While climate scientists and green-energy technologists search for the next big decarbonization earthshot — such as geoengineering the planet or converting CO2 into natural fuels — let’s not overlook some of the more modest ideas which call on nature to heal itself. As David King, the former chief scientist for the British government, recently said: “Time is no longer on our side. What we do over the next 10 years will determine the future of humanity for the next 10,000 years.
So why not throw the proverbial piece of spaghetti on the wall and see what sticks? |
Three seemingly simple projects come to mind: using the power of ocean waves and volcanic pebbles to remove CO2 from the atmosphere; capturing carbon with roadside filtration fans; and using sponges to soak up greenhouse gases before they do their dirty work.
Green Sandy Beaches
Green Sandy Beaches

San Francisco entrepreneur Eric Matzner, a self-proclaimed “climate defender, biohacker & futurist,” is the man behind Project Vesta’s scheme to use volcanic rock to sequester carbon and reverse ocean acidification, a primary causes of global warming and a threat to coral reefs.
Matzner and his science advisor, Francesc Montserrat, an environmental engineer in the Netherlands, are trying to raise the capital to quarry the volcanic stone, olivine, commonly known as the gemstone peridot. The rock will be mined close to high-wave tropical coastlines, crushed and turned into pebbles. When the green gravel is mixed with fast-moving ocean waves — a process known as “weathering” — the reaction changes CO2 into bicarbonate. That in turn deacidifies the water while sequestering the CO2. Their project motto: “Turning the tide on climate change with green sand beaches.” It doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, but the idea appears to have merit. Matzner links to dozens of studies from around the world to back up his theory that 1 ton of weathered olivine removes 1.25 tons of carbon dioxide from ocean waters. “We’re accelerating Earth’s natural process of carbon renewal,” Matzner told the San Francisco Chronicle in December while promoting his project at the American Geophysical Union. “In the grand scheme of things, we are putting the carbon in the atmosphere back into rock.”
Not Your Grandma’s Kitchen Sponge
Matzner and his science advisor, Francesc Montserrat, an environmental engineer in the Netherlands, are trying to raise the capital to quarry the volcanic stone, olivine, commonly known as the gemstone peridot. The rock will be mined close to high-wave tropical coastlines, crushed and turned into pebbles. When the green gravel is mixed with fast-moving ocean waves — a process known as “weathering” — the reaction changes CO2 into bicarbonate. That in turn deacidifies the water while sequestering the CO2. Their project motto: “Turning the tide on climate change with green sand beaches.” It doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, but the idea appears to have merit. Matzner links to dozens of studies from around the world to back up his theory that 1 ton of weathered olivine removes 1.25 tons of carbon dioxide from ocean waters. “We’re accelerating Earth’s natural process of carbon renewal,” Matzner told the San Francisco Chronicle in December while promoting his project at the American Geophysical Union. “In the grand scheme of things, we are putting the carbon in the atmosphere back into rock.”
Not Your Grandma’s Kitchen Sponge

Another seemingly outlandish idea germinating in the San Francisco Bay Area—using sponges to soak up carbon dioxide—is not as crazy as it sounds. The technology is so promising it has the backing of ExxonMobil, the U.S. Navy, NASA and the Department of Energy.
Mosaic Materials, a small Alameda-based company, has developed metal-organic frameworks, a class of highly porous, crystalline solids that serve as heavy duty sponges. The materials have an extremely porous surface to adsorb large volumes of CO2 while using less energy. Not absorption as in sponges and liquids, but adsorption — a process in which atoms, ions or molecules from a gas are made to adhere to a surface. They’re not really sponges. They’re more like tiny pellets that adsorb carbon dioxide from emission sources.
Mosaic Materials, a small Alameda-based company, has developed metal-organic frameworks, a class of highly porous, crystalline solids that serve as heavy duty sponges. The materials have an extremely porous surface to adsorb large volumes of CO2 while using less energy. Not absorption as in sponges and liquids, but adsorption — a process in which atoms, ions or molecules from a gas are made to adhere to a surface. They’re not really sponges. They’re more like tiny pellets that adsorb carbon dioxide from emission sources.
The technology, which Mosaic Materials notes was originally developed at UC Berkeley, can be used to separate CO2 from nearly any gas mixture. Ultimately, it could be applied to huge industrial sites and power generation facilities to capture CO2 directly out of the air. ExxonMobil was so impressed by the technology that it entered into an agreement with Mosaic Materials last August to explore what it called a breakthrough technology. “Adding Mosaic’s approach will allow us to build on their work to evaluate the potential for this technology to have a meaningful impact in reducing carbon dioxide emissions,” said Vijay Swarup, vice president of research and develop for ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company.
Another Roadside Attraction
Another Roadside Attraction
Across the pond, a UK outfit hits the road. Pollution Solution claims its technology provides an interim solution until all cars become electric: suction fans embedded in the pavement that inhale fossil-fuel exhaust, then send the noxious fumes to air filtration stations on the side of the road. The British tech entrepreneur Thomas Delgado insists the system can capture around 30% of dangerous pollutants and recycle it into 99% clean air.
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Nine out of ten people
breathe air containing unhealthy levels of pollutants. |
Cars and trucks are the major contributors to air pollution. The World Health Organization estimates that 7 million people are killed worldwide from air pollution and that nine out of 10 people breathe air containing unhealthy levels of pollutants. “ Although we are moving to a fully electric world in the future, in terms of automotive, in the interim we still have a lot of fossil-fueled vehicles driving around on roads, polluting streets and effectively killing people,” Delgado told Reuters in an interview last November. He said the filtration devices are due to be piloted in London at about $100,000 each.
The concept may leave some scratching their heads. The filtration block needs to be connected to a power supply. Why not power the Pollution Solution with solar panels to make it truly green? What kind of filtration system can take in all that car exhaust and clean it so dramatically? Don’t these types of solutions just give the automobile and oil and gas industries more incentive to remain dependent on fossil fuels? Delgado told Motoring Research that he knows there are limitations. But until all cars are electric and those big climate moonshots are reached, something must be done about the estimated 40,000 premature deaths caused by air pollution in the UK each year. “Electric cars are great, but as it stands today, they are not a feasible option for the majority of consumers or companies and air quality needs to improve now.”
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That sense of urgency is exactly what’s needed to inspire the earthshots that just might stick.