ENERGY FROM CARBON DIOXIDE

I have been reading the October National Geographic, 2012, article on pp. 62-69.  "The Glory of Leaves" by Rob Dunn.  It is about the magic of chloroplasts converting sunlight into energy.  He writes very poetically about the process.  "A leaf is filled with chambers illuminated by gathered light.  In these glowing rooms photons bump around, and the leaf captures their energy, turning it into the sugar from which plants, animals, and civilizations are built.  Chloroplasts, fed by sun, water, carbon dioxide, and nutrients, do the leaf's work."

We are now beginning to capture the light from the sun to create energy.  Isn't there some way we could also capture the greatly excessive amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and convert that also into some form of sugar/energy?  Can we separate the oxygen from the carbon in order to destroy the carbon dioxide?  Can we create energy from it?