LONDON, February 9, 2007 - Sir Richard Branson on Friday announced a $25 million prize for the scientist who comes up with a way to extract greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, comparing it to the 17th-century quest to revolutionize navigation by determining longitude.


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The Virgin Group chairman was joined by former Vice President Al Gore and other leading environmentalists as he announced the challenge to find the world's first viable design to capture and remove carbon dioxide from the air.
A landmark report by the world's leading climate scientists and government officials, published in Paris last week, warned global warming will continue for centuries, creating a far different planet in 100 years.

"Man created the problem, therefore man should solve the problem," Branson said. "Could it be possible to find someone on Earth who could devise a way of removing the lethal amount of CO2 from the Earth's atmosphere?"

Branson compared it to a competition launched in 1675 to devise a method of estimating longitude accurately. It was 60 years before English clock maker John Harrison discovered an accurate method and received his prize from King George III.

"The Earth cannot wait 60 years. We need everybody capable of discovering an answer to put their minds to it today," Branson said.

He said many remain skeptical about the reality of climate change.

"The plot is often that no one believes the threat until it is almost too late and then the superhero steps in to save the day," he said. "Well, today we have a threat, we still have to convince many people that the threat is indeed urgent and real. We have no superhero, we have only our ingenuity to fall back on."

Gore said the planet now had a "fever" and the world had to listen to experts.

He said last week's report offered conclusive evidence the planet was unwell. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said last week that temperatures on Earth could increase by 2-11.5 degrees by the year 2100.

"Up until now, what has not been asked seriously on a systematic basis is, is there some way that some of that extra carbon dioxide may be scavenged effectively out of the atmosphere? And no one knows the answer to that," Gore said.

Branson, whose business interests include Virgin Atlantic airline and Virgin Trains, rejected charges that it was hypocritical for him to sponsor the prize. He reiterated a commitment made in September to invest $3 billion toward fighting global warming, saying he would commit all profits from his travel companies over the next 10 years.

As part of that pledge, he launched a new Virgin Fuels business, which is to invest up to $400 million in green energy projects over the next three years.

Experts agreed the challenge is difficult, saying no carbon capturing technology exists. Scientists in Scandinavia have started to safely bury CO2 emissions before they reach the atmosphere, but no one has captured them after they are released.

"I see no evidence that a quantifiably acceptable solution or pathway has been identified," said Jerry Mahlman, the former head of climate modeling at the United States' National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. "It's not what you say, it's what you can do and at the moment you can't do a lot."

The organizers of the "Virgin Challenge" said the winner would receive $5 million once judges rule they have succeeded. The rest of the money will be paid out over 10 years if the judges decide the goal of removing significant amounts of greenhouses gases has been met over the long term.

WOW what a decent fella !!! Unfortunate that it comes down to money as a motivator to "win the Grand Prize"....

[edit on 9-2-2007 by _DISAVOWED_]

Hmm... while i agree its good that he is highlighting the problem... i cant help but feel this is just a gimmick...

He owns a massive airline company that pumps millions of tons of CO2 into the air every day...

Its kinda like a bank robber saying "I'm allowed to rob banks cos I'm offering a prize to anyone who invents the un-breakable safe?!?!?"

crazy

However, At least he is trying which is more than can be said for most industrialists.

I do feel that the 25mil could be better spent elsewhere... like green energy research!

[edit on 10-2-2007 by undercoverchef]

Wow

i just wanted to know someone i could tell my ideas to - and they could use the cash to implement a few changes and then feed the poor with what is left over!

how do they figure that we created the C02 problem? that is one of the key gases in the respiration/photosynthesis exchange! it is natural and integral

at least i think it is C02...golly they need to call me up

25 million? that's chump change to these guy's. for saving the world I'd put the price at half a billion.

There is NO way to put a price on the salvation of this planet and our peoples.

Life is life
invaluable
yet
free

Close down the harrp machines. They might say its greenhouse gases. I say its got more to do with harrp.

I think this is a great idea in theory.

Wouldn't those doing the research already have to be independently wealthy to be able to spare all the time to dedicate themselves to this problem. Would it not be better to use the money to set up research studentships or grants?

Only by dedicating unlimited resources to the scientific study of the problem will we quickly find a solution.

As Queenannie points out we already know that trees and plant life in general take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen as part of their cycle, so perhaps spend the money on a very large shrubbery.

Thanks for the article DISAVOWED most interesting.

well lemme think a second.... PLANT MORE TREES! ok there you go wheres my 25 million?

That in itself could exasperate the problem if done in the wrong place. Believe it or not, in some places the proper action called for is to cut tree's down. One of these places is in Central Texas where there are tons of foreign trees sucking up all the water and putting it back into the atmosphere rather than letting it seep down and replenish the aquifer. Water is also a Greenhouse Gas and such an unhealthy ecosystem would exasperate the problem in a minute way.

the technology already exists...

the space station uses air scrubbers to take out the CO2
, now they do have to inject small amounts of fresh/new air too,

but large air scrubbers perhaps on tops of buildings,
and suspended
beneath fleets of high-altitude dirgibles should be looked into.

think of the industry, planning, installation, maintenance & upkeep that would result....unemployment would drop to .005% worldwide

and Africa, Asia, Europe & the Americas would be dotted with airscrubbers whose power source comes from microwaves transmitted from orbiting solarpower transmitters.



those two grown men just got a lot more 'face-time' & publicity, as they
knew a solution was aready on hand......what rascals!

Originally posted by undercoverchef
Hmm... while i agree its good that he is highlighting the problem... i cant help but feel this is just a gimmick...

He owns a massive airline company that pumps millions of tons of CO2 into the air every day...

Its kinda like a bank robber saying "I'm allowed to rob banks cos I'm offering a prize to anyone who invents the un-breakable safe?!?!?"

crazy

just says alot about the world, doesn't it. he probably wants more people flying his in his planes and at the sam etime he looking for people to help him out with the planet. i just think this is just a waste of time. don't you think america have there best minds, already trying to figure out ways to do this, what hope ahs a simple man in the middle of nowhere.

also what about all those that developed new technology and got killed for it, those free energy devices. and now they say come on get us some new technolgy that people have been killed for bringing into the public eye.

strange world indeed.

I think this is a great idea, and I applaud Mr. Branson for doing it.

I am personally a fan of Richard Branson, for all the different pro-
jects he's started, and this only adds to it.


As for the emissions from his various planes.

I seem to remember reading awhile back that he was looking into
research for cleaner biofuels to fuel his aerospace fleet.




It is sad though that money is the ultimate motivator.

Originally posted by iori_komei
I think this is a great idea, and I applaud Mr. Branson for doing it.

I am personally a fan of Richard Branson, for all the different pro-
jects he's started, and this only adds to it.


As for the emissions from his various planes.

I seem to remember reading awhile back that he was looking into
research for cleaner biofuels to fuel his aerospace fleet.




It is sad though that money is the ultimate motivator.

Unfortunatly my socialist friend money talks and BS walks. I wonder tho if giant air scrubbers are the answer. I mean air conditioning the entire planet would be an expensive proposition. and besides don't plants kinda need co2 to survive themselves?

course we could biodome the entire planet ala Spaceballs

or even better giant 50 story tall Sharper Image Air Purifiers! now thats an Idea we Ionise all the air on the planet constantly! no that wouldent be detrimental to life on the planet in the least