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Global warming fight going underground?
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- Researchers at a government-funded science organization are investigating the possibility of burying up to 1 million metric tons (1.1 million tons) of carbon dioxide to help solve the problem of greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon dioxide is among the gasses emitted by burning fossil fuels that are blamed for global warming. The Australian government -- which pumped nearly 22 million Australian dollars (US$13 million) into the research -- has drawn heavy criticism for refusing to sign the Kyoto Protocol which aims to slash the greenhouse gas emissions of industrialized nations. Echoing Washington's stance, Canberra has said the pact would be bad for the economy. As part of a national experiment to show how emissions can be eliminated, scientists from the Cooperative Research Center for Greenhouse Gas Technologies are investigating whether it is feasible to lock up carbon dioxide in vast underground reservoirs left behind by mining operations. Scientists hope to stage a demonstration in three to five years, said the center's executive director, Peter Cook. "Australia has sufficient underground capacity to potentially store our total emissions for the next 2,000 years," Cook said in a statement Tuesday. "We want to be sure it is safe, secure, practical and economic to do so." The project will involve work with partners in the United States, Europe and Japan, to study technologies and power systems to allow carbon dioxide to be extracted from power plants and factory flues so it can be stored geologically. The carbon dioxide would be separated from other gases and injected 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) into the earth's subsurface, said Andy Rigg, the program manager for GEODISC, which stands for the geological disposal of carbon dioxide. It could be stored in saline reservoir rocks, coal seams and depleted oil and gas fields. Theoretically the gas would survive underground and not cause any harm in the same way that naturally occurring oil and gas have existed beneath the earth's surface for thousands of years, Rigg told The Associated Press. Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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