Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is produced by all living organisms when they break down food (organic molecules) to provide the energy to drive the chemical reactions needed to stay alive.
Burning fossil fuels releases much more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, but we have based much of our modern way of life on burning fossil fuels for energy, so it is difficult to stop.
Since carbon dioxide is one of the gases responsible for an increase in the Greenhouse Effect, which is already affecting weather patterns and ecosystems, ways to remove it from the atmosphere are needed.
But if the removal of carbon dioxide can include turning it into new fuels or materials, then this is an exciting way to help solve the energy crisis!
Surya Prakash was a speaker at the Molecular Frontiers symposium "Alternative Energy & Molecules" at the Royal Academy of Sciences in Stockholm in June 2010 and a member of the panel of scientists at the MoleClues Forum LIVE!
See also
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 Forum questionHow can the process of photosynthesis be used as a source of renewable energy? Can the light driven electron flow mediated by proteins generate our electricity?
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(1 vote)  NewsPlants find this easy - trapping sunlight into organic molecules which can be used as fuel - so why can't we? Photosynthesis is not so easy to copy, but now we are one step closer......
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How to save the planet - with carbon dioxide
G.K. Surya Prakash and George A. Olah of USC College's Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute talk about their work toward recycling carbon dioxide for energy.
Surya Prakash was a speaker at the Molecular Frontiers symposium on "Alternative Energies & Molecules" at the Royal Academy of Sciences in Stockholm in June 2010 and was on the MoleClues Forum LIVE! panel.
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