ICELAND BY SUCKING CO2 OUT OF THE AIR.
THE AIR. >> I WAS STANDING ON THIS
GLACIER.
GLACIER. WATCHING IT MELT BENEATH MY
FEET.
FEET. IS THERE ANY HOPE?
>> THERE’S NOTHING THAT CAN’T BE
DONE TO SAVE THE ICELANDIC GLA I
GLACIERS.
GLACIERS. THEY WILL MELT WITHIN A COUPLE
HUNDRED YEARS.
HUNDRED YEARS. >> WHAT HAPPENED IF GLACIERS
CONTINUE TO MELT?
>> WILL RUN TO THE OCEAN AND
RAISE THE SEA LEVEL.
>> IN THE UNITED STATES THERE
ARE PEOPLE WHO DOUBT CLIMATE
CHANGE.
CHANGE. HOW DOES THAT MAKE YOU FEEL IN?
>> I’M SURPRISED.
>> YOU TOOK THESE VERY DRAMATIC
PHOTOGRAPHS.
PHOTOGRAPHS. >> THE SEQUENCE OF THOSE IS
GOING TO TELL YOU A VERY, VERY
OBVIOUS STORY.
OBVIOUS STORY. GLACIERS ARE MELTING ENORMOUSLY.
>> WHEN WILL ICELAND LOSE ITS
NEXT GLACIER?
NEXT GLACIER? >> DURIT LAST 56 DURING THE LAST
YEARS.
YEARS. >> WHAT ABOUT THE FUTURE
GENERATION?
GENERATION? DO YOU WORRY THEIR LIFE IS NOT
GOING TO BE AS GOOD AS YOURS?
>> I KNOW IT WILL NOT BE.
WHAT IS
WHAT IS >> WHAT IS CAUSING THE
TEMPERATURE RISE?
TEMPERATURE RISE? >> THE GREENHOUSE GASES.
>> CARBON DIOXIDE?
>> IT’S ONE THAT IS INCREASING
BY LEAPS AND BOUNDS.
>> THERE MAY BE A SOLUTION ALL
THANKS TO THIS EXTRAORDINARY
ROCK.
ROCK. IT’S CALLED THE SALT.
IT’S ALL OVER ICELAND AND ON
MANY VOLCANIC ISLANDS.
IT’S FORMED WHEN LAVA IS FORCED
UP TO THE SURFACE AND COOLS
QUICKLY, FORMS THESE
EXTRAORDINARY PATTERNS.
EXTRAORDINARY PATTERNS. MORE IMPORTANT FOR ENVIRONMENTAL
SCIENCE, IT IS POROUS, FULL OF
HOLES.
HOLES. SCIENTISTS HERE IN ICELAND HAVE
FIGURED OUT A WAY TO GET CARBON
DIOXIDE TO BIND WITH THE ROCK,
TAKING IT OUT OF THE
ENVIRONMENT.
ENVIRONMENT. THAT IS GOOD FOR ALL OF US.
>> THROUGH THE TURBINE.
TAKE IT AND PUT IT IN AT THE
BOTTOM OF THE COLUMN.
THEN WE HAVE WATER COMING IN.
CO2 DISSOLVES IN WATER.
>> YOU TURN IT INTO A CARBON
CARBONATED --
CARBONATED -- >> YEAH.
>> YEAH. >> IT MAKES SENSE.
>> IT’S NO ROCKET SCIENCE.
>> THE WHITE WE SEE, THAT’S THE
MINERALIZED CARBON DIOXIDE AND
IT FOUND ITS WAY INTO THE NOOKS
AND CRANNIES OF THE STONE?
>> YEAH.
>> YEAH. >> HOW MUCH POTENTIAL DOES THIS
HAVE?
HAVE? >> WE HAVE MORE THAN ENOUGH ROCK
FORMATIONS TO STORE ALL CO2 IF
WE WERE TO BURN ALL FOSSIL FUEL
ON EARTH.
ON EARTH. >> WHY ISN’T THIS HAPPENING
EVERYWHERE TODAY?
EVERYWHERE TODAY? >> COST HAS BEEN THE MAIN
BARRIER.
BARRIER. WE WILL HAVE THIS.
>> WHAT ABOUT THE UNITED STATES?
>> YES.
>> YES. THERE’S INTEREST IN THE UNITED
STATES.
STATES. VERY SIMILAR PROCESS BEING
DEVELOPED.
DEVELOPED. I SINCERELY HOPE WE WILL HAVE
REPLICATION OF THIS PROCESS
THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.
WHILE AT THE SAME TIME,
INCREASING ALL THE OTHER
SOLUTIONS FOR THE CLIMATE
CRISIS.
CRISIS. WE WILL SEE SIGNIFICANT