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US is expanding CO2 pipelines. One poisoned town wants you to know its story

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Re: US is expanding CO2 pipelines. One poisoned town wants you to know its story

#51

Post by diebeforei485 »

detaro wrote: post #6
jefftk wrote: post #3

I wonder how practical it would be to add something smelly and distinctive to CO2 the way we do with natural gas? Otherwise a CO2 leak is really mysterious. It could be in quite low concentrations, to the point where you would only smell it if the air was getting to dangerous levels. This wouldn't help with a release from a natural source, but if we are ramping up carbon capture efforts maybe we'll see more industria…

could be harder to find something that sticks with the CO2 given the molecule sizes? CO2 is also relatively easy to monitor, so sensors + awareness of people living/working nearby should also cover a lot. But both of course only would give better warning, not solve the challenge of dealing with the situation when it has happened.

CO2 monitors are quite expensive for normal people. Good ones like the Aranet4 are in the $200 range.

Re: US is expanding CO2 pipelines. One poisoned town wants you to know its story

#52

Post by dghlsakjg »

dabluecaboose wrote: post #26
asah wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If we're gonna compare... CO2 dissipates but nuclear accidents cost $100B+ to cleanup and decades - to Sally Average voters, Fukushima was the third strike (after 3 mile island and fukushima): if the Japanese can't safely operate nuclear, then no way is Sally gonna trust Homer Simpson. And even if she can believe, good luck explaining to her friends and family, let alone potential renters and buyers of her largest fi…

> no way is Sally gonna trust Homer Simpson. The Simpsons and its consequences have been a disaster for nuclear power, and the human race.

The Simpsons is a reflection of sentiment, not a driver of opinion.

The show aired years after the anti-nuclear movement started having real effects on the industry.

Re: US is expanding CO2 pipelines. One poisoned town wants you to know its story

#54

Post by mistrial9 »

George83728 wrote: post #18
dilippkumar wrote: post #12

Ummm. Dumb question here. Why do we have CO2 pipelines? Wouldn’t it be cheaper to capture CO2 from the atmosphere at the location where the CO2 was needed?

There's nothing remotely economical about capturing CO2 in the first place. But if you're dead set on doing it, it costs the least to do it where the CO2 concentration is the highest (where it's produced.)

fortunately we are realizing that this is not an economic problem, it is a "poison survival" problem

Re: US is expanding CO2 pipelines. One poisoned town wants you to know its story

#55

Post by mistrial9 »

sschueller wrote: post #46

Wouldn't just planting trees be way more economical and effective? Why isn't the government subsidizing planting trees as they are these pipelines? How many trees do they have to cut down to run these pipelines is probably a question someone should also be asking...

unfortunately, in many places in the world, what kinds of trees and how they thrive is changing very quickly.. rain, heat and fire patterns are all changing now.. I personally support planting trees in most cases, but don't be surprised when the skeptics have some detailed rebuttals..

Re: US is expanding CO2 pipelines. One poisoned town wants you to know its story

#56

Post by detaro »

diebeforei485 wrote: post #51
detaro wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

could be harder to find something that sticks with the CO2 given the molecule sizes? CO2 is also relatively easy to monitor, so sensors + awareness of people living/working nearby should also cover a lot. But both of course only would give better warning, not solve the challenge of dealing with the situation when it has happened.

CO2 monitors are quite expensive for normal people. Good ones like the Aranet4 are in the $200 range.

Having an effective warning system is not reliant on "every person buys their own sensors". And compared to many other threats, effective CO2 sensors are very cheap, so a community that knows it needs them can do things.

Re: US is expanding CO2 pipelines. One poisoned town wants you to know its story

#57

Post by snake_plissken »

exabrial wrote: post #4

Can we please avoid mass hysteria about pipelines? As you've seen, bulk shipping by rail is incredible stupid.

How does this qualify as hysteria? Who even knows CO2 is being transported via underground pipelines and that during a leak you have to worry about the gas settling and suffocating you, and that any cars/trucks will be un-able to operate in that environment?

Re: US is expanding CO2 pipelines. One poisoned town wants you to know its story

#59

Post by lazide »

sschueller wrote: post #46

Wouldn't just planting trees be way more economical and effective? Why isn't the government subsidizing planting trees as they are these pipelines? How many trees do they have to cut down to run these pipelines is probably a question someone should also be asking...

Trees release their carbon when they die, and they all die relatively quickly on the scales we’re talking about. If harvested and used in long lived construction, it can be longer term, but inevitably it still gets released.

Think carbon capacitor, not carbon sink.

Re: US is expanding CO2 pipelines. One poisoned town wants you to know its story

#60

Post by gus_massa »

quaintdev wrote: post #39
Pigalowda wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Worth the click! I had no idea there were such things as limnic eruptions.

Who would have thought lakes could choke surrounding area. TIL

I think it's a very special case of a deep lake in volcanic caldera in a tropical zone with a lot of vegetation and heat to make it decompose. Usual lakes don't do that (IIUC).
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