r/science Aug 06 '20

Chemistry Turning carbon dioxide into liquid fuel. Scientists have discovered a new electrocatalyst that converts carbon dioxide (CO2) and water into ethanol with very high energy efficiency, high selectivity for the desired final product and low cost.

https://www.anl.gov/article/turning-carbon-dioxide-into-liquid-fuel
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u/radome9 Aug 06 '20

Carbon capture solutions are not viable until we stop pumping carbon into the air.

Precisely. If we're going to avert disaster, we must leave the remaining fossil fuels in the ground. Unfortunately even nations who claim to take climate change seriously, like Norway, Germany, and Canada, keeps churning out gas, oil, and coal.

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u/[deleted] Aug 06 '20

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u/radome9 Aug 06 '20

Because that is the only way we can stop using fossil fuels.

Nuclear power has entered the chat.

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u/Stargate525 Aug 06 '20

This. Even the most pessimistic estimates of our fuel reserves for nuclear, not counting breeder reactors or secondary reactions, is measured in millenia.