Algae Will Avert Climate Change… By Destroying The Human Race!

Posted on 20. Oct, 2009 by Ross in New Technologies

Here at Energy-Saving News, we think algae’s great. From algae-based biofuels to algae batteries; from algae which produce hydrogen for fuel cell cars to cleaning up coal pollution and turning it into fuel, algae are beginning to dominate the cleantech environment.

However, the explosion in interest in algae as a bioengineering solution to climate change has now taken a dark twist, according to new research done by Clemson University researchers (PDF).

Toxin-producing algae were a deadly factor in mass extinctions millions of years ago, and current environmental conditions show significant similarity to times when previous mass extinctions occurred.

Geologist James W. Castle and ecotoxicologist John H. Rodgers spent two years analysing data from ancient algal deposits — stromatolite structures — finding evidence that blue-green algae, which produce poisons and deplete oxygen, were present in sufficient quantities to kill off untold numbers of plants and animals living on land or in the sea.

Other researchers have theorized that climate changes, sea level, volcanic activity, even asteroids, were primary causes of death of more than 50 percent of life on Earth. Castle and Rodgers claim that these causes were contributors, but algae were the mass killers. They point out that asteroid-caused extinction, a popular theory for the end of dinosaurs, does not fit the evidence.

The fossil record indicates that mass extinctions… occurred in response to environmental changes at the end of the Cretaceous; however, these extinctions occurred more gradually than expected if caused solely by a catastrophic event.

Perhaps most provocative is the conclusion of Castle and Rodgers that “this hypothesis gives us cause for concern and underscores the importance of careful and strategic monitoring as we move into an era of global climate change.” The scientists state that the level of “modern toxin-producing algae is presently increasing, and their geographic distribution is expanding… ”

The warnings from the researchers are timely, as energy companies and venture capitalists are beginning to pour money into the emerging field of algal biofuels. The most high-profile deal so far was the partnering of Exxon with Craig Venter, the man who first shot to infamy by completing the human genome project privately ahead of the giant global collaboration which had started years earlier. He has since being researching the creation of new artificial life, and his forays into algae-based biofuels are expected to hinge strongly on genetic modifications to enhance yields.

However, if previous mass extinctions have occurred because of algae, does the world need new super-strains of algae which could potentially escape and wreak havoc? Similar sorts of fears were unleashed regarding nanotechnology and ‘grey goo’, and emerging nanotech applications have since been forced to replace initial exuberance with highly stringent controls.

Algae might be more ‘natural’ than nanotechnology, but therein lies an extra problem. Venter and his peers aim to create strains of organisms which cannot thrive in the outside world, but unlike nanomachines their DNA could potentially pass into wild strains. Genes hopping between species has always been one of the greatest arguments against wild-scale genetically-modified crops: in algae the phenomenon suddenly now takes a more cataclysmic twist.

Will algae farms implement the necessary safeguards to prevent altered algae escaping into the ecosystem? If not, we might end up avoiding the worst effects of climate change by taking the ultimate route to reducing emissions: population cuts.

Image of seaweed by Ross Tucknott @ Flickr