5 Reasons
Carbon Capture Is Bogus
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Carbon Transport and Storage are Unsafe Carbon pipeline ruptures can expel lethal levels of carbon dioxide, an invisible asphyxiant, for miles. What’s more, CO 2 displaces oxygen, stalling combustion engines and impairing emergency response. CO 2 can also leak from storage wells and contaminate groundwater and soil. Carbon Capture is an Expensive Failure After billions of dollars in public and private invest- ments over decades, there are no carbon capture success stories — only colossal failures. One of the largest was the Petra Nova coal plant in Texas. Once the poster child for CO 2 removal, it closed last year after persistent technological problems such as leaks led to frequent shut-offs — 294 days over a three-year period. Carbon Capture is Energy Intensive Our country emits roughly five billion tons of carbon into the atmosphere every year. Capturing just a quarter of that would require nearly the entire electricity output of the United States. Carbon Capture Has Increased Emissions Due to the large amount of energy required to power carbon capture and the life cycle of fossil fuels, carbon capture projects in this country have emitted more CO 2 than it has removed. Moreover, 95% of the captured carbon is currently being used to extract more oil in a practice known as ‘enhanced oil recovery.’ Carbon Capture Diverts Investments Away From Renewable Energy We need a rapid transition to 100% renewable energy to stop the worst of climate change, the greatest threat to our food, water, and a livable future. This transition will be slowed as long as the fossil fuel industry can fool government officials and the public into investing in carbon capture instead of focusing on safe and proven clean energy solutions.
Landowners and impacted Iowans showed up en masse at the Iowa State Capitol to voice their opposition to the proposed carbon pipelines.
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technology. Unless we want a lot more sacrifices, we better stop because we don’t know what we’re doing. What are your thoughts on the pipelines proposed for Iowa? These companies jumped in because the federal government is offering a tremendous amount of money for carbon capture proj- ects. But the amount of carbon they can actually sequester is tiny compared to what we emit. In the meantime, we’re going to forgo opportunities to produce less carbon as we move through the century. Why, after knowing the safety concerns and how this technology doesn’t work, are we still trying to make carbon capture happen? Oil companies have realized that carbon capture allows them
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What's Carbon Capture?
Watch Dr. Sandra Steingraber's excellent explanation of carbon capture's flaws, in the film Dear President Biden .
fwwat.ch/carboncapture
3 | SPRING 2023
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