Start a service for purchasing CO2 from home brewers. Simply provide empty tanks to beer brewing stores, and pay them for full tanks. Home brewers hook these up to a small compressor and their brewing kit, and change them out for new tanks when full.

Of course, making money at this will require a heavy duty cap-and-trade policy. And to really capture a lot of CO2, we'll all have to do our part in increasing beer consumption.
-- Worldgineer, Oct 11 2007

Inspired by [rcarty], Al Gore self-sequesters carbon http://www.extremem...Post%20and%20AP.jpg
[ldischler, Oct 12 2007]

See CO2 go in. Where does it go? http://en.wikipedia...e:Calvin-cycle3.png
It is sequestered in the light independent Calvin Cycle and converted to cellular machinery that produces O2 in the oxygen evolving complex during photophosphorylation. [daseva, Oct 17 2007]

Shameless self-advertisement Liquid_20insurance
Yet another of life's problems solved by beer. [ye_river_xiv, Oct 17 2007]

Don't the big brewers capture their CO2, scrub it, and use it to speed-carbonate their products?

Whereas you and I let it develop it's own.
-- normzone, Oct 11 2007


I'm willing to stand up and be counted. Not sure exactly what for, but hey... I love you...You're the feckin besht, man...I mean that...No, really.
-- jtp, Oct 11 2007


[norm] Yes, this is where much of the CO2 supply currently comes from - industrial beer brewing. Along with buying CO2 from home brewers one could just buy CO2 from the industrial market (but with good incentives for sequestration, people will already be doing this).

[carty] Liposuction to save the earth?

[jtp] Good to see you're helping out.
-- Worldgineer, Oct 12 2007


Beer promotes the growth of barley and hops, both of which absorb carbon dioxide as they grow, meaning that when carbon dioxide is collected during brewing beer truly does become one of the most environcologically friendly consumer level products.

So yes, great idea! [+]
-- vincevincevince, Oct 12 2007


ah, [Worldgineer], still trying to save the world, one keg at a time! +
-- k_sra, Oct 12 2007


Why not? Seeing as beer has already solved all of my other problems.
-- wagster, Oct 12 2007


there's a tagline there somewhere, k_sra.
-- po, Oct 12 2007


Interesting... Beer is a renewable resource.
-- ed, Oct 12 2007


+ (...I have my own little CO2 thingy for making fizzy water.)
-- xandram, Oct 12 2007


[po], i recently assisted some friends with moving. when told by his wife that he should pack the bar, he responded, "One drink at a time, dear, one drink at a time." and proceeded to make us all cocktails. = )
-- k_sra, Oct 12 2007


Are you sure your not Canadian? (+)
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Oct 13 2007


I saved the world last night. Possibly two worlds.

My head *really* hurts this morning.
-- Jinbish, Oct 14 2007


//Interesting... Beer is a renewable resource//
Reminds me of a graffito in a pub toilet -"You don't buy beer here, you only rent it"
-- AbsintheWithoutLeave, Oct 14 2007


How much is breathed out? How much is burped out? I'm concerned that your environmental efforts may only lead to drunkness. Which could then make the idea very compatible for the society:manipulation:awesome category. [+]
-- daseva, Oct 14 2007


dizzily wonders about effect of CO2 on alkaline soils
-- beanangel, Oct 15 2007


Gorey Octoberfest, now brewing...ugh. +
-- blissmiss, Oct 15 2007


[deseva] "I'm concerned that your environmental efforts may only lead to drunkness" the solution to global worming, in itself.
-- 4whom, Oct 15 2007


You sell the CO2 to folks who use it to decaffeinate coffee. When all coffee is decaf, the industrial world grinds to a halt, further reducing global warming.
-- baconbrain, Oct 16 2007


//When all coffee is decaf//

If this had been your idea, baconbrain, I would have revoked your bun for that comment!
-- vincevincevince, Oct 16 2007


//Perhaps I'm missing something//

Clearly someone needs to drink a few beers and read this post again. Saving the world will require a 3 part solution. This idea is part 3.

1. Implement cap & trade system that works well enough for carbon credits to have real value. (this isn't so hard - just limit the amount of CO2 industry is allowed to produce)
2. Find a place to put CO2. (ok, this one's tough. the only real ideas out there are to pump it deep into mines or under water. I think we can top that. anyone?)
3. GWSbB
-- Worldgineer, Oct 17 2007


//Find a place to put CO2// Space. Or, The Moon.
-- vincevincevince, Oct 17 2007


A giant balloon (think: grand canyon sized), filled with other balloons, filled with CO2. Sure, over the years CO2 will leak out of the smaller balloons as they degrade. But as CO2 is sensed in the larger balloon, pump it into new small balloons. Now if we only had a carbon-free way of making balloons.
-- Worldgineer, Oct 17 2007


I just spent the last seven hours online, surfing for ways to break CO2 back into carbon and oxygen. My head hurts.
-- baconbrain, Oct 17 2007


Two words: Calvin cycle. (linky)
-- daseva, Oct 17 2007


Plants are VERY good for reducing global warming. We should be planting everywhere. (And then make beer from the plants.)

Thanks for the Calvin cycle link. I'm looking to make a mechanical system. (I'll post the idea sometime.)
-- baconbrain, Oct 17 2007


Drunkenness won't be an issue. We'll just distill out the alcohol and end up with non-alcoholic beer, and ethanol-fueld vehicles. No, on second thought it's better to keep the ethanol in the beer.

Well, we could use the sabatier reaction to convert the CO2 into methane. Depending on how it's run we could even separate the Carbon right out, and sequester it by itself. I tend to favor that sort of policy, since graphite, coal, and diamond can be stored as stable solids at room temperature, or used for certain industrial processes.
-- ye_river_xiv, Oct 17 2007


I agree. Sequestering CO2 is a waste of good elements, and a lot of work to store safely.
-- baconbrain, Oct 17 2007


Bun for anything that increses beer consumption. +
-- nomocrow, Oct 18 2007


But... but... if we've got the power to separate the CO2 into C and O2, why do we need to burn fossil fuels in the first place?
-- david_scothern, Oct 18 2007


It depends on where the power comes from. Plants use sunlight to break down CO2--if we somehow duplicated that process, and only that, we'd still need fossil fuels.
-- baconbrain, Oct 18 2007



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