In reply to Jed Rothwell's message of Wed, 03 Jun 2009 09:12:45 -0400: Hi, [snip] >We can burn it. It is possible to burn it and capture the CO2. But it >will probably not be cost-effective. Also, this reduces atmospheric >oxygen which is a growing problem. > [snip] Reduction of atmospheric oxygen on a World wide basis is not a problem, as I have repeatedly pointed out on this list. However it can be a local problem in big cities, but this is just a matter of poor city planning combined with certain weather conditions.
If we continued to use fossil fuels as our energy source, at the current rate of energy consumption, until all the oxygen in the atmosphere had been used up (assuming none of it were recycled by nature), then it would take 40000 years to use it up. Humans can live with Oxygen levels at least 10% lower than current levels and I think at least 20% lower. 10% implies 4000 years, and 20% - 8000 years, so Oxygen consumption per se is not really an issue. (Especially when you take into consideration that science and engineering are not likely to stand still during that time anyway.) Regards, Robin van Spaandonk http://rvanspaa.freehostia.com/Project.html
