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The Carbon Harvest
Article

The Carbon Harvest

Vast bioenergy plantations could suck up carbon and stave off climate change. They would also radically reshape the planet.

Science, 2018


Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Scientific
  • Overview
  • Hot Topic

Recommendation

To avoid a dangerous rise in global temperature, researchers believe it essential to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) is a promising technology that accomplishes this with the bonus of energy production. Science journalist Julia Rosen writes that despite the promise of BECCS, its large-scale implementation is not without ecological and economic challenges. She outlines concerns researchers have on the impact of BECCS to ecosystems and the world. The article will engage and inform anyone concerned about climate change.

Take-Aways

  • Negative emissions technologies (NETs) will help reduce global warming.
  • Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) is a promising NET.
  • Switchgrass and poplar trees are ideal crops for BECCS.

About the Author

Julia Rosen is a freelance science journalist based in Portland, Oregon. She has written for Science, Nature and the Los Angeles Times.


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