Transforming ‘greenhouse’ gas into solid rock may be better than other methods at fighting climate change
Greenhouse gases are a major contributor to climate change. But a new technique can turn one of these gases into solid rock before it floats up into the atmosphere. If widely adopted, such a move might just help slow global warming.
As part of a test program, researchers in Iceland injected gaseous carbon dioxide (CO2) into basalt (Bah-SALT). It’s the type of rock that lava turns into when it cools quickly. About two years later, the scientists checked back. More than 95 percent of the gas had turned to stone, they found.
Solidifying the gas effectively locked it away. Now the gas is no longer a threat to Earth’s climate. Such a relatively fast process could help counteract the world’s greenhouse-gas emissions, the researchers conclude.
