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The term "carbon capture and sequestration" (CCS) is showing up more and more often in the news these days, thanks in large part to the Obama Administration' s new push for tougher air pollution controls. Unfortunately, many people not directly involved in the public policy debate over greenhouse gas emissions and global warming think CCS sounds strange and even a bit scary.

Just another example of how scientific reality often has a hard time catching up to public perception.

CCS is all about carbon dioxide (CO2), one of the so-called "greenhouse gases" that most experts believe are responsible for global warming. When fossil fuels are burned, CO2 is released. Burn more fuel and you make more CO2. As more and more C02 builds up in the atmosphere, the earth gets warmer.

When a big factory or power plant burns a lot of fossil fuel, a lot of CO2 escapes into the atmosphere. So somehow capturing that escaping CO2 and storing it deep in the earth so that it never reaches the atmosphere would help control air pollution and global warming.

Carbon capture and sequestration technology is expensive and a lot of people are worried that it is somehow dangerous. But there is really nothing scary about carbon dioxide itself. We all release CO2 into the atmosphere every time we exhale. CO2 is the gas that makes soda water fizzy and puts the bubbles in champagne.

But even if the cost of capturing and storing CO2 can be controlled, fear of the unknown may still make it impossible to use. Those with a stake in solving the greenhouse gas problem by using carbon capture and sequestration need to do a better job of demystifying the technology and reassuring a skeptical public.

For starters, how about calling it carbon capture and storage? Replacing a long scary word with a simple, familiar one may seem too clever by half. But words matter - and those who control the words usually win the debate.

CCS may be expensive, but it doesn' t need to be scary. And it may turn out to be a very effective way to solve an increasingly serious environmental problem.

David Bartlett is a Senior Vice President at Levick Strategic Communications, an expert communications strategist and crisis manager, and a contributing author to Bulletproof Blog.