As is now generally accepted mankind's burning of fossil fuels has
resulted in the mass transfer of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, a
modification of the delicately-balanced global carbon cycle, and a
measurable change in world-wide temperatures and climate. Although not
the most powerful greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide (CO) drives climate 2
change due to the enormous volumes of this gas pumped into the
atmosphere every day. Produced in almost equal parts by the
transportation, industrial and energy-generating sectors, atmospheric CO
concentrations have 2 increased by about 50% over the last 300 years,
and according to some sources are predicted to increase by up to 200%
over pre-industrial levels during the next 100 years. If we are to
reverse this trend, in order to prevent significant environmental change
in the future, action must be taken immediately. While reduced use of
fossil fuels (through conservation, increased efficiency and expanded
use of renewable energy sources) must be our ultimate goal, short to
medium term solutions are needed which can make an impact today. Various
types of CO storage techniques have been proposed to fill this 2 need,
with the injection of this gas into deep geological reservoirs being one
of the most promising. For example this approach has the potential to
become a closed loop system, whereby underground energy resources are
brought to surface, their energy extracted (via burning or hydrogen
extraction), and the resulting by-products returned to the subsurface.