Today is the start date for a program in which iron based fertilizer will be seeded into a swath of the southern ocean. That will cause a massive algae bloom, and (in principle) soak up carbon dioxide. The notion is that, I suppose, it will stay in the ocean end up as sediment.

The Science short news article is not heavy on the details, but I at least wonder about the possibility of harvesting that algae. But it’s a secondary interest. The bigger issue is: we can certainly inadvertently cause unintended effects on the climate; can we really hope to create intended consequences as well?

I saw a TED talk on that a while back, and thought it was great.

Hope you enjoy.

-Peter