Science-Fiction or Science-Business?

Environmental business is still business. And now more than ever—business and companies are trying to get a solid grasp on the prosperous field.

Russ George is chief executive of Planktos—a company that thinks they have a solution to global warming, by dumping enough iron into the ocean to spur a growth of plankton that will then in turn ingest the carbon dioxide, while Planktos sells carbon credits to big businesses.

This month Planktos “plans to dissolve tons of iron…over 2.47 million acres” near the Galapagos Islands. The iron will cause plankton to bloom and the researches will calculate how much carbon dioxide is ingested. This is considered comparable to planting trees on land.

There still remains much debate over the idea

Pros:
-it is true that plankton, a natural carbon dioxide “eater”, will bloom due to the dissolution of iron
-inexpensive solution “The cost of offsetting carbon through these technologies is less than the cost of building solar panels or windmills,”—Daniel Kammen Professor at UC Berkley)
-it’s too easy!

Cons:
-obviously longer research is essential
-when the plankton is eaten, marine life releases some of the carbon back into the atmosphere. (Same effect with the decomposing of the plankton)
-when plankton blooms-methane and nitrous oxide could release, increasing greenhouse gases
-it’s too easy!

There has to be a catch. What happens when marine animals eat the plankton that probably has higher levels of iron than is natural? What about the idea that more gases are released? So many questions…

Planktos is not the only company vested in this idea either. Climos is another company that boasts legitimate scientists and future research as well.

But to the main point: “going green” has become a lucrative business for those that have the right plan. Possible government subsidies and big money might be speeding the process of finding alternatives to global warming and this worries some.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/01/business/01plankton.html
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15298749