World's first carbon dioxide injection well in Gaylord, Michigan

Gaylord, Michigan is famous for its alpine village, golf resorts, and one of the world's tallest statues of a bottle of beer.

Now Gaylord has a new claim to fame. Starting today, Gaylord will be the world's first operating test site of a carbon sequestration technique.

The Turtle Lake gas processing plant releases carbon dioxide emissions that just go into the air right now, contributing to climate change. New infrastructure will now separate out the CO2 emissions, and pump them into sandstone formations that lie 3700 feet below the Earth's surface. The porous rock should trap the gas, which will then be sealed deep in the Earth.

Gaylord is the first test operational, but the US Department of Energy has 20 more sites queued up nationwide for tests. Each has a distinct geology and will use different storage techniques to produce different results.

Scientists emphasize that mastery of carbon sequestration is just one technique among many that will be needed to slow climate change. But it is certainly an excellent step.

Source: MLive