From the grounds of a gas-fired power plant on the eastern shores of Canada, a little-known company is pumping a slurry of minerals into the ocean in the name of stopping climate change.
Whether it’s pollution or a silver bullet that will save the planet may depend on whom you ask.
From shore, a pipe releases a mixture of water and magnesium oxide — a powdery white mineral used in everything from construction to heartburn pills that Planetary Technologies, based in Nova Scotia, is betting will absorb more planet-warming gases into the sea.
“Restore the climate. Heal the ocean,” reads the motto stamped on a shipping container nearby.
8 Comments
MyOpinion@lemm.ee · 12 pts · 1y
You know what would really help burning less fossil fuels.
huppakee@lemm.ee · 2 pts · 1y
I know you're being ironic because that is for sure the real solution, but we're in a too dire a situation to just focus on fossil fuels.
hooferboof@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 1y
Wouldnt that acidify the ocean?
moodymellodrone@sopuli.xyz · 7 pts · 1y
Kinda scary. We don't know what the unforeseen consequences are.
Zahille7@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 1y
I feel like this is the exact opposite of what anyone should do, but then I'm not an environmentalist or anything like that. I'm just some guy.
Chocrates@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 1y
There have been tests of dumping iron as well, I forget exactly why, I think it helps algae bloom.
The problem is we can't test this safely and if it has negative effects we may not see it for decades.
Zahille7@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 1y
Right, because the ocean is huge and diverse. Iron may help algae bloom, but it could be actual poison for other aquatic life.
Chocrates@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 1y
The wiki page is actually pretty promising. Doesn't look like it is the magic bullet but looks actually decently tested.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_fertilization