{"id":43825,"date":"2021-05-29T11:00:58","date_gmt":"2021-05-29T18:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=43825"},"modified":"2021-05-29T11:00:58","modified_gmt":"2021-05-29T18:00:58","slug":"everyday-erinyes-268","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2021\/05\/29\/everyday-erinyes-268\/","title":{"rendered":"Everyday Erinyes #268"},"content":{"rendered":"

Experts in autocracies have pointed out that it is, unfortunately, easy to slip into normalizing the tyrant, hence it is important to hang on to outrage. These incidents which seem to call for the efforts of the Greek Furies (Erinyes) to come and deal with them will, I hope, help with that. As a reminder, though no one really knows how many there were supposed to be, the three names we have are Alecto<\/span><\/strong>, Megaera<\/strong><\/span>, and Tisiphone<\/span><\/strong>. These roughly translate as “unceasing,” “grudging,” and “vengeful destruction.”<\/p>\n

As the climate continues to change without regard to stupid humans who continue to do things which will accelerate that change ans, if we don’t stop, ensure out own extenction, those of us who can see what it going on have to be more determined, and smarter, at coming up with\u00a0 ways to stop and, if possible, even reverse the damage already done. As ideas go, this one seems to hold promise.
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Using captured CO\u2082 in everyday products could help fight climate change, but will consumers want them?<\/h1>\n
Consumer decisions could play a critical role in dealing with climate change. A study gauging perceptions was published May 13, 2021.
\nFotographiaBasica via Getty Images<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lucca Henrion<\/a>, University of Michigan<\/a><\/em>; Joe \u00c1rvai<\/a>, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences<\/a><\/em>; Lauren Lutzke<\/a>, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences<\/a><\/em>, and Volker Sick<\/a>, University of Michigan<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Would you drink carbonated beverages made with carbon dioxide captured from the smokestack of a factory or power plant?<\/p>\n

How would you feel if that captured carbon dioxide were in your child\u2019s toys, or in the concrete under your house?<\/p>\n

The technology to capture climate-warming carbon dioxide emissions from smokestacks, and even from the air around us, already exists; so too does the technology to use this carbon dioxide to make products like plastics, concrete<\/a>, carbonated drinks and even fuel for aircraft and automobiles<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That combination \u2013 known as carbon capture and utilization \u2013 could take up billions of tons of carbon dioxide emissions<\/a> if the technologies were adopted across a range of sectors worldwide.<\/p>\n

But for that to happen, the public will have to accept these new products. Will they? That\u2019s a question we have been exploring as engineers<\/a> who work on carbon capture technologies<\/a> and as social<\/a> psychologists<\/a>.<\/p>\n

One key to success: CCU adds economic value<\/h2>\n

Studies show that to stabilize the climate by 2050, the world will have to do more than just stop greenhouse emissions. It also will have to remove huge amounts<\/a> of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere<\/a>. Trees, soils and oceans naturally store some carbon dioxide, but human activities produce about five times<\/a> more than nature can handle.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why technologies that can reuse carbon dioxide to avoid fossil fuel use \u2013 or even better, lock it away in long-lived products like cement \u2013 are essential.<\/p>\n

The key to carbon capture and utilitization\u2019s potential is that these products have economic value. That value can give companies the incentive to deploy the technology at the global scale necessary to slow climate change.<\/p>\n

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Carbon capture technology is used to stop emissions at the source, particularly in industries like steel and cement production that have high emissions.<\/span>
\nSvante<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Carbon capture technology itself isn\u2019t new. Initially, captured carbon dioxide was used to force oil and gas out of old wells. Once emissions are captured, typically from an industrial smokestack via a complex chemical filter, they can be pumped deep underground and stored in depleted oil reservoirs or porous rock formations. That keeps the carbon dioxide from reaching the atmosphere, where it can contribute to climate change.<\/p>\n

But storing carbon dioxide in the ground doesn\u2019t create a new product. The absence of an economic return \u2013 coupled with concerns about storing carbon dioxide underground<\/a> have slowed the adoption of the technology in most countries.<\/p>\n

How do people feel about carbon dioxide-based products?<\/h2>\n

For many products made with captured carbon dioxide, success will depend on whether the public accepts them.<\/p>\n

Two of us recently conducted one of the first large-scale studies<\/a> to examine public perception of carbon dioxide-based products in the U.S. to find out. We asked over 2,000 survey participants if they would be willing to consume or use various carbon dioxide-based products, including carbonated beverages, plastic food storage containers, furniture made with foam or plastic, and shatterproof glass.<\/p>\n

We found that most people knew little about carbon capture and use. However, 69% were open to the idea after learning how it worked and how it helped reduce the emissions contributing to climate change.<\/p>\n