Put it Back When You are Done: Storing Carbon Dioxide in the Earth not the Atmosphere



 

Hydrocarbon fuels come almost exclusively from underground. We burn the coal or oil to obtain energy - and for hundreds of years, we have then allowed the resulting carbon dioxide to simply enter the atmosphere. A major aspect of current plans to manage the climate change resulting from the accumulated carbon dioxide is the effort to capture that carbon dioxide before it enters the atmosphere, and put it back underground. Particularly for large power plants and factories, this will make it possible to continue using hydrocarbon fuels without degrading the climate.

In this presentation you will learn about the role that underground storage of carbon dioxide can play in helping avoid damaging climate change, and the scientific challenges that face us in trying to keep the atmospheric load of carbon dioxide from continuing to grow due to burning fossil fuels.

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Speaker Bios


Roger Aines

Roger is a member of the Energy and Environment Directorate at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where he leads the geochemistry group. Roger holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Chemistry from Carleton College, and Doctor of Philosophy in geochemistry from the California Institute of Technology.

Roger's research interests include the in situ degradation of organic chemicals through heating, simulation of steam-driven underground processes in heterogeneous media, and the mechanisms of thermally-assisted remediation. A key research area for Roger has been the coupling of active remediation methods to longer-term, self actuating methods like oxidation and bioremediation.

Dean Reese

Physics and Biology Teacher
 Tracy High School

Dean Reese is a Physics and Biology teacher at Tracy High School in Tracy, CA.  He received his BA in Physics with a double major in Astronomy from the University of Massachusetts in 2002.  Upon completion of his undergraduate degree Dean decided to move across the country to California to try his hand at teaching and has been doing so ever since. He is very enthusiastic about his profession and enjoys making connections with local scientists to better improve his understanding of the science being conducted in the Central Valley. He is currently working on a Masters degree of Science Education from Western Governors University. Prior to becoming a teacher Dean was a soldier in the United States Army National Guard.

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