Pitch
Algae oxygenated our atmosphere, algae can prevent Clathrate Gun extinction while mining bio-fuel stocks for storage in salt domes.
Description
There is existing research to bring algae biofuels to market as carbon neutral alternatives to diesel. The technology is there, but market forces (cheap gas) and lacking infrastructure pose massive hurdles for a market-based solution. With record heat comes urgency because of Clathrate Gun extinction event which lies just beyond the tipping point. Because Clathrate Gun is such a universal human threat, many times greater than the axis powers that rallied our national will empty our treasury (literally) to build the bomb. Clathrate Gun justifies a national DOD/DOE effort to remove carbon from the sky and store it underground in the form of strategic biofuel stocks for future use. This carbon sink would allow us to regulate carbon levels in real-time while nations around the world continue burning fossil fuels which is innevitable for the next several decades while new technologies and markets emerge. This mechanism also provides a green light to (safely) convert to domestic shale gas without adding net carbon. Algae created our oxygenated atmosphere once and with some human assistance, algae can save our planet from becoming a lifeless rock like Venus. This is a simple, obvious, and emminently actionable solution that requires only the collective will of man and goverment to implement. In other words we're probably screwed, but at least I went down fighting for a solution.
Summary
Category of the action
Reducing emissions from electric power sector.
What actions do you propose?
There is existing research to bring algae biofuels to market as carbon neutral alternatives to diesel. The technology is there, but market forces (cheap gas) and lacking infrastructure pose massive hurdles for a market-based solution. With record heat comes urgency because of Clathrate Gun extinction event which lies just beyond the tipping point. Because Clathrate Gun is such a universal human threat, many times greater than the axis powers that rallied our national will empty our treasury (literally) to build the bomb. Clathrate Gun justifies a national DOD/DOE effort to remove carbon from the sky and store it underground in the form of strategic biofuel stocks for future use. This carbon sink would allow us to regulate carbon levels in real-time while nations around the world continue burning fossil fuels which is innevitable for the next several decades while new technologies and markets emerge. This mechanism also provides a green light to (safely) convert to domestic shale gas without adding net carbon. Algae created our oxygenated atmosphere once and with some human assistance, algae can save our planet from becoming a lifeless rock like Venus. This is a simple, obvious, and emminently actionable solution that requires only the collective will of man and goverment to implement. In other words we're probably screwed, but at least I went down fighting for a solution.