Profitability? Put that idea away for a moment. We need to look at this through other lenses as well. Our very lives on Earth depend on our ability to remove greenhouse gasses from the atmosphere. In that light, profitability is a rather weak criterion by which to judge projects like this.

Profitability is a great criterion to judges projects like this. Profitability just means that doing X is worth more than what you have up to do X. If we decide that one ton of CO2 generates $Y of negative effects, and you can remove one ton of CO2 for less than that, congratulations, that means you are doing something that’s worth more than the effort and resources you spend to do it.

You can’t “put away” economic and logical thinking. Indeed, failing to measure profit correctly (failing to include negative externalities in the cost side of the ledger) is what causes environmental destruction in the first place.

There are more important values than profit.

But in reality, profit makes things happen. So it's good to know about it.

It's good to know about it, for sure. But, at the end of the day, profit makes profit-driven things happen. It's important to know about and advocate for more important values than profit.

One way of advocating for more important values than profit is by putting a price on them. That's why it can be profitable to offset carbon emissions.

Profit is not a “value.” It’s a way of measuring costs versus benefits independent of value system. What measuring profit does, which many people hate, is reveal what people actually value. It’s hard to manipulate which leads many to call to “put it aside.”

>> What measuring profit does, which many people hate, is reveal what people actually value.

IDK. there are non-profits helping women and children who suffered domestic violence, and some of those activities are state supported.

People don't really donate and cover those expenses out of their free will.

Still, helping those women and children is objectively a very valuable thing.

So maybe, people shouldn't be the only ones determining what's valuable ? And hence, maybe profit shouldn't be the only thing determining what's valuable ?

Even if this is a viable solution to the climate change problem, an individual country isn't going to foot the bill for the entire world, especially not when we are talking about a recurring expense on the order of hundred billions of dollars every single year.

But olivine is a rock and oil is a liquid. That cost is so low because of pipelines, but you can’t build pipelines for solid things.

You can actually, they pump coal thru pipelines.

In Canada, the national carbon price will go to $50 by 2022. So it will very shortly be profitable in Canada.

That's assuming we don't have a Conservative government later this year.

Polls are trending Liberal.. stand by. It’s a long summer ahead and the Conservatives are short on real answers.

Assuming Trudeau doesn't have another gaff or corruption scandal.. But I'm not holding out hope. Although NDP looks weak as hell too... I'm depressed for the future of this country.

Transporting? Wouldn't most volcanic rock already be on islands?