Supercomputer Suggests ‘Super Diamonds’ Could Exist in Space

Diamonds are the hardest naturally occurring material on Earth, but a supercomputer just modeled stuff that’s even harder. Called a ‘super-diamond,’ the theoretical material could exist beyond our planet—and maybe, one day, be created here on Earth. How Important Was it for Jason Reitman to be a Part of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire? Like normal diamonds, … Read more

Norway wants to store carbon under the North Sea

The receiving dock at the Northern Lights carbon capture and storage project, controlled by Equinor ASA, Shell Plc and TotalEnergies SE, at Blomoyna, Norway, on Friday, Jan. 19, 2024. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images Norway’s government wants to show the world it is possible to safely inject and store carbon waste under the seabed, … Read more

Singapore to Build World’s Largest Facility to Remove Carbon From the Ocean

The Equatic Process, a novel carbon removal technology and one of the best inventions of 2023, is getting a major scale-up, with the world’s largest ocean carbon dioxide removal (OCDR) facility set to be built in Singapore and operational by 2025—sparking optimism for what has been hailed as a potential game changer for global climate … Read more

South Korea’s Carbon Trading Program Enriches Biggest Emitters, Per Climate Advocates

South Korea’s most-polluting companies have made 475 billion won ($357 million) from selling unused carbon emissions permits in the first eight years of the nation’s program, according to an activist group.  The 10 biggest emitters sold almost 22 million tons of excess credits from 2015 through 2022, according to Plan 1.5, a Seoul-based climate advocacy … Read more

BlueLayer is building the operating system for carbon project developers

Meet BlueLayer, a new European startup that is building a software platform specifically designed for carbon project developers. In particular, BlueLayer wants to help these companies manage their carbon credits at scale. While the best way to prevent carbon emissions is by decarbonizing supply chains, carbon credits will also play a role in the coming … Read more

Trawling Boats Are Hauling Up Ancient Carbon From the Ocean Depths

The fillet of flounder sitting on your plate comes with a severe environmental cost. To catch it, a ship running on fossil fuels spewed greenhouse gases as it dragged a trawl net across the seafloor, devastating the ecosystems in its path. Obvious enough. But new research shows that the consequences extend even further: Trawl nets … Read more

Hyundai says hydrogen will play a ‘prominent role’ in going carbon neutral

Hyundai is going all in on the most abundant element in the universe in the quest to reduce planet-heating emissions. The South Korean automaker announced that hydrogen will “play a prominent role” in the company’s efforts to go carbon neutral by 2050. “Clean hydrogen should be for everyone, powering everything, and available everywhere,” Jay Chang, … Read more

Why Deleting Carbon From the Atmosphere Is So Controversial

Carbon removal techniques come in two main flavors—the technological and the natural—but also increasingly a melding of the two. The dominant technology at the moment is direct air capture, or DAC. This involves giant machines sucking in air and filtering out the CO2. Like an air purifier filters dust out of your indoor air, DAC … Read more

Can Rock Dust Soak Up Carbon Emissions? A Giant Experiment Is Set to Find Out

Mary Yap has spent the last year and a half trying to get farmers to fall in love with basalt. The volcanic rock is chock full of nutrients, captured as its crystal structure forms from cooling magma, and can make soil less acidic. In that way it’s like limestone, which farmers often use to improve … Read more

‘Carbon Zero’ by D. Thomas Minton

io9 is proud to present fiction from LIGHTSPEED MAGAZINE. Once a month, we feature a story from LIGHTSPEED’s current issue. This month’s selection is “Carbon Zero” by D. Thomas Minton. You can read the story below or listen to the podcast on LIGHTSPEED’s website. Enjoy! Zillow Says You’ll Buy Your Next House With… AI? | … Read more