Below is a text with blanks. Click on each blank, a list of choices will appear. Select the appropriate answer choice for each blank.
One of the crazier ideas for dealing with global warming is to sprinkle the oceans with iron fillings. One reason the sea (unlike the land) is not covered plants is that it lacks crucial nutrients-iron, in particular. Add iron, the theory goes, and you will promote the growth of algae. These will absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and then conveniently sink when they die. Thus, over the course of a few decades, the concentration of the gas in the atmosphere will return to pre-industrial levels. Presto! Problem solved.
The law of unintended consequences argues against doing any such thing, of course. However, an experiment carried out a decade ago in the Southern that a more modest version of the ” fertilise the oceans” project might indeed help to stop climate change.
Mr Munford’s proposal is to harvest the algae, rather than allowing them to die and sink. He notes that many species of algae pack a far denser punch energy-wise than the plants now used as energy crops. In particular, they produce oils, of the sort valued as biodiesel, and are attracting a lot of attention from scientists and entrepreneurs looking for fuels to replace mineral oils.
