Silicate Weathering to Mitigate Climate Change

This chapter describes a technical fix for most of those problems that invokes the addition of mafic rock powder to farmland where it would serve to absorb excess atmospheric CO₂ and restore/maintain soil fertility. It explains why neither it nor any other realistic CO₂ removal scheme could be implemented with the current suite of politically correct renewable energy sources. Most of the world's leading climate scientists believe that heading off the consequences of climate change will require more than just slashing CO₂ emissions. While further efficiency improvements and the construction of even more intermittent energy sources will somewhat mitigate CO₂ emissions, such measures alone cannot address the future's energy-related challenges because energy demand will outstrip their effects. Most of the reactants/materials that have been proposed for enhanced weathering Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) schemes are naturally occurring, intrinsically basic silicates containing high percentages of alkali and alkaline earth elements, although some industrial wastes and residues have also been suggested.