With The Expansion of CO2 Pipelines Come Safety Fears

The United States has 27 years to reach its net-zero emissions goal. And among other initiatives to move towards that goal, the Biden administration is offering incentives for carbon capture and storage.

Carbon capture is a way to suck up carbon dioxide pollution from ethanol plants, power plants and steel factories, and store it deep underground.

While the companies that build the pipelines say the technology will help the U.S. meet its greenhouse gas emissions goals, they have also run into problems.

In Iowa, farmers are pushing back against the pipelines crossing their land. And for a town in Mississippi, a CO2 pipeline endangered lives.

NPR's Julia Simon reports from Satartia, Mississippi on the aftermath of a pipeline rupture. The Climate Investigations Center obtained recordings of the 911 calls from Satartia and shared them with NPR.

Harvest Public Media's Katie Peikes also provided reporting in this episode.

In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

This episode was produced by Brianna Scott with engineering by Carleigh Strange. It was edited by Jeanette Woods. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.