Artificial trees and salt water clouds invented to cool the planet
June 25, 2013
By
Canadian Consulting Engineer
An article in Maclean's magazine's June 24 issue covered some of the latest inventions by green scientists to produce renewable energy or reduce global warming.
An article in Maclean’s magazine’s June 24 issue covered some of the latest inventions by green scientists to produce renewable energy or reduce global warming.
One device is an artificial tree that soaks carbon dioxide from the air. Designed by Columbia University physicist Klaus Lackner, the tree has “leaves” consisting of active plastic that absorbs the C02 and converts it to bicarbonate. When the “leaves” are moistened the C02 can be collected and converted to a mineral or stored underground in liquid form.
Another invention reported in the article is a scheme by inventor Armand Neukermans to spray salt water up into low-lying coastal clouds from ships. The idea is that the salt will make the clouds more reflective, enabling them to bounce more heat and light into space, thereby helping to cool the planet. Neukermans is working on a prototype machine.
The schemes were reported by Kate Lunau in Maclean’s “100 Discoveries: The Future, Now,” June 24, 2013.
