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Gaia scientist endorses plan to halt climate change
29 September 2007
NewScientist.com news service

Kill or cure? James Lovelock, the British planetary scientist and originator of the Gaia hypothesis, has endorsed a potential cure for the "pathology" of global warming, but has admitted that it could make matters worse.

The idea is to tether millions of vertical pipes across the oceans to pump nutrient-rich deep water to the surface. These waters would fertilise the growth of algae, which in turn fix carbon dioxide. The pipes, reaching to depths of 200 metres, would have flap valves at the bottom operated by the energy of waves, which would push deep water up the pipe (Nature, vol 449, p 403).

The concept, put forward with Chris Rapley of the Science Museum in London, is based on a proposal by Philip Kithil of the Santa Fe-based corporation Atmocean. Kithil suggested at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union last year that 100 million 10-metre diameter pumps across the oceans could capture one-quarter of human-made CO₂ emissions.

The snag is that as well as being rich in nutrients, water rising up the pipes will be rich in carbon - this could mean CO₂ is released into the atmosphere.

"The immediate reaction of nearly all the scientists I have spoken to has been no, it won't work," says Lovelock. "Scientists are usually negative about new ideas. Most times they are right; but not always." The stakes are so high, however, that the concept of using the Earth's own energy "to heal the planet" should be considered, says Lovelock.

From issue 2623 of New Scientist magazine, 29 September 2007, page 4

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