It's easy to feel overwhelmed and frustrated in light of the climate crisis. One of the things that has really helped the Capture team is arming ourselves with as much information as possible about the situation.
With Capture's users coming from all walks of life (and all levels of knowledge on climate science!), we've taken some time to clarify and share some frequently asked questions with you all...
Our resident climate scientist, Joanne, helped put these answers together. Joanne has a master’s degree from Columbia University in climate science, and she is currently working on a PhD in materials science. Her goal is to create membrane materials for CO2 capture and conversion in the transportation sector. In short, she sure knows what she's talking about.
What is CO2 and how does it affect climate change?
Carbon dioxide (or CO2) is a greenhouse gas made of carbon and oxygen. Greenhouse gases have the ability to trap the sun’s heat within our atmosphere – without them, we wouldn’t survive!
Unfortunately, most of the developed world grew and industrialised using fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. When these fuels are burned, they release excess carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
As billions of people release many many tons of CO2 gas, the atmosphere’s fragile balance is pushed out of equilibrium. More heat is trapped, causing unpredictable and often catastrophic weather events.
Does carbon offsetting work?
The short answer is, yes! There are many things we need to do as a global population to both limit and decrease the amount of CO2 in the air. Carbon offsetting via direct air capture and sequestration is just one option, but as emissions continue to increase, technological solutions are becoming more important for limiting greenhouse gas concentrations.
What difference can individual actions make to the climate crisis?
Individual actions do add up! If every individual did their part, we could easily solve this crisis. You are already doing more than the average person by trying to track and decrease your carbon footprint, but it’s not always possible to go carbon-neutral in your own life.
That’s why offsetting is a good option – individuals can take responsibility for their share of atmospheric CO2 emissions and use technology to counteract the portion they’re unable to eliminate from their footprint.
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We developed Capture to help people quantify and understand how their individual actions could make a difference. If everyone did their bit, we COULD solve the climate crisis. It is possible.
We give you credit for caring about your carbon footprint at all - that is the first step forward. We also understand how difficult it can be to go carbon-neutral, especially given how necessary flying can be to people’s lives.
Please share your thoughts or comments below, and feel free to get in touch directly with any more questions at hello@thecapture.club