Researchers have developed porous materials that can soak up 80
times their volume of carbon dioxide, offering the tantalizing
possibility that the greenhouse gas could be cheaply scrubbed
from power-plant smokestacks. After the carbon dioxide has been
absorbed by the new materials, it could be released through
pressure changes, compressed, and, finally, pumped underground
for long-term storage. The "pumping it underground" part is
obviously still an issue, because "What are you going to do with
millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide that is not nearly as
compact as nuclear waste?". And what happens if the pipe-line
carrying your CO2 breaks, spills into a low-lying area, and
suffocates anything living there? Nevertheless, an interesting
first step.