$20 million heats up work on greenhouse problem
Steven Schultz
Two major new grants will bring together a diverse group of Princeton scientists in addressing one of the planet's most significant problems: the accumulation of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere.
In the largest corporate grant in the University's history, BP has pledged $15 million and the Ford Motor Co. $5 million over 10 years to fund a project called the Carbon Mitigation Initiative. The goal is to develop and evaluate methods for keeping carbon emissions, the main contributor to greenhouse warming, out of the atmosphere by stowing it safely within the earth, an approach known as carbon sequestration.
Socolow
"The greenhouse problem is one of the most important
environmental and social issues confronting the world for
the next half century or more," said co-principal
investigator Robert Socolow. "And Princeton is a university
with strengths in many of the critical areas that need to be
developed to make progress in solving this problem."
Socolow, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, will lead the project in collaboration with Stephen Pacala, the Frederick D. Petrie Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. As part of the multidisciplinary Princeton Environmental Institute, the project will involve dozens of faculty members, postdoctoral scholars and students from at least eight departments and centers on campus.
Research conducted at Princeton and other institutions in recent years has underscored the enormity of the greenhouse warming issue, but also has revealed specific strategies with the potential to eliminate the problem, according to Pacala and Socolow.
Pacala
Pacala said that when he began his research career
he took it as a certainty that the effects of greenhouse
gasses would be a serious problem for generations to come,
but now he sees a possibility for a faster resolution. "It
is exciting that this problem that we've all viewed as
intractable for our children and our children's children
could be fixed in our lifetimes," he said.
The greenhouse problem has arisen because sustained use of fossil (carbon-based) fuels is causing a dramatic increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Throughout Earth's history, changes in carbon dioxide levels have been linked to changes in climate. If carbon emissions continue unchecked, significant shifts in global climate are inevitable.
Under the Carbon Mitigation Initiative, scientists will investigate several technologies for capturing the carbon in fossil fuels and sequestering it in underground geological formations. The project will assess whether these methods will:
• have the desired effect on atmospheric carbon and climate;
• be safe and reliable and have limited environmental impact; and
• involve neither prohibitive economic costs nor prohibitive disruptions in patterns of energy consumption.
A key component of this work will be to evaluate the feasibility of switching to alternative, hydrogen fuels. Such fuels would be created by transforming conventional fossil fuels into hydrogen and carbon dioxide. The hydrogen would be used as fuel and the carbon, in the form of carbon dioxide, would be returned to underground reservoirs similar to the ones from which it came.
Throughout the project, the researchers will investigate the safety of returning large amounts of carbon to the deep subsurface. "The particular focus of the work is to make sure that the solution does not bring with it other large environmental problems," said Pacala. "The environmental risks are really front and center."
The Carbon Mitigation Initiative builds upon and adds new focus to a range of established research projects at Princeton, and draws on the expertise of scientists and petroleum engineers at BP. Teams of scientists on campus are deeply engaged in such efforts as understanding the way carbon cycles between the Earth's living organisms, oceans and atmosphere, and how that cycle drives changes in climate; developing technology for hydro-gen-based fuels; and analyzing potential approaches to carbon sequestration.
Departments and programs involved include the Center for Energy and Environmental Studies, the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, the Department of Chemistry, the Department of Chemical Engineering, the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, the Department of Geosciences and the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.
Representatives from BP, Ford and the University announced the grant at a news conference in New York City Oct. 25. Speaking to reporters, BP chairman Sir John Browne and Martin Zimmerman, Ford's vice president for governmental affairs, said they see greenhouse warming as an issue that is critical both to the environment and the futures of their companies.
"Enlightened corporations are beginning to understand that environmental issues are business issues," Zimmerman said.
"We hope the findings will benefit consumers, protect the environment and advance science," Browne added.
"To the extent that human activities are driving changes in global climate, we are faced with an awesome responsibility," said Princeton President Harold T. Shapiro. "We must not only develop a thorough understanding of these changes, but take bold action to assure a safe and healthy environment for generations to come.
"The scope of this challenge demands the full participation of universities, corporations and governments," Shapiro continued. "That is why I am particularly pleased that BP, Ford and Princeton are forming a collaboration that harnesses our respective strengths."
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November 6, 2000 Contents • Scherer
seeks rock-solid solutions to
deterioration • Committee
meets to discuss search • Leyden
builds on community service ethic at home and
abroad • Spotlight
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