Scientists invent machine that takes C02 out of the air

That means that people can start to feel good about bombing our air with CO2 on the promise hype that these machines one day will be installed near us to clean the CO2 out. Me and You will probably never see such machine. However, I think as an aid to clean some spaces I think it makes sense but better it is to develop a clean energy that does not pump CO2 into the air to begin with it! It stills a long way from now but it is promising!

Hmmm... I want to see the chemical reaction that makes this possible, before I believe it. For instance, the plan is to pump the extracted CO2 into GREENHOUSES??? Sheesh -- it's gonna take a helluva lotta greenhouses to counteract all that CO2....

anyone truly worried about co2 is looking in the wrong direction. the earth takes care of the majority of it. this is nice, i'm not complaining and is good, its just not the most important thing in the world however.

If we took the money we spent on this war, and instead put it towards this idea, we could have solved the climate crisis by now.

If we join with other nations, we could surely make this happen.

Sir Richard Branson has put up £12.6 million for anyone who makes it a reality.

Wow, so then people don't have to get a moral conscience. They can continue to defile the planet with glee.... dont worry, we'll scrub it out...But then, we have methane, nitrous oxide...And then you will have the con artists who will copycat it and all it will be is a glorified fan. Humans... always looking for the easy way out instead of having to actually do the right thing. But really, with all of the crap we put up there already, even if we stop it all today climate change has already been put in motion, so I think it would have to suck out a hell of a lot more thana only one ton per unit a day. It would be great to use it to scrub the 'excess' we have now in order to start a clean slate so to speak (depending on where it goes after that) as we enact laws that cap greenhouse gases while we work to get alternate energies out to wean us off of dirty disgusting coal and toxic nuclear.... of course, once these miracle machines come out these industries will I am sure find a reason to state there is then no need for them to change and we will be back to square one. Amazing.

If I read it correctly, it doesn't actually filter the air of CO2, but rather collects it so it can deposited somewhere else. Nice try, but isn't this kind of pointless?

How about we make machines that mimic the way trees convert CO2 to Oxygen, now that would be something. Or better yet, stop cutting down trees, and start planting more.

There actually already is something that takes the C02 out of the air. It's called a tree.

so, thier spending loads of money, loads of materials, loads of manufacture time, and ultimatly contributing to climate change though transsport, installation etc...
- when they can just plant a tree?

lol! hahah! good point!
what're they going to do with it afterwards? break it down into its original properties? :S

Although it seems like a good idea, capturing CO2 does not solve the greenhouse gas problems we have. Where would be put the CO2 that is captured by these machines? Time to start investing in Alternative Energies instead of propagating the continued use of fossil fuels.

I love this story, a machine that cleans up the air, anything that change present a positive shcange to the environment can't all that bad. A great tool for emissions and green gases.

been using em in mexico df for years...

*****Business Idea:*****
I am not sure if this is around but if we had a cute little company that marketed local trees to plant in your yard by local labor..wouldn't that be good?
This can be used for wedding and new home gifts and also birthdays etc.
This would let someone have a gift certif for their choice of plants or trees and have someone plant it for them..most are too busy to plant it themselves so that is something like a White Elephant if the labor is not included.
Much better than flowers..for the environment..Mothers could get a lilac tree to have forever instead of flowers that drain resources.
(Don't get me wrong I love all those flowers I have received from my loved ones..this is jut an alternative : )

Science is suppose to have the smart people. Can they not create something that we need but don't know we need? This just seems too much, as if it's for the popular vote at school. Look what we created for the go green thinking. So what? Really. Earth has it's on CO2 converters and they've been here billions of years. Plant some.

Nice try. Now all we need are a couple billion of these things all around the globe and everything will be just great.

yeah... but can it produce oxygen as well? God invented plants to do this and more.

" I'd rather have a technology that allows us to use fossil fuels without destroying the planet, because people are going to use them anyway

- Klaus Lackner, Inventor, said

Klaus, this is just a giant “The Sharper Image” Carbon Scrubber… is not even an invention, just a scaled up concept.

The only thing I like is that this might have agricultural applications as growth enhancers by pumping the sequestered CO2 into plantations.

well it's a start i believe

a forest of beautiful green trees or a field of scrubbers... i'm more into green.

Which is a better idea:

Taking a pill which "filters" 60 percent of the deadly e.coli bacteria out of your body after you eat contaminated meat --- or just not eating ANY meat contaminated with e.coli? You know, just eating disease free beef to begin with?

It just seems weird that the "solutions" are never prevention-oriented, but rather just focused on slightly improving already shitty situations.

Instead of just building solar or wind farms -- the focus seems to be on keeping coal fired power plants running, but just figuring out a way to detoxicfy a very small percentage of the carcinogens they emit.

Doesn't it seem easier to just build wind and solar farms NOW as opposed to keeping those coal-fired power plants we built back in 1930 running (and polluting) for another 100 years and trying to clean up after them?

Does this 'machine' run on electricity? Great! So we are burning carbon while scrubbing carbon.

Guess I can still live in excess

With all of the deforestation and desertification that is going on, planting trees is not the best answer. Stopping the cutting down of our rainforests is a greater answer. I only wish this invention would solve our problems; but as always, we need to look to the primary source of the problem...us.

This is a great idea! As long as big oil and coal decide to pay the bill and start production ASAP.

^that’s sarcasm.

I am wondering (who) or what is going to clean the CO2 that is already inside my body!

Just because we might have a way to help clean the air dosen't mean we have the excuse to not fix the current problems at hand. I have a bad feeling that this will serve as an excuse for people to live in excess foolishly.

It's a start, too little too late I'm afraid.

"I will not be happy until we return to the stone age and release no pollutants into the atmosphere!!!!"

That's what some of you people sound like. This is a step in the right direction.

Products like this will probably never be economical for consumers to use, but if they are efficient enough, they would provide an amazing way to combat global warming for polluting industries. A true solution to the problem needs to be comprehensive and practical, since green technologies are also in the early stages of development.

This is wonderful. Any little bit will help. Many things put together including conservation and converting to alternative energy may be able to combat global warming, but it seems the outlook is pretty bleak from any perspective sadly.

There is another version of these. They are called trees!

By sucking CO2 (carbon dioxide) out of the air, we would be depriving the plants of this earth of their vital source for photosynthesis. Sure, it would not suck out all of the CO2, I understand that, but in this process we would kill some plant life. CO2 is a natural gas, and like our temperatures, it fluctuates over time. What we must do is invent a machine that will rid us of CO (carbon monoxide) or other poisonous gases.

Global society is still way too 'treat the symtom' oriented. As some of you have already stated, we need to be more preventive oriented and, YES, advance beyond the archaic energy systems that were built two generations ago...get with a new game...there are so many excellent alternatives...it's really just a matter of having a progressive administration that promotes these ideas as we see them...

Conservatives, it's time to let go of the antiquated machinery...just let it go...and we can all live more healthy and rewarding lives...

We need to stop using fossil fuels as energy.

yeah i agree that it takes away moral consciousness from those abusing the earth on a daily basis without regret, but at least it will make a fraction of a difference. we should be promoting the growing of plants and the halt of depleting our rain forests while emphasizing a switch to alternative fuels within all makes and models of vehicles. we should focus more so on treating the problem and not the symptom, which has become so popular in this day and age.

I agree that it is a step in the right direction. However, it can't be the only step. We still need to go the green way. Plant trees, stop using fossil fuels and use this as a back-up.

Two things, there are ways of utelizing sequestered carbon. Its possible to convert it into plastic as well as cabon nanofibers for such things as light turbines for wind and geothermal powerstations. There was even a story a few months back about a powerstation that utelized carbon in the air to produce its power. I see a lot more applications than just pumping into greenhouses.

The other, if these replaced the current O2 scrubbers at factories it could see a big change in industrial pollution. But is it consumer friendly? Could this be used in cars? To me this raises alot of questions but finaly provides an answer to a big one, about finaly sequestering carbon.

Finally something right is happening to help us the people. And now we can save the Polar bears.