As we are beginning finally to learn, a large technical problem is looming.

Namely: Too much carbon dioxide and not enough oxygen in the air. This basically is because we have too many industrial plants (and autos) and not enough green plants. However, this situation cannot be reversed because the human population, which needs industrial plants and autos, continues to increase – causing also a food shortage. Of course we can make legislation and try to limit the “carbon footprint” and plant more trees, and distribute food more equitably etc. But what we really need for this technical problem is a technical solution.

What we need is to synthesize the natural photosynthesis process of plants. Plants take in carbon dioxide plus water and through the process of photosynthesis, using sunlight for energy and chlorophyll for a catalyst, they produce carbohydrates (or proteins if nitrogen from the soil is involved) and oxygen. Since we pretty much understand what is involved, we should, with a little more research, be able to reproduce it on industrial scale, using carbon dioxide and water to make oxygen and carbohydrates. If done efficiently, this “Carbon-Conversion” process would go a long way toward solving our “carbon footprint” problem, and even produce carbohydrates for animal, or even people, food.

Sure, we still need electric cars and as much wind, solar, geothermal, and wave power as we can muster (maybe even nuclear, although it presents its own serious problems), but, no doubt, to produce sufficient electricity we will need more carbon fueled power plants, whether natural gas, “clean coal”, or petroleum, and the Carbon- Conversion process could be an ideal way to handle the carbon dioxide. Of course we would need some seed money and government support, but it probably would not be as much as we just gave the banks and financial institutions. So, let’s go America, plants do it, and, God willing, we can to!