U.S. Businessman Conducts Massive and Illegal ‘Ocean Fertilization’ Experiment Off Canada’s West Coast

This post comes to us from Planetsave.com. For more along these lines, visit Planetsave or some of its most popular categories: Global Warming, Science, Going Green Tips, Animals, or 10 Friday Photos.

Geoengineering theories and  experiments have received much attention in recent years, with one recent experiment in “ocean (iron) fertilization” successfully conducted off the coast of Antarctica by a German scientific research team. Past experiments of this kind had mostly failed.

The basic idea is to trigger large blooms of plankton to absorb large quantities of CO2; the plankton eventually die and sink to the bottom of the ocean — thereby “sequestering” carbon.

Many scientists are skeptical about whether this technique can serve as an effective carbon sink in the long-term, while some worry that it could do more harm than good.

Due to the very experimental nature of these “iron seeding” geoengineering schemes — and the very real possibility of unintentional consequences like increased acidification, oxygen depletion, and even toxic plankton blooms – such experiments are limited and generally reserved for scientific research teams. Indeed, the United Nations has recently imposed moratoria to limit the number of such ocean fertilization experiments.

A Rogue Geo-Engineer/Profiteer

But this has not stopped a company backed by US businessman Russ George from unilaterally conducting his own private, large-scale, ocean fertilization experiment just off Canada’s West Coast (North British Columbia). Said experiment has actually been underway since July, when George dumped approximately 100 tons of iron sulphate into coastal waters after convincing a local tribe (a First Nations village on the archipelago of Haida Gwaii) that the enterprise — named the Haida Salmon Restoration Corporation — would benefit the local salmon population. The tribe even kicked in 1 million CN to help fund the project.

In a statement to the UK’s Guardian newspaper, Mr. George calls it “the most substantial ocean restoration project in history.” [quote source]

Indeed, recent NASA satellite images confirmed a massive algal bloom comprising 10,000 square kilometers (6,214 sq. miles) just off the B.C. coast.

Public and Scientific Criticism

As expected, the project sparked an outcry from environmentalists, scientists, community groups, and officials from the Canadian government. The matter is currently under investigation by Environment Canada.

Oceanographer John Cullen, at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, commented:

“It is difficult if not impossible to detect and describe important effects that we know might occur months or years later. Some possible effects, such as deep-water oxygen depletion and alteration of distant food webs, should rule out ocean manipulation. History is full of examples of ecological manipulations that backfired.” [quote source]

Some Background on Russ George

Mr George is not new to geoengineering schemes; he is the former chief executive of Planktos Inc, which oversaw two previous “large-scale commercial dumps” (of iron sulphate particles) off the Galapagos and Canary Islands. These unauthorized dumps apparently failed and resulted in his vessels being barred from ports by their respective Spanish and Ecuadorean governments. He was even warned by the U.S. EPA that flying the US flag (in the Galapagos mission) was in violation of U.S. laws.

Consequently, George’s rogue geoengineering efforts led to the United Nations passing the noted moratoria limiting such experiments.

Interestingly, Mr. George has acknowledged that his team of “unidentified scientists” has  been monitoring the developments with equipment loaned to him by federal US agencies like NOAA and NASA. It is not known to what extent these agencies were or are aware of the international moratoria on ocean fertilization.

As Mr. George is a businessman, not a scientist, one can surmise that his motives for geoengineering are profiteering in nature…perhaps seeking to profit off the carbon credit market.

Other observers expect legal action to ensue in the event that it is found he deceived that tribe, or, the government agencies that loaned him equipment. Further, his actions may be in violation of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), as well as another (London) convention concerning dumping “waste” at sea.

But Mr. George, who rejects the applicability of these conventions, is a damn-the-torpedos-full-steam-ahead kind of opportunist. In the same Guardian interview, a confident Russ George stated: “We’ve gathered data targeting all the possible fears that have been raised [about ocean fertilisation]. And the news is good news, all around, for the planet.” [quote source]

Well, that remains to be seen; it will take months, if not years, for real scientists to determine the medium to long-term impacts of this first-ever private geoengineering experiment.

Kids…don’t try this at home.

Some source material for this article came from the io9 blog post:  massive and illegal geoengineering project has been detected off Canada’s west coast by George Dvorsky

Top image: NASA.