I hope it doesn't spill over into the stock market. http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=44196
ENVIRONMENT: 'Fertilising' the Ocean Could be a Cure That Kills Julio Godoy* - IPS/Terraviva BARCELONA, Oct 9 (IPS) - Environmentalists are challenging dubious new proposals to reduce the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. One of these new proposals is "geo-engineering" to capture carbon from the atmosphere. A disproportionately high concentration of carbon dioxide is believed to cause global warming, and consequently climate change. Leading scientists attending the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) World Conservation Congress in Barcelona say such projects must be banned for good, especially plans by some private corporations and governments from industrialised countries to artificially "fertilise" the oceans with iron and chemicals. This kind of 'fertilisation' is intended to accelerate the natural process of carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration by photosynthesis, and help multiply microscopic organisms called phytoplankton that account for about half of all absorption of carbon dioxide by plants. Through photosynthesis, plankton capture carbon and sunlight for growth, releasing oxygen into the atmosphere. Phytoplankton productivity in the oceans is declining as a result of warmer temperatures. The amount of iron that is naturally deposited from atmospheric dust clouds into the oceans, providing nutrients for phytoplankton, has also decreased dramatically in recent decades. The Australia-based Ocean Nourishment Corporation (ONC) and the U.S. company Climos say that dumping "nutrients" such as iron, nitrogen and urea into sea water could lead to growth of new phytoplankton. Climos announced last month that it will undertake its first ocean fertilisation project within the next 18 months. Margaret Leinen, chief scientist at Climos, says research needs to be undertaken. "Climate change constitutes an enormous challenge for us, we cannot afford to do nothing." Leinen said that if additional CO2 sequestration could be safely simulated (by scientific research on ocean fertilisation), then the process "could assist in decreasing the carbon concentration in the atmosphere until our global energy economy can make the transition to fewer greenhouse gases emissions." But such plans are "plainly illegal," Philomene Verlaan, professor of ocean policy at the University of Hawaii told IPS. "Under the United National Law of the Sea Convention (LOSC) all intentional actions aimed at polluting the sea are forbidden." Environmentalists and scientists fear that ocean fertilisation could also have negative side effects that would lead to further loss of marine biodiversity. "We do not understand the full range of intended and unintended bio-geochemical and ecological impacts of artificial ocean fertilisation," Ken Buesseler, senior scientist at the U.S.-based Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, said at a workshop on ocean fertilisation at the IUCN congress. Unintended consequences could include transformation of marine habitats by introducing alien species or destroying native ones, he said. David Santillo, senior scientist at the Greenpeace research laboratories, and professor at the School of Biosciences at the University of Exeter in Britain, said that "scientific research can only be legitimate to understand natural processes, but not to prepare the field for commercial activities that would transform the environment in ways we do not understand and most certainly we cannot control." Verlaan said that besides the illegality of 'fertilisation' of the sea, under the Kyoto protocol the industrialised countries "are legally obliged to reduce (emissions) at the source. What we would do by 'fertilising the oceans' would simply be to transfer pollution from one place to another." (END/2008) http://www.indstate.edu/news/news.php?newsid=1485 Professor selected to be distinguished lecturer October 9, 2008 The Consortium for Ocean Leadership has selected an Indiana State University professor to be a distinguished lecturer for the 2009-10 academic year. Jennifer Latimer, assistant professor of geology, will give six to eight lectures across the United States on "The Role of Iron Fertilization and Past Climate Change: Where does all that dirt come from'" As a graduate student, Latimer began investigating the impact iron has on climate change. That research has continued through today. "My talk is about iron fertilization of oceans, how it impacted climate change in the past and why I don't think it will work to curb future climate change," she said. While experiments have shown that adding iron to iron deficient waters fuels new productivity in algae, which contribute to the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, she said research shows it is more complicated than just adding iron to the water. "Other factors that influence iron fluxes to the deep-sea include changes in the strength of surface currents, as well as sediment redistribution and remobilization by bottom currents," she said. Latimer said she doesn't know who nominated her for the lecturer series, but that she is excited about the opportunity. "It was really surprising to be given this opportunity. Usually the lecturers are much more senior scientists, it's also unusual for the lecturer to be from a smaller school," she said. "I'm looking forward to the opportunity to promote my research and ISU." Latimer was a Schlanger Ocean Drilling Fellow in 1999, studying the sediment geochemistry of samples from the Southern Ocean and sailed as a physical properties specialist as part of the Ocean Drilling Program's research in the Tasmanian Seaway. In addition, she sailed on a site survey expedition to the South Pacific in 2005 in support of a proposed drilling expedition. -30- Contact: Jennifer Latimer, Indiana State University, assistant professor of geology, at 812-237-2254 or [EMAIL PROTECTED] Writer: Jennifer Sicking, Indiana State University, assistant director of media relations, at 812-237-7972 or [EMAIL PROTECTED] Photo: Jennifer Latimer http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/oct/10/network-climatechange Exxcerpts from the article. Thomas Friedman: Hope for a hot, flat and crowded world Bestselling author Thomas Friedman talks with Elizabeth Kolbert about his new book and about why he's optimistic that an energy-technology revolution can revitalise the United States and set the world on a new, greener path a.. From Yale360, a member of the Guardian Environment Network b.. guardian.co.uk, c.. Friday October 10 2008 12.57 BST In his new, bestselling book, Hot, Flat and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution — and How It Can Renew America, New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman describes a world in trouble. With climate change, globalization, and overpopulation, he argues, the central challenge to humanity has now become "to manage what is already unavoidable and avoid what will truly be unmanageable." In an exclusive interview for Yale Environment 360, Friedman spoke with New Yorker staff writer Elizabeth Kolbert about the need for an energy technology revolution — a revolution he believes should be led by the United States. The three-time Pulitzer Prize winner told Kolbert that energy technology must be the next great global industry and that "the country that leads that industry is going to have the most national security, economic security, innovative companies and global respect." Kolbert: You talk to an amazing array of very smart people, the people we would all like to talk to, from John Holdren to E. O Wilson. If you had to pick, and maybe this is unfair, but something that someone said to you that really got you thinking about things in a new way, and that you'd point people towards, what would that be? Friedman: You know, you mention E.O. Wilson, and Ed Wilson is just one of the great treasures of America. And he said something that really struck me. And I'm not going to get it exactly right, but he basically said, We're only going to innovate our way out of this problem. This is not a problem for regulators, it's for engineers." "Nature is regulating our climate for free. Mother Nature, she's been doing that for free, for a long, long time. Now do you really want to get in there and do geo-engineering and all this kind of stuff? Well, if you don't want to do that, then we need to get out of Mother Nature's way. Because do you want to be turning the dials and pulling the levers and think we can do that better than Mother Nature?" I don't think so. And it is a very, very powerful point. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "geoengineering" group. 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