Abstract
To slow down the degeneration of the planetary life support system atmospheric CO2 concentration must be reduced. There are no insignificant CO2 emissions since all CO2 ends-up in a single atmosphere of finite size. To minimize anthropogenic CO2 emissions and to bring its atmospheric concentration to 320 ppm, the world economies should replace fossil fuels with alternative energy sources and construct large facilities for reduction of atmospheric CO2.
Environmental indicators (EIs) gauge the burden of goods and services on the environment. The carbon footprint (CF) is the EI of greenhouse gas emissions and is measured in terms of CO2 equivalent.
This chapter brings preliminary estimation of CFs for the following CO2 reduction technologies: photosynthetic or microalgae CO2 sequestration (MCS), artificial photosynthesis (AP), ocean iron fertilization (OIF), oceanic CO2 sequestration (OCS), and terrestrial CO2 sequestration (TCS).
OIF, OCS, and TCS should not be considered when constructing the large facilities for reduction of atmospheric CO2 because each of these technologies could easily become a source of greenhouse gases. The large facilities for reduction of atmospheric CO2 should rely on MCS and AP technologies and reforestation.
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Abbreviations
- ACO2:
-
atmospheric CO2
- CF:
-
carbon footprint
- CFA:
-
carbon footprints of affluence
- CFP:
-
carbon footprints of population
- CFT:
-
carbon footprints of technology
- CFAP :
-
carbon footprint of artificial photosynthesis
- CFMCS :
-
carbon footprint of photosynthetic or microalgae CO2 sequestration
- CFOCS :
-
carbon footprint of oceanic CO2 sequestration
- CFOIF :
-
carbon footprint of ocean iron fertilization
- CFTCS :
-
carbon footprint of terrestrial CO2 sequestration
- CHC:
-
cost of chemicals
- COC:
-
construction costs
- CO2E:
-
carbon dioxide equivalent
- EIs:
-
environmental indicators
- EQI:
-
equivalent inhabitant
- GHG:
-
greenhouse gas
- GDP:
-
gross domestic product
- GWP:
-
global warming potential
- LAC:
-
labor costs
- MCF:
-
median carbon footprint
- MPI:
-
marketable product income
- OEN:
-
cost of energy consumed, excluding energy used to transport CO2 or Fe
- OMC:
-
operation and maintenance expenses
- OTC:
-
other expenses
- PI:
-
pollution intensity
- TRC:
-
cost of energy to transport CO2 or Fe via pipeline, tanker or both
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Bilanovic, D. (2015). Carbon Footprint – An Environmental Sustainability Indicator of Large Scale CO2 Sequestration. In: Armon, R., Hänninen, O. (eds) Environmental Indicators. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9499-2_4
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