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winning strategy. If it succeeded in reducing carbon dioxide emissions
to the atmosphere, it would allow coal and oil firms to retain and
even expand their market share in the energy business throughout the
21st century, eliminating the need for substantial innovation. Carbon
sequestration would also greatly reduce the incentive for Congress to
invest in renewable energy, which competes with coal and oil.
Furthermore, carbon sequestration might deflect the accusation that
the coal and oil corporations bear responsibility (and perhaps even
legal liability) for the major consequences of global warming (more
and bigger hurricanes, droughts, floods, and fires, for example).
Finally, if the carbon sequestration plan were to fail, with grievous
consequences for human civilization, failure would occur decades or
centuries into the future when the current generation of decision-
makers, researchers, philanthropists, and environmental advocates
could no longer be held accountable.

For all these reasons, coal, oil, mining, and automobile corporations,
plus electric utilities, are eager to get carbon sequestration going.

To accomplish their goal, the coal and oil firms are being helped by
researchers at Princeton and Stanford universities, and by the
Joyce Foundation in Chicago, which is underwriting a campaign by
environmental advocates on behalf of industry's plan. Natural
Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Izaak Walton League, the Clean
Air Task Force, the Michigan Environmental Council, and others have
received substantial grants to advocate for carbon sequestration.
Finally, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administrator Stephen
Johnson recently endorsed industry's plan. All the pieces are now in
place and an aggressive campaign is under way to persuade state and
federal legislators to endorse large-scale carbon sequestration.

What's at stake

After trillions of tons of carbon dioxide have been buried in the deep
earth, if even a tiny proportion of it leaks back out into the
atmosphere, the planet could heat rapidly and civilization as we know
it could be disrupted. Quite plausibly the surface of the Earth could
become uninhabitable for humans. Thus, one way or another, the future
of humanity is at stake in the decision whether to endorse carbon
sequestration or to develop the many renewable energy technologies
that are available to eliminate our dependence on carbon-based
fuels.
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