Background: What to do about CO₂
By Sheri Gagnon

Carbon is one of the basic building blocks of life. It cycles through land, air and water in everything from the food we eat to the fossil fuels we burn. The natural cycle is in equilibrium, but humans are now producing unprecedented amounts of its gaseous form, carbon dioxide (CO₂), which is throwing the carbon cycle out of balance and contributing to climate change. The push is on to decrease our CO₂ emissions and find other technological solutions to the problem.

Of all the proposed solutions, carbon capture and storage (CCS) is quickly becoming one of the most promising. By capturing CO₂ at its source, such as coal-fired power plants, and injecting it deep in the Earth, it will remain stored in perpetuity under stable bedrock. Because CO₂ can be lethal at high concentrations, some are concerned with the safety of storing it underground and the potential for leaks, but experiments that show its stability are making CCS a viable solution for saving the environment and the economy.

Power generation from the combustion of fossil fuels spews out nearly a third of all global CO₂ emissions. Retrofitting power plants to capture CO₂ is a costly proposition, but political will could help transform our current fossil fuel usage into a future of zero-emission industries. Most importantly, CCS offers an opportunity for the Earth to regain its natural carbon balance.

One of the biggest CCS projects in the world his happening right here in Canada. In this edition, and in the January/February issue of Canadian Geographic, we delve further into the Weyburn-Midale CCS project in Weyburn, Sask., and see what it could mean for mitigating climate change.