On one side of the equation are the 7.4 billion tons of carbon which humans emit to the atmosphere every year, raising CO2 concentrations and adding to potential global warming. The new solicitations call for research proposals in two waves with application deadlines in January and May of the year 2000. Richardson called the research strategy a bold vision of what might be possible by 2025 a safe, predictable, and affordable way to prevent carbon dioxide from building up in the atmosphere. On September 14-15, DOE held a workshop in Gaithersburg, Maryland, gathering stakeholders and scientists to come up with radical new ideas for carbon sequestration and set priorities for trying them out. Ideas have ranged from pumping CO2 into deep geologic formations to seeding the oceans with iron, which stimulates the growth of algae which take up CO2.
More conventional ideas involve planting or replanting forests.
The City of Santa Monica has become the first city in the United States to move to green power. All its power now comes from renewable sources. And that allows them to choose power from sources that do less harm to the environment instead of, say, sources that burn fossil fuels and add to potential global warming. Craig Perkins, director of the city s Department of Environment and Public Works, says the power switch will also help reduce emissions of toxics, smog precursors, and other air pollutants harmful to health. Santa Monica had been working on the idea since at least July 1998, when its City Council directed staff to purchase green power for City Hall and other public buildings.