in the usually cold northern India and snowy days in April in New York, when we’re supposed to be welcoming the spring, and so it doesn’t take the United Nations to convince me that global warming and climate change are real, much against what the likes of Donald Trump will have the world believe.

And so, most recently I came across a TED talk by one of the leading biologists in the world — Joanne Chory, and for the first time was introduced to the concept of carbon sequestration.

What is Carbon Sequestration?

The official website of USGS (United States Geological Survey) defines it as follows:

Carbon sequestration is the process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide. It is one method of reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere with the goal of reducing global climate change.

So essentially, the concept is the perfect counter to carbon emissions. If we have a variety of things in this world that emit carbon — including all kinds of fuel usage and energy consumption, why not find a counter method that absorbs carbon dioxide?

Types of Carbon Sequestration

There are primarily two types of carbon sequestration from my basic understanding — geological and biological sequestration.

USGS defines these as:

Geologic carbon sequestration is the process of storing carbon dioxide (CO2) in underground geologic formations. The CO2 is usually pressurized until it becomes a liquid, and then it is injected into porous rock formations in geologic basins.

Biologic carbon sequestration refers to storage of atmospheric carbon in vegetation, soils, woody products, and aquatic environments. For example, by encouraging the growth of plants, particularly larger plants like trees, advocates of biologic sequestration hope to help remove CO2 from the atmosphere.

It seems quite apparent from a layman's understanding that geological sequestration is a much more tedious and potentially infrastructure-intensive process, while biological sequestration essentially just involves more vegetation — or planting more trees!

However, we’ve already come to a point where it is quite challenging to re-vegetate the world to such an extent that we can undo the deforestation that has already taken place. There is also the consideration of meeting the increased demand for resources for the ever-growing population of the world, in an increasingly energy-intensive lifestyle.

As large populations of developing nations like China and India move towards a developed state, the energy consumption and the resulting carbon emissions are expected to go up.

The Case for Supercharged Plants

Given the challenges with the geologic carbon sequestration, the most important study and research in the field of climate change may currently be happening in the field of “supercharged plants.”

By definition, supercharged plants are plants that have had some genes modified scientifically to achieve certain enhanced results.

In the case of carbon sequestration, the team of scientists led by Joanne Chory is trying to create supercharged plants that can remove more carbon from the atmosphere than usual, and grow roots that are longer than usual so they can then capture and bury that carbon deeper into the ground so it cannot be released back into the atmosphere easily.

If these experiments are successful, these supercharged plants could be the perfect counter to the problem of carbon emission and help solve the climate crisis.

Perfect Solution — Why Wait?

While it sounds like the perfect solution, work in the field is only at the early stages. There are a variety of different problems and parameters to keep in mind when working on these supercharged plants.

To grow these supercharged plants, you need land, and with an increasing world population the land we have is limited — and it can’t be taken away from food-yielding crops. Also, the plants or seeds have to be such that they don’t deplete the yield of the soil they grow in, and make it less fertile, so that is another consideration to keep in mind.

But the good news is that the heavy loads of agriculture in the world have left the world’s soil depleted of carbon, and so these supercharged plants can actually help address that issue by replenishing the carbon levels of the soil. This is one of the co-benefits and added sustainability from this potential solution.

Final Thoughts

So it seems like the researchers working on these supercharged plants are looking at a long-term, sustainable solution than a quick short-term fix that may end up causing further longer-term pain. So it seems like an area to closely watch and see if this is the big solution to the climate change problems of the world that we’re all looking for!