Thank you for your reply, congressman. I appreciate your saying we must go beyond "feel good" solutions to doing things that really make a difference. If you would, please consider whether carbon capture is largely just a feel good solution. Despite billions of dollars being invested in this technology, there are no carbon capture success stories -- none -- only gigantic failures. For example: the Petra Nova coal plant in Texas, once the poster child for CO2 removal, under performed time after time, before it eventually was closed for good.
Carbon capture is extremely energy intensive. In essence, it requires building a new power plant to serve the system. And that of course means creating another new source of pollution just to try to get rid of the first one. Doesn't that negate the whole goal of capturing carbon in the first place? Currently, more emissions have been put into the atmosphere by carbon capture systems than have been taken out. Consider this: we emit 5 billion tons of carbon into the air every year. To remove just 1 billion tons of that through the carbon capture process would require using close to all the electricity output of the United States.
What I am saying, is it is far from practical. The oil companies might be pitching it as a solution, but it is not. If you are being approached by lobbyists who are trying to persuade you that it is an answer to our problem, tell them, Hey, that's great. If that's the case, I can introduce legislation tomorrow requiring all industrial companies to not only have carbon capture, but to have systems that significantly reduce the pollution. And, if you don't meet the standards, you will face significant financial penalties.
I assure you the Big Oil lobbyists will not take kindly to your proposal. If they suggest that they just need to be given time, and they can make it work, tell them there is no time. We can't be laying our future on a technology that might or might not work, especially knowing it could take decades to develop even if it does work. Tell them there are already technologies in place that will dramatically reduce our emissions if we will just use them. Tell them that, yes, they are the villain here. Tell them you aren't buying their spin that continued use of carbon fuels and saving our planet need not be mutually exclusive. Tell them, that is not what scientists are saying, and you are inclined to believe a scientist before you are a lobbyist. Tell them that the first step to correcting their fault is to recognize it, and it is time for them to recognize they need to change. Not villains? They don't need to be villains, but as long as we empower them, they will be. A criminal doesn't stop being a criminal until you put laws in effect making what they are doing a crime. Destroying the world is a big crime.
Please listen to the people instead of to Big Oil. The two have different objectives. Big Oil's objective is to make a profit. People, on the other hand, want to survive the threat of pollution. Forgive, but who are you going to listen to -- us or the lobbyists?
One more thought: In January, the Biden administration announced it plans to provide up to $2.52 billion to fund carbon capture programs. Please introduce legislation against this.
(Index -- Climate change info)
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