Andrew Himes: The Carbon Trifecta—A Global Warming Solution that Sequesters CO2 into Graphene—A Miracle Material
Andrew Himes, author, internet pioneer, and imagineer is now the Director of Network Orchestration for The Carbon Trifecta, a new non-profit initiative that uses CO2 as the path to a global sustainable economy. You heard that right, it uses CO2 (carbon dioxide), which is currently the primary human cause for global warming and ocean acidification, as the solution by sequestering it in the form of graphene which can be used to create nearly every product known to man…only better.
The Trifecta represents their 3-fold plan to:
- Capture gigatons of CO2 before (and after) it enters the atmosphere.
- Turn carbon-based businesses into allies, processing the CO2 into valuable graphene.
- Accelerate market demand for graphene via 3D printing.
The Carbon Trifecta is working to partner with researchers, CO2 emitters like coal fire generating plants, and pioneering 3D printers to help everyone involved focus on the CO2 opportunity and gain an understanding of the possibility of this path to global sustainability.
The vision of the Trifecta can be realized by:
- Using carbon dioxide that would otherwise be contributing to global warming and ocean acidification, to:
- Address the increasing burden on the world’s base materials caused by a transition to an advanced global economy,
- By enabling the remarkable capabilities of computer software and 3D printing to deliver profoundly efficient, beautiful and locallymade materials and products — and by introducing graphene into 3D printing as a path for converting this technology into a manufacturing platform capable of delivering complex materials despite a limited number of jets.
Graphene is the most unusual and potentially the most valuable material on the planet. —Andrew Himes
Having been discovered merely a decade ago, graphene is relatively new in our consciousness. It is nothing short of a miracle material being both the strongest and most thermally conductive material known to man. But it doesn’t end there. It is also extremely flexible, thin, lightweight and transparent. It can be used to build nearly every physical thing we produce from clothes to buildings to computers, and can also filter salt water into fresh drinking water.
If the Carbon Trifecta initiative works, life on planet earth will change drastically. We will essentially be able to build everything we need, locally, with zero negative effect on the environment by using additive manufacturing. In other words it will be the end of the era of extraction of all of our precious and limited natural resources and the end of human-caused CO2 emissions causing global warming.
In this conversation, Andrew not only talks about this innovative and valiant endeavor to save the planet, but he also offers his heart of compassion. In fact, Andrew recently delivered the keynote address at the Eighth Worldwide Meeting on Human Values in Monterey, Mexico, where he unveiled what he calls his Grand Unified Theory of Compassion.
I wanted to describe compassion systematically — not just as a vague sentiment or a nice feeling — but as something measurable, replicable, structurally necessary. —Andrew Himes
Andrew’s Grand Unified Theory of Compassion says that awareness multiplied by compassionate action times the power of networks yields the result of a flourishing world.
Awareness — Our expanding identification with every living thing on the planet.
Compassion — Practical action to alleviate the suffering of others.
Networks — The power of networks to replicate compassionate behavior.
Flourishing — A flourishing world is a just, peaceful, and vibrant world.
This theory is what drives Andrew’s work and lives at the heart of the Carbon Trifecta initiative. The one ask that Andrew had from us is that we help get the word out to enable the Carbon Trifecta to become a real global story that people are conscious of, excited about, and committed to exploring on behalf of humanity and planet earth.
So please hit that heart and share this episode with your networks.
Notes:
Carbon Trifecta on Twitter — @carbontrifecta
Andrew’s Keynote Address on Business and Compassion
More on Graphene
I consolidated the graphene qualities from the Graphene Flagship Site. Here are the attributes and potential applications:
Flexible
Thin — 1 atom think — rubber band
Stretch — extend 20% of it’s original size
Smart phone that wraps around your wrist
Computer that you role up like a newspaper
Clothing that reacts automatically to your environment
Transparent
Almost invisible
Meaning that we could see TV’s built into windows
Sat Navs built into car windscreens in the future of electronics
Computer built into a contact lense
Strong
Graphene is the strongest material known to man.
It is over 200 times stronger than steel.
The strength of graphene could be used in composites and coatings for applications in areas such as aerospace and automotive industries.
Conducts
Graphene can conduct electricity even better than copper and this gives graphene endless applications including
Conductive paints and inks
Next generation electronics
More efficient batteries.
Thin
One of graphene’s most dynamic properties is its remarkable thinness.
At just one atom thick, graphene is one million times thinner than the diameter of a human hair.
It’s thinness allows it to be extremely flexible
Can conduct heat and electricity fantastically well.
Thermal
Graphene has the highest thermal conductivity known to man.
When harnessed it can be used for sports wear, which conducts heat away from athletes’ bodies
It can also be used for CPU cooling, meaning graphene electronic devices will be overall more energy efficient.
