From the UK: Rock 'n' Reduce Carbon

In another example of how great Mother Earth really is, a recent report concludes that a rock exists that can soak up carbon dioxide at a rate that could help slow global warming. The rock, peridotite, converts carbon gas into solid minerals such as calcite. These minerals use and remove the carbon dioxide, thus removing it altogether from the atmosphere.

The claim, supported by scientists and geologists, says the naturally occurring process can be supercharged to grow underground minerals that  permanently store 2 billion (or more) of the 30 billion tons of carbon dioxide emitted by human activity every year.

Peridotite is the most common rock found in  Earth's mantle — directly below the crust — and could be used by scientists to dispose of some of our carbon dioxide emissions. We could dispose of the carbon by kick-starting peridotite's carbon storage process by boring down and injecting it with heated water containing pressurized carbon dioxide. Currently, scientists at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in New York have a preliminary patent filing for the technique.

The report also points out that while we have other ways to reduce carbon emissions through storage and the removal of carbon from fossil fuel power production, this newly discovered process is not 100 percent guaranteed, as leaks and problems may occur. However, by using peridotite, the gas is removed forever from the atmosphere.

Not yet available as a commercial solution, the key to its success is the availability of peridotite. Oil-producing countries like Oman might apply this breakthrough easily as there are large amounts of peridotite there. Peridotite also occurs in large abundance in the Pacific islands of Papua New Guinea and Caledonia, along the coast of the Adriatic Sea and in smaller amounts in California.

During my writing tenure on Tonic News, I have come across multiple natural ways that can benefit our environment: from algae helping to produce alternative fuels to hurricanes contributing to carbon emissions to producing bio-diesel fuel from plants. All these solutions make me wonder how many other natural means remain undiscovered. I believe that having both natural and man-made solutions available over the coming years can help us build redundant ways to save this planet.