See:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/01/business/01plankton.html?ref=science
May 1, 2007
The Energy Challenge
Recruiting Plankton to Fight Global Warming
By MATT RICHTEL
SAN FRANCISCO, April 30 Can plankton help save the planet?
Some Silicon Valley technocrats are betting that
it just might. In an effort to ameliorate the
effects of global warming, several groups are
working on ventures to grow vast floating fields
of plankton intended to absorb carbon dioxide
from the atmosphere and carry it to the depths of
the ocean. It is an idea, debated by experts for
years, that still sounds like science fiction
and some scholars think that is where it belongs.
But even though many questions remain unanswered,
the first commercial project is scheduled to get
under way this month when the WeatherBird II, a
115-foot research vessel, heads out from its dock
in Florida to the Galápagos and the South Pacific.
The ship plans to dissolve tons of iron, an
essential plankton nutrient, over a
10,000-square-kilometer patch. Thats equivalent
to 2.47 million acres (3,861 square miles on land
or 2,912 square nautical miles). When the trace
iron prompts growth and reproduction of the tiny
organism, scientists on the WeatherBird II plan
to measure how much carbon dioxide the plankton ingests.
The idea is similar to planting forests full of
carbon-inhaling trees, but in desolate stretches
of ocean. This is organic gardening, not rocket
science, said Russ George, the chief executive
of Planktos, the company behind the WeatherBird
II project. Can it possibly be as easy as we say
it is? Were about to find out.
For Mr. George, this is not just science and
environmentalism but business, possibly big
business. Around the world, new treaties and
regulations are forcing corporations to look for
ways to offset their carbon emissions, and
Planktos and its competitors may be able to
charge millions of dollars for their services.
. . .
