Can carbon sequestration be an alternative?

My dear bald friend-with-awesome-boat-who-taught-me-alot-of-awesomesauce-stuff Shannon pointed out that the use of plastics and other non-biodegradable materials could eventually be a better way of controlled carbon capture as opposed to letting natural materials decompose in the open.

Stored carbon can thus be sent to coal plants for separation at a location close to natural spots which encourage conversion of CO2 to biomass (such as forests, oceans etc).

In summary, this solution of carbon sequestration does NOT reduce our carbon output, but mitigates large quantities of carbon to be converted by nature before it reaches the atmosphere. 

In comparison, this seems to be the simple way out of things as modern humans can consume as much as they do without guilt (SO LAZY), as opposed to meticulously cutting down on individual lifestyle choices which actively contribute to global warming.



ALAS! WHERE R TEH LOOPHOLES

1) These plants are incredibly expensive to run. 

2) In order to convert energy, water and oxygen (lolwut) is mixed with the coal to create CO and hydrogen. Hydrogen is used as fuel, and CO is converted to a concentrated stream of CO2. One quarter of the energy produced is used to run the plant itself.

3) Even more energy is required to compress CO2 into liquid to be injected to the ground and stored. This takes 20% of energy yielded.

So far, 45% of the energy produced from this method is used just from running the plant.

4) After injecting into the ground, the highly compressed CO2 and its surrounding terrain must be closely monitored to prevent deadly leakages which can kill thousands.

5) Earth's crust is not the best container for gases. This is not a long-term solution... even space under the crust will be exhausted before we know it.

6) There is so far, no proof for this method's potential. Urgent action is needed now to battle climate change yet it's moving on slowly...

7) Investors and government grants are pouring in money for this unproven technique. This is biased and prevents other viable energy methods from getting their fair share of funding for the betterment of our planet.

- source



I quote from Treehugger:

All this talk of carbon sequestration can basically be seen as a delaying tactic, as a way to get government support and to keep the operation and construction of coal power plants more socially acceptable. It's the equivalent of saying: "Don't bother us, we're working on it!"

"Sustainable technology" plans are great! But NOT an excuse to be an irresponsible consumer. True story, bro.