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A comment on Seaweed could be scrubbing more carbon from the atmosphere than expected (2017). Parent comment

Re:Seaweed could be scrubbing more carbon from the atmospher... by hawkice on Tuesday August 07, 2018 @05:17AM (#17704933)
It would probably be dangerous to engineer an organism that doesn't break down. Imagine a living, growing plastic. Except not a Dr. Who villain.
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Re:Seaweed could be scrubbing more carbon from the atmospher... by TuringTest on Tuesday August 07, 2018 @05:40AM (#17705032)
This classic novel explores that scenario.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41094.Greener_Than_You_T...

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Re:Seaweed could be scrubbing more carbon from the atmospher... by beerlord on Tuesday August 07, 2018 @05:38AM (#17705020)
Well presumably we could still collect, dry and burn what accumulates on the shore, and the rest would fall to the seabed. If the alternative is a hothouse Earth, with large sections of the planet rendered uninhabitable, geoengineering schemes like this are going to be necessary. We can start with iron fertilisation experiments - Australia has a lot of it, and is near oceans.
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Re:Seaweed could be scrubbing more carbon from the atmospher... by cimmanom on Tuesday August 07, 2018 @05:43AM (#17705047)
Wouldn’t burning it defeat the carbon sequestration purpose?
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Re:Seaweed could be scrubbing more carbon from the atmospher... by NinjaViking on Tuesday August 07, 2018 @06:33AM (#17705255)
That would be a desperate attempt to reverse a runaway process, if it turns out to be too successful.
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Re:Seaweed could be scrubbing more carbon from the atmospher... by TuringTest on Tuesday August 07, 2018 @05:42AM (#17705036)
You risk creating a locust-like scenario, where it's impossible to fully control areas with specimen outbreaks.
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Re:Seaweed could be scrubbing more carbon from the atmospher... by bpicolo on Tuesday August 07, 2018 @08:24AM (#17705816)
> the rest would fall to the seabed

And kill a ton of sea life?

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Re:Seaweed could be scrubbing more carbon from the atmospher... by Scarblac on Tuesday August 07, 2018 @09:29AM (#17706358)
What sea life will be left after a few more decades of acidification?
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Re:Seaweed could be scrubbing more carbon from the atmospher... by kamaal on Tuesday August 07, 2018 @07:00AM (#17705372)
>>Well presumably we could still collect, dry and burn what accumulates on the shore, and the rest would fall to the seabed.

Immortal plastic organism will eventually evolve to a lot more that 'trap carbon' work. Human's barely live for 60 years, and yet we can transfer all our knowledge generations one after the other. Imagine what an organism that can never die could do.

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