Many people own cars and have electricity in their homes. These are made possible by the burning of fossil fuels, which has the side effect of releasing dangerous levels of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

In Iceland, a Swiss company called Climeworks has created a possible solution—a massive device named Orca that pulls carbon dioxide out of the air and stores it in the ground. 

Orca can capture 4,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually, which is equivalent to the daily carbon emissions of over 800 cars. However, it will need to capture about 10 million times that amount to be a permanent solution to climate change, which is a large burden for a single company.

Now that they have shown humanity’s capability of saving the planet, Orca’s creators hope carbon capture can grow as an industry over the next few years. With more and more nations taking on the task of cleaning the air, we could possibly reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, according to the co-founder of Climeworks.

A senior at WJPS, Nicholas Martinez said, “Orca will definitely be a big help to the environment.”

Another senior at WJPS, Leon Pantoja said, “I think that right now, the world is depending on Orca.”

“Earth” by Kevin M. Gill is licensed under CC BY 2.0