Sucking Out That CO2

Physicist Klaus Lackner, of Columbia University, has worked for ten years to complete a prototype that vacuums carbon dioxide out of the air. The contraption has an opening that pulls air in. Then, absorbent compounds in the filter catch the CO2. The goal of such technology is to curb global warming.

"We are trapping carbon dioxide about 1,000 times faster than a tree does," Lackner said. The carbon filter device captures about ten pounds of greenhouse gases each day as air passes through it.

Lackner says this kind of technology could nearly eliminate our climate change problem — if we had trillions of dollars a year to devote to it. Sixty-seven million filters would be required to vacuum current CO2 emissions from the air, he estimates. Even though carbon filter technology might not be able to make a huge dent in our carbon footprint right away, they might be able to start with damage control.