All those DVDs you buy could in the future be made from air pollution. Yes air pollution. Relying on the success of plans to remove carbon dioxide from smokestacks, the gas harnessed could be turned into plastic products. Let's hope they products are recyclable or that will cause other problems. In trying to keep global temperatures rising even more, plans to trap the carbon dioxide from smokestack emissions can enable a process in which the gas can be turned into raw materials for making polycarbonates, a type of plastic. "Using CO2 to create polycarbonates might not solve the total carbon dioxide problem, but it could be a significant contribution," said the leader of one team, Thomas Müller of the Institut für Technishe und Makromolekulare Chemie. Carbon dioxide is cheaper and less toxic than other materials used to make plastics.
