Originally Posted by
cyccommute
CO2 cartridges aren't filled with "dry" ice. You couldn't get enough CO2 in the cartridge to put fiz in a 12 oz soda that way. The gas has to be compressed and liquified.
While it's not practical to fill this way, and isn't done commercially, the density of dry ice is very comparable to that of liquid CO2 so - in theory - a cartridge could hold the same amount in either solid or liquid form.
Originally Posted by
cyccommute
Well, since there is CO2 in the cartridge, once it is opened, the gas goes into the atmosphere. I think want you meant to say is that CO2 cartridges don't put "excess" CO2 into the air like fossil fuels do.
I said what I meant, and I meant what I said. Volcanic CO2, along with CO2 obtained as a byproduct of oil exploration is headed to the atmosphere anyway, the short side trip into canisters doesn't affect the total ultimately released.
Note that naturally occurring CO2 is different from what happens when we burn fossil fuels and convert carbon to CO2. The latter increases the total CO2, while the former is a zero sum event.