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Project Vesta – Mitigating climate change with green sand beaches

projectvesta.org

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Re: Project Vesta – Mitigating climate change with green sand beaches

#121

Post by kragen »

nostromo wrote: post #109

I have this invention that runs on solar power and water, removes carbon from the atmosphere day and night, lowers the nearby temperature of the Earth dramatically, is bio-degradable, and best of all, it self replicates. I'm calling it Tree and I'll sell you it for $0.

Because it's biodegradable, the carbon it removes is only temporary. Also you are lying when you say it removes carbon from the atmosphere day and night; some Trees remove it during the day, while others remove it at night, but none do both.

Re: Project Vesta – Mitigating climate change with green sand beaches

#122

Post by kragen »

JshWright wrote: post #65
jedberg wrote: post #61

What happens if we do this but we also reduce planetary carbon emissions in other ways? Will we cause another ice age?

We are so massively far away from being able to do that, it's not worth worrying about. Especially since active carbon capture methods can easily be switched off long before we approached any "dangerous" level.

Olivine beaches cannot be switched off, but you're probably right that the risks are manageable.

Re: Project Vesta – Mitigating climate change with green sand beaches

#123

Post by fc_barnes »

Well jeez. I know it's not a popular thought on HN, but climate change is a problem of such scale that it's going to need government-level funding and oversight to find and validate geoengineering solutions, and global-level funding and coordination to implement them. This third-way aspiration to a non-government solution just seems like a pipe dream.

Re: Project Vesta – Mitigating climate change with green sand beaches

#124

Post by philipkglass »

6d6b73 wrote: post #19

"The Last 3 Ice Ages Were Caused By Volcanic Rock Weathering Near the Equator [...] Project Vesta seeks to mimic this natural process but to greatly accelerate it because we do not have millions of years to wait." I'm afraid that too many these proposed geoengineering projects will actually take place, and nobody will really know how much of the CO2 is removed from the atmosphere. If that happens we will end up with…

Life on this planet is not possible without nitrogen compounds either. They are also pollutants that can harm people and other living creatures when too much of them enter the atmosphere and water. They were among the first pollutants to be recognized and controlled under the original Clean Air and Clean Water acts. "It's just plant food" is a bad reason to leave emissions of NOx, nitrates, and ammonia unregulated. "It's just plant food" is also a bad reason to leave CO2 emissions unregulated.

Re: Project Vesta – Mitigating climate change with green sand beaches

#125

Post by kragen »

yellowapple wrote: post #68

Now I'm curious where I can buy a ton of olivine. I've got $30 in my pocket and would love to build me a giant carbon-scrubbing sandbox.

Maybe consider places that sell supplies to metal foundries; olivine sand is used as a refractory in some ferrous casting processes. Or maybe check eBay or Mercadolibre or whatever your local equivalent is. I don't think there's a construction or pottery use for olivine sand, so the usual sand suppliers may not have it.

Re: Project Vesta – Mitigating climate change with green sand beaches

#126

Post by 24gttghh »

debt wrote: post #92
erikpukinskis wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not logical. Just because a disaster was made by machines doesn't mean machines are the solution.

No, I'm saying the scale of the cause of problem vs this guy's tiny sand solution seems out of whack. Sand won't stop millions of carbon emitting cars on the road. We need bigger solutions.

I have to ask: do you think 30 billion tons of olivine annually is a "tiny sand solution"?

Re: Project Vesta – Mitigating climate change with green sand beaches

#127

Post by lallysingh »

We'll ultimately need a bunch of techniques working together. I suspect this would even be effective with less than 1.

But really, what's the cost? That's the main factor. It may be a reasonable way to shove money at poorer countries to do manual work to solve the rich countries' problems.

Re: Project Vesta – Mitigating climate change with green sand beaches

#128

Post by crimsonalucard »

crimsonalucard wrote: post #59

What if we accidentally trigger an ice age.

This is a legit worry. The same material we use to stabilize the climate could be the same material that throws it into a negative feedback loop. This happened during the ice age, which is exactly stated in the article.

Re: Project Vesta – Mitigating climate change with green sand beaches

#129

Post by TimJRobinson »

With the ability to reduce pH levels in the surrounding water this seems like something the Australian Government would be very interested in investing in to save the Great Barrier Reef.

That could be a good pilot site as the government has said they're going to spend $500MM on saving the reef so money is already available if the technology works.

Re: Project Vesta – Mitigating climate change with green sand beaches

#130

Post by kragen »

6d6b73 wrote: post #48
graeme wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can monitor CO2 real time. And if we ever took too much out, which is vanishingly unlikely: just burn more oil! You can buy a co2 sensor for $150 or so.

Lol. Im sure $150 co2 sensor will be able to detect co2 concentration in the atmosphere of our planet. Climat is a very delicate system. Once we remove too much there might not be enough time to reverse this.

Yes, “lol”, it will. In fact you don't even need to spend US$150. Your ignorance is not a good reason to sneer at people who are doing you the favor of sharing their knowledge with you.
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