Agree that it would be much better if politicians would define the problem and allow engineers to find good solutions.
Having politicians pick the technological winners is a sure path to disaster. --- *Incidentally, I was going to illustrate this point with a famous quote from Van Buren about canals and trains, but this quote is apparently false !! see: http://www.snopes.com/language/document/vanburen.asp --- *On a similar note, DOE has largely abandon its hydrogen car effort. Who remembers FreedomCar? http://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/freedomcar_partnership.html Do they learn and decide to define the research by the problem it is supposed to solve (e.g., affordable carbon-neutral personal transport)? No, now we have the next technology pick in the transportation sector: http://www.energy.gov/news/documents/1_Million_Electric_Vehicle_Report_Final.pdf * * On Sat, Apr 9, 2011 at 3:02 PM, Ron Larson <[email protected]>wrote: > Alvia, Joshua, etal: > I do no know whether the bill will go anywhere. But I think it would > have a lot more support if it was all-inclusive. That is, support for all > forms of CDR. > This is like calling for support of vertical-axis wind machines or > CdTe photovoltaics. Picking winners is not what Congress is good at. > I can partially understand leaving Biochar out - as that word is still > less than 4 years old. But anyone wishing to see CDR pushed would find > plenty of Biochar activists (lots of farmers and foresters) with a > (probably) small modification of the S. 757 language. > > Ron > > Sent from my iPad > > On Apr 9, 2011, at 2:48 PM, "Alvia Gaskill" <[email protected]> wrote: > > > It's not part of a combined air/source capture strategy. These are both > considered separately and the emphasis is on ambient air and lower > concentration sources like oil refineries and not mentioned, but applicable, > natural gas where the flue gas level is usually around 3% vs. 10 for CO2. > Since this bill has been around for at least 4 years, it doesn't seem likely > to get anywhere, especially in the next few months. > > > > http://www.eenews.net/public/eenewspm/2009/11/12/2?page_type=print > > > > CLIMATE: Barrasso, Bingaman float legislation to promote CO2 capture > (E&ENews PM, 11/12/2009) > > Katie Howell, E&E reporter > > A key Senate Democrat and a leading Republican critic of cap-and-trade > legislation today introduced a new bill that would award monetary prizes to > researchers who figure out a way to suck carbon dioxide directly from the > air. > > > > Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and Sen. > John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) last week introduced the bill, S. 2744, which would > encourage development of technology to capture CO2 from the atmosphere and > permanently sequester it. Sen. Michael Enzi (R-Wyo.) is a co-sponsor of the > legislation. > > > > "Our proposal takes a fresh look at climate change," Barrasso said in a > statement. "We want to remove carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere." > > > > Scientists and engineers are currently scaling up methods to capture CO2 > from industrial sources, like coal-fired power plants. The bill would > promote development of additional technologies to scrub the gases from the > air or from sources, like oil refineries, that have lower concentrations of > the greenhouse gas than power plants and factories. > > > > "If we could capture carbon dioxide emitted by low-concentration sources, > or even the atmosphere, it would be a major step toward a cleaner energy > future," Bingaman said. "A federal prize to inspire inventive solutions to > this technical challenge could help us get there quicker." > > > > The bill would establish a federal commission within the Energy > Department to award prizes to scientists and researchers making headway in > the field. The nine commission members, who would be appointed by the > president, would be climate scientists, physicists, chemists, engineers, > business managers and economists. > > > > Prizes would be awarded to innovators who design technology to mop up CO2 > and permanently store it. The bill does not establish the amount of the > awards. > > > > The bill would allow the United States to share intellectual property > rights with the inventor after the technology is developed. > > > > "The bill taps into American ingenuity and innovation," Barrasso said. > "It recognizes the need to develop the technological solutions needed to > address climate change. With financial awards, we can encourage the > extraordinary breakthroughs needed to tackle this problem." > > > > Some researchers are already investigating the problem. Scientists and > engineers from organizations like chemicals giant BASF, glass and ceramics > maker Corning, Columbia University and the University of Calgary in Canada > are all investigating new technologies that would capture CO2 from the air. > > > > Their ideas are varied and at different stages of development. But most > involve using some sort of material to react with CO2 in the atmosphere and > form a stable solution or mineral. > > > > Other efforts to award monetary prizes for technology development have > also emerged. Airline entrepreneur Richard Branson and former U.S. Vice > President Al Gore launched the Virgin Earth Challenge in 2007 to offer $25 > million to the first demonstrated design to remove 1 billion metric tons of > greenhouse gases per year from the atmosphere (Greenwire, Feb. 9, 2007). No > one has yet claimed that prize. > > > > Barrasso introduced similar legislation last session. That bill, S. 2614, > stalled in the Environment and Public Works Committee. > > > > The new bill has been referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural > Resources, which Bingaman chairs, and an aide said it could move as part of > larger energy and climate legislation in the Senate. > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Josh Horton" < > [email protected]> > > To: "geoengineering" <[email protected]> > > Sent: Saturday, April 09, 2011 3:16 > > Subject: [geo] Re: calling all CDRers > > > > > > This report gives the impression that the bill is narrowly focused on > > conventional point-source post-combustion CCS, but note its title: "A > > bill to provide incentives to encourage the development and > > implementation of technology to capture carbon dioxide from dilute > > sources on a significant scale using direct air capture > > technologies." The bill appears to be directed at ambient-air CDR > > combined with CCS, which is more encouraging from the standpoint of > > climate engineering. Of course, there is tremendous distance from a > > bill to a law to implementation to success, so more than a fair amount > > of skepticism is in order. > > > > Josh Horton > > [email protected] > > http://geoengineeringpolitics.blogspot.com/ > > > > > > > > On Apr 8, 3:16 pm, "Rau, Greg" <[email protected]> wrote: > >> CLIMATE: Barrasso, Bingaman reintroduce CCS prize bill (04/08/2011) > >> Katie Howell, E&E reporter > >> Sens. John Barrasso and Jeff Bingaman yesterday reintroduced their > bipartisan measure that would award monetary prizes to researchers who > figure out a way to suck carbon dioxide directly from the air. > >> > >> Barrasso, a Republican from Wyoming, and Bingaman, the New Mexico > Democrat who chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, first > introduced the carbon capture and storage (CCS) legislation last Congress, > where it stalled in committee. > >> > >> But Bingaman in recent weeks has targeted CCS as an area with potential > for bipartisan cooperation on the committee. Several Republicans, including > Barrasso, are co-sponsors of CCS legislation he floated last week (E&ENews > PM, April 1). > >> > >> And yesterday, Bob Simon, the committee's Democratic chief of staff, > said, "the whole area of carbon capture and storage is one that is ripe for > bipartisan cooperation in the Senate." > >> > >> "Frankly, if we can make sure, if we can demonstrate that you can > economically capture and store carbon dioxide, you dramatically increase the > range of technologies you can call clean energy technologies," Simon said > yesterday at an event in Washington, D.C. > >> > >> Barrasso and Bingaman's latest bill (S. 757), which is also co-sponsored > by Wyoming Republican Sen. Mike Enzi, would encourage development of > technology to capture CO2 from the atmosphere and permanently sequester it > by establishing a federal commission within the Energy Department to award > prizes to scientists and researchers making headway in the field. The > commission members, who would be appointed by the president, would be > climate scientists, physicists, chemists, engineers, business managers and > economists. > >> > >> Prizes would be awarded to innovators who design technology to mop up > CO2 and permanently store it. > >> > >> "This bill taps into American ingenuity and innovation," Barrasso said > in a statement. "This will increase America's energy security by ensuring > the long-term viability of coal and other sources of traditional energy. Our > bill provides the technology to eliminate excess carbon in the atmosphere > without eliminating jobs in our communities." > >> > >> But despite Bingaman's optimism about moving CCS legislation this > Congress, he said earlier this week that no decisions had been made about > when the committee would take up the CCS measures. > > > > -- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "geoengineering" group. > > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering?hl=en. > > > > -- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "geoengineering" group. > > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering?hl=en. > > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "geoengineering" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering?hl=en. > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "geoengineering" group. 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