WhyNot?

Global warming

Category: Plant Matter
Responses: 4 (1 in support, 1 neutral, 2 in opposition)
Number of views: 206
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It has been discovered that the health of phytoplankton, the algae that grows in the sea which forms the basis for nourishment for sea life, is determined by the quantity of dissolved iron and nitrogen in the water. Since half of the CO2 conversion into plant matter takes place through the growth of phytoplankton, a sure way of cutting CO2 in the atmosphere(which is one of the main causes of global warming) would be to add iron and nitrogen to the sea to encourage phytoplankton growth. If the runoff of farm fertilizer(which is rich in nitrogen) could somehow be captured and transferred to areas of the sea that could encourage phytoplankton growth, global warming could be slowed tremendously.

sand, Sep 03 2006

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I think the delievery of such large amounts of fertiizer would kill many of the fish present in the area of introduction.

bkeene12, Sep 04 2006

It is reasonable to be very careful in major modifications of the environment. Fertilizer washed out to the sea can result in the growth of toxic organisms. But the benefits of a successful experiment may be very large and worth investigation.

sand, Sep 04 2006

This will only help if the algae is noy allowed to decompose and rerelease the carbon. The algae would either have to be collected and stored or forced to sink rapidly to the bottom of the ocean. Once on the bottom, we would need to devise a way to bury it or somehow block bacteria or other oganisms from eating it.

Dwane Anderson, Jan 17 2007