Interesting new research by MIT takes a look at the viability of capturing carbon from the air.  The study suggests that, at least in the near future, this would not be a cost effective measure.

Since most of the world’s governments have not yet enacted regulations to curb emissions of greenhouse gases, some experts have advocated the development of technologies to remove carbon dioxide directly from the air.  But a new MIT study shows that, at least for the foreseeable future, such proposals are not realistic because their costs would vastly exceed those of blocking emissions right at the source, such as at the power plants that burn fossil fuels.

Some purveyors of various new technologies for scrubbing carbon dioxide out of the air are reminiscent of “snake-oil salesmen,” says Howard Herzog, a senior research engineer at the MIT Energy Initiative and co-author of the new analysis publishes this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.  The study was co-authored by MIT civil and environmental engineering postdoc Kurt Zenz House, along with researchers C12 Energy in Berkeley, Calif., and at Stanford University.

Read more… (Environmental News Network)