These, like Dr Lackner's sheets, are coated with chemicals that take in and release carbon dioxide according to the circumstances.

ECONOMIST: Combating climate change

Dr Lackner's version uses layers of Teflon or paper covered with a resin that absorbs carbon dioxide when dry and gives it up when moist.

ECONOMIST: Combating climate change

And while some might be disappointed that there's no built-in Bluetooth or WiFi to get codes, that actually works to its advantage, according to the project's Clark Li and Merrick Lackner.

ENGADGET: March 16, 2013 6:00 PM EST

With these environmental concerns in mind, Van der Veen and his fellow Dutch captains Andreas Lackner and Jorne Langelaan set about building the Tres Hombres in 2007, using the hull of a former passenger ferry in the Aran Islands off the coast of Ireland.

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