Oak Ridge Today

If successful, ORNL process could play role in fighting climate change

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ORNL’s Yang Song (seated), Dale Hensley (standing left), and Adam Rondinone examine a carbon nanospike sample with a scanning electron microscope. (Photo by Oak Ridge National Laboratory)

 

In October, Oak Ridge National Laboratory announced that scientists had developed an electrochemical process that uses tiny spikes of carbon and copper to turn carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, into ethanol.

This month, Oak Ridge Today asked if the process using the very small catalysts could be used on a large scale to convert carbon dioxide in the atmosphere into ethanol, and if that might be used to combat climate change.

Here is the response from researcher Adam Rondinone, lead author of a team’s study published in ChemistrySelect:

“If we are successful, then yes, this process will take us a little bit closer to the goal of mitigating climate change.  But many other technologies and changes will also be needed, because of the scale of the problem. Also, this technology is more focused on what to do with CO2 (carbon dioxide) once it has been captured. While it could feasibly be coupled to a capture mechanism for extracting CO2 from the air, it will more likely be used to intercept and recycle emissions from point sources like power plants. Ultimately, it will just be one solution out of many that we will need to implement in order to prevent serious climate changes.” [Read more…]

Headrick to discuss individual, collective climate solutions at ORUUC

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Climate activist Mary Headrick, a doctor, will discuss the importance of both collective actions and “next steps” attendees can take can take to effectively reduce the carbon footprint on Thursday, October 6 at 7:30 p.m. at Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church. The program is free and open to the public. The church is located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike in Oak Ridge.

“Our nation has heard reports of quadrupled extreme weather disasters, rising sea levels, rising global temperatures, and disruption of water, food, and animal cycles due to a man-made climate crisis,” Headrick said in a press release. She will show attendees how to calculate their own carbon dioxide, or CO2, tonnage with and without both big “bang for the buck” changes and small changes, too. She suggests things as knowing your utility bill’s kilowatt-hours (kWh) and your gallons of gas per tankful (each gallon becomes 20 pounds of CO2). [Read more…]

Environmentalists, others to challenge Fleischmann, Duncan on global warming

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Volunteers have organized two press conferences today (Thursday) to challenge Tennessee congressmen John Duncan and Chuck Fleischmann to accept and then work to stop human-caused climate change, a press release said.

The first press conference is at 11 a.m. Thursday at Duncan’s Knoxville office at the Howard H. Baker Jr. U.S. Courthouse. The second is at 2 p.m. in front of the Bull Run Fossil Plant in Claxton.

The press release said the press conferences will include prominent business people, clergy, a fossil fuel technologist, a child advocate, environmentalists, educators, and students. [Read more…]