PLANKTON GARDENING FOR NEW ENERGY

Its all part of tending "the garden" until turning it over to those who come after.

Huge swaths of plankton planned to fight climate change
Matt Richtel, May 1, 2007 (NY Times via International Herald Tribune)

WHO
Planktos (CEO Russ George), Climos

WHAT
The WeatherBird II, a 115-foot, or 35-meter, research vessel, heads out to dissolve tons of iron, an essential plankton nutrient, over a 10,000-square-kilometer (2.47 million acre) span of ocean to create plankton growth and reproduction and measure subsequently measure the amount of CO2 the plankton “garden” digests by photosynthesis and thereby neutralizes.

WHEN
The WeatherBird II is scheduled to set sail in May.

WHERE
The Galapagos Islands and the South Pacific Ocean

WHY
- Like all plants, plankton photosynthesize light and carbon dioxide to create energy. If large enough fields of it across empty oceans perform this task, would it offset anthropomorphic (human activity-related) greenhouse emissions and reverse global warming? If so, it could save the world and earn its “gardeners” huge rewards in carbon emissions credits. Carbon offsets have ranged between $2 and $35 a ton; George thinks he can make a profit at $5.
- Will iron be the right fertilizer? If the plankton spawns, will it solve the problem? Recent Woods Hole research suggests plankton photosynthesis as a carbon sink may be problematic. Others hypothesize that plankton “gardening” may increase methane and nitrous oxides.
plankton
QUOTES
- George: "This is organic gardening, not rocket science…Can it possibly be as easy as we say it is? We're about to find out."
- Daniel Kammen, professor/University of California, Berkeley: “The financial returns for reducing carbon could be considerable…The cost of offsetting carbon through these technologies is less than the cost of building solar panels or windmills…There's no question that this [carbon offset strategies] is going to grow…"
- Paul Falkowski, professor of geology and marine science/Rutgers University: "There are some potentially dangerous side effects…"