ABSTRACT
The reader might wonder what carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) might have to do with the environmental impacts of renewable energy. Renewable energy has two pluses: (1) it is a possible source of energy now and in the future (it is renewable and sustainable) and will be called on to replace nonrenewable hydrocarbon energy sources as they are depleted; and (2) renewable energy produces little or no waste products such as carbon dioxide or other chemical pollutants, so it has minimal impact on the environment. It is the latter of these two pluses that is related to carbon capture and sequestration. That is, at the present time and in the near future we have (and will continue to have) an ongoing increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide. Many scientists agree that global climate change is occurring and that to prevent its most serious effects we must begin immediately to significantly reduce our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. One major contributor to climate change is the release of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2). This is the essence of the carbon capture and
sequestration process: capturing and sequestering carbon dioxide. Further, to control atmospheric carbon dioxide requires deliberate mitigation with an approach that combines reducing emissions by utilizing renewable sources and by increasing capture and storage.
