Green Tech

Report: Bill Gates funds climate, energy research

Bill Gates has been providing millions of dollars to fund academic research in energy and climate, some of which touches on geoengineering, or manipulating Earth's natural systems to counteract global warming.

Citing atmospheric scientist Ken Caldeira, Science Magazine's online blog on Tuesday reported that Gates has put at least $4.5 million of his own money over the last three years into university research.

Caldeira, who is an advocate for research in geoengineering, serves as an adviser in how the money should be dispensed. Caldeira also works for Intellectual Ventures, an investment and intellectual property licensing company founded … Read more

Researchers ask how best to engineer the planet

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--A group of academics on Friday considered the ultimate engineering challenge: building machines to stabilize the earth's climate.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology convened a symposium here to discuss the potential benefits and pitfalls of geoengineering, also called climate engineering. Everything from shooting light-blocking particles into the atmosphere to "artificial trees" is being seriously studied, despite trepidation among researchers and opposition from others.

During talks Friday morning, academics said climate engineering techniques are not well understood and, because of the complexity of the global climate system, individual approaches are pockmarked with uncertainties.

Still, speakers at … Read more

Report: Geoengineering an option to limit climate change

Geoengineering is not a last resort, but the next necessary step to recalibrate the Earth's climate unless carbon emissions are significantly reduced in the near future, the Royal Society, the U.K.'s national academy of sciences, announced Tuesday.

"It is an unpalatable truth that unless we can succeed in greatly reducing CO2 emissions we are headed for a very uncomfortable and challenging climate future, and geoengineering will be the only option left to limit further temperature increases," John Shepherd, chair of the Royal Society's geoengineering study and a professor of Earth system science at the … Read more

Algae-coated buildings touted as climate fix

The future of green technology is algae-cultivating buildings, artificial trees, and lots of white roofs, according to the U.K.'s Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

The group on Thursday released a report that recommends governments fund research on geoengineering, or large-scale fixes for climate change. The report, a year in the making, is targeted at policymakers and is meant to inspire engineers to develop ways to cut greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere.

As concern grows over climate change, a number of geoengineering ideas have been proposed, including placing mirrors in space to reflect sunlight or shooting sulfur particles into … Read more

Mobile 'biochar' machine to work the fields

An ancient technique to fertilize soil by creating charcoal from plant waste is being revived to tackle some of today's environmental problems.

The latest company to pursue manmade charcoal, called biochar, is Biochar Systems, which has developed a biochar-making machine that can be pulled by a pickup truck. Two customers--a North Carolina farm and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management--will be begin testing the units this fall.

The unit, called the Biochar 1000, is designed to convert woody biomass, such as agricultural or forestry waste, into biochar, a black, porous, and fine-grained charcoal that can be used as … Read more

Biochar for carbon storage comes under fire

A new idea for storing carbon dioxide underground using charcoal, or biochar, is being panned by organizations that oppose large-scale geoengineering projects.

The ETC Group on Monday published opposition to biochar from 147 small environmental and human rights organizations, calling the growing support for biochar a "dangerous new false solution to climate change."

Making charcoal--also called agrichar and terra preta--from organic matter like trees through low-oxygen burning, or pyrolysis, can improve soil while keeping carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere for thousands of years, say backers.

A number of companies are developing methods for making biochar as a … Read more

Geoengineered cooling of planet would have 'perilous effects'

Proposals to cool Earth by injecting the atmosphere with sulfate particles would deplete the ozone layer and have "perilous effects" on the planet, according to a paper to be published Friday.

As concerns grow over climate change and global warming, large-scale efforts to alter the planet's climate through geoengineering are being taken seriously by academics.

But a study performed by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) cautioned that more research is needed before so-called geoengineering efforts are pursued.

It specifically raised the alarm over the idea of regularly sending sulfate particles into the stratosphere to reduce … Read more

Ocean fertilization firm Climos gains financial backing

Climos, a start-up that plans to mitigate climate change by stimulating plankton growth, said on Wednesday that it has raised a series A venture capital round of $3.5 million.

Braemar Energy Ventures led the round, which also included participation from investor Elon Musk, now chairman of Tesla Motors.

As previously reported, the funding will be used to develop and test Climos' ocean iron fertilization technique, in which an iron compound is put into the sea to stimulate the growth of plankton.

As the plankton grow, they take the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. Over time, some … Read more

Plankton grower Climos gathers funds for climate mitigation

Only a few weeks after ocean iron fertilization venture Planktos folded, rival Climos is set to announce a first round of venture funding totaling $4 million.

Climos CEO and founder Dan Whaley said Thursday that the company will announce funding early next week.

The idea behind Climos is to grow large amounts of plankton by pouring iron into the ocean.

Iron stimulates the growth of plankton, which consumes the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. Once the plankton sinks several hundred meters, it is considered sequestered from the atmosphere.

The practice of ocean iron fertilization, which has been experimented with since the … Read more