Table of Contents
Microsoft, Stripe, and Shopify have started paying for a new service. The service removes carbon dioxide (CO2) gasses from the air and puts it underground. This process is then checked by a third party to make sure it was done correctly. The company that offers this new service is called Climeworks and it seems that this field of business will grow.
In 2021, Climeworks created a facility called Orca that cleans the air by removing CO2. Orca takes CO2 out of the air and puts it underground into rocks called basalt. The gas is trapped in these rocks forever and stops the greenhouse gas from warming the planet. The technology that they use to clean the air is called direct air capture (DAC).
This new technology copies what forests and trees naturally do. However, it’s very difficult to measure how much CO2 a tree or forest collects and puts underground. So, a company that wants to capture the CO2 that it produces, can’t rely on forests.
Climeworks hasn’t said how much CO2 they collected in their first batch because the company has agreements with their clients to keep it private. One of their clients, Microsoft, wants to remove all the CO2 it has ever produced from the air.
However, there are currently not enough direct air capture facilities to meet Microsoft’s goal.
Vocabulary
- Service – system or tool that performs an action that is helpful to people; a business that offers a particular type of help or work; utility; system
- Carbon dioxide (CO2) – a colorless gas formed during the combustion of any material containing carbon; a greenhouse gas
- Process – a procedure; a series of actions that you do in order to achieve a result/finish something; operation
- Third-party – a company that is not the main manufacturer or provider; a person or business that is involved, but not the most important;
- Field – sector; type of business; area
- Facility – a place, building, or equipment used for a particular purpose or activity; depot; plant; center
- Trapped – stuck; closed in; can’t escape; can’t go away
- Greenhouse gas – gasses in Earth’s atmosphere (sky) that trap heat; gasses that are bad for the environment
- Planet – a large object in space that orbits (goes around) a star (Earth is a planet)
- Capture – to grab, trap, or take something, especially something that doesn’t want to go with you; to take something into your possession, especially by force
- Measure – to discover the exact size or amount of something; to learn or figure out the size or weight of something; calculate; quantify
- Produce – to create or make something
- Rely on – to need (someone or something) for support or help; depend on
- Batch – a group of things of the same kind; a quantity of food, goods, work, etc. prepared or produced at the same time
- Agreement – an understanding, plan or contract made between two or more people/groups
- Client – customer
- Meet a goal – succeed in doing something; achieve something; accomplish something
Quiz
Discussion Questions
- What’s your first reaction to the news about this type of technology? What are the pros and cons?
- In your opinion, is it good for companies to rely on technology to clean pollution? What are some other solutions?
- How do you feel about CO2 being stored underground through an unnatural process?
Original Story
- English teachers looking for teaching ideas, check out my post on using easy news articles for lessons.
- English learners looking for study ideas, check out my post on using news stories for English practice.
