Clearing the air: How we can fix the CO2 problem and make our lives better

ASU’s Approach to Tackling the Carbon Problem

Editor’s note: This story is part of a series on how ASU tackles complex problems to help transform entire systems for the better. Read more about the role of the university in changing the world.

Introduction

Carbon is a planetary paradox.

As the foundation for DNA, carbon is essential for all life on Earth. Yet, as part of the compound carbon dioxide, too much of it has built up in our air, threatening life on Earth as well.

Today, carbon-based fuels power our very way of life. They support the global economy, transport networks and energy infrastructures. Addressing our carbon problem is, in a word, complex.

Fortunately, it’s also a problem we can solve together.

At Arizona State University, researchers explore many ways to reduce atmospheric carbon. And by working alongside industry, government, nonprofits and communities, they’re seeking solutions that are good not just for the planet but also human well-being.

Experts from fields across ASU share how we can start to bring these systems into harmony and build a healthier world for ourselves and our children.

Why is carbon dioxide a problem?

Our planet has an elegant system to recycle carbon. After making its way through plants, animals, soil, rock and ocean, it goes into the atmosphere — mainly as carbon dioxide — where it begins its journey again.

But if Earth is so great at recycling carbon, how did we end up with too much in the atmosphere?

Around 200 years ago, a key disturbance unbalanced this cycle. People found they could extract oil and coal — two forms of carbon called fossil fuels — and burn them for energy.

In short time, our way of life came to depend on carbon-based fuel. Many of today’s amenities, like long-distance travel, buying food grown far away and lighting our homes, rely on this fuel.

But these innovations have a hidden cost. As we burn fossil fuels, we release carbon back into the air, bypassing a natural process that would have taken thousands of years.

From pre-industrial times to 2021, humans have added an extra 1.69 trillion metric tons to the atmosphere, and scientists estimate we added around 37 billion metric tons in 2022 alone.

CO2 naturally traps heat, so all that extra CO2 increases Earth’s average temperature. This has noticeably affected our climate and weather patterns. These changes increase flood and fire risk, threaten crops and food security, endanger vulnerable species, expose us to new diseases, and force people to leave their homelands.

Whether your top concern is making dinner for your family, protecting your health or paying your electric bill, that extra carbon dioxide affects you.

Efforts to decrease carbon dioxide in the air, called decarbonization, currently focus on two main areas: emitting less carbon dioxide, and removing it from the air. But these tasks aren’t simple — they involve many tightly connected systems, and success in one area depends on success in others.

How can we reduce carbon emissions?

One way to address the carbon dioxide problem is to just stop emitting carbon dioxide.

But even in a future without carbon pollution, we will still need fuel and electricity. This leaves us needing to replace many carbon-powered systems with sustainable alternatives. That’s where new energy technology comes in.

“There are solutions for every industry, but they’re going to be different,” says Nicholas Rolston, an assistant professor in the School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering.

Electricity generation is one area with great potential for transformation. From 2005–2020, the move away from coal power and toward renewables reduced the U.S. electricity sector’s greenhouse gas emissions by 40%, according to Environmental Protection Agency inventory.

Solar energy technology has been a major contributor to these efforts. ASU has been a hub for solar research, testing and wide-scale use for the past seven decades.

“In principle, we could generate enough electricity for the whole country if we just put solar panels in a 100-by-100 kilometer area in the middle of the desert. But then the challenge is how to distribute that. And if it’s a cloudy day, then there’s no energy for the whole country. So it becomes beneficial to have distributed solar energy,” Rolston says.

His lab is working on making household solar energy panels more affordable, easier to install and simpler to build.

“We’re trying to develop the processes that allow us to print solar panels like newspaper on this roll of plastic sheets,” he says. “Imagine having a solar panel that’s like carpet where you can just unroll it on a rooftop. It would change the economics of how we manufacture and install solar technology.”

Another area where green energy technology can make a big difference is in transportation. Electric cars have little emissions, though the electric grids that charge them might. This makes sustainable electricity even more important.

Alternative fuel can also reduce emissions from planes, cargo ships and other parts of the heavy transportation industry. Hydrogen fuel, which produces only water when consumed in a fuel cell, and biofuel, which uses renewable biomass like algae to create low-carbon fuel, are two promising options.

Read more: news.asu.edu

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