From the Toronto Star, an example of holier than thou environmentalism in the name of carbon sequestration.
Environmental controversy erupts on Canada’s Pacific coast
Environment reporter
The Pacific Ocean, just off Canada’s west coast, has a new suspect ingredient: 100 tonnes of iron sulphate.
An American entrepreneur with a controversial past in geoengineering dumped the iron dust into the Pacific near the Haida Gwaii islands in July after allegedly telling local villagers that the “experiment” was a salmon restoration project, according to ETC Group, an international environmental watchdog with offices in Canada.
Russ George, a U.S. businessman, “blatantly violated” two international moratoria when he dumped the iron dust, Jim Thomas of ETC told the Star on Monday — a UN convention and the London Convention on the disposal of wastes at sea.
“There are very clear international agreements that there is (to be) no ocean fertilization,” he said. “Except if the permit (is) granted in very limited set of circumstances. It didn’t happen in this case.”
Ocean iron fertilization — a highly controversial practice — means stimulating plankton blooms in open water, which then seize carbon from the atmosphere and, on sinking to the bottom of the ocean, store it away. Earlier experiments, about a dozen mostly done by universities, have shown mixed results.
George did not respond to requests for comment from the Star but told the Guardian the two moratoria are a “mythology” and do not apply to his project.
Full story here http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/1272022–environmental-controversy-erupts-on-canada-s-pacific-coast
==============================================================
Right, he’s “saving the planet” and who needs rules for that?
h/t to WUWT reader Martyn Jones
Discover more from Watts Up With That?
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
The world has seen hypocrisy before, but not necessarily to the extent by AGW extremists. Another case in point is NCAR’s new supercomputer.
One must do what one must do when one is saving the planet.
cn
The idea of capturing CO2 in the sea is absurd. Far better to capture it on land where the eventual decomposition will return the CO2 to the atmosphere where it will do the most good. CO2 captured by plankton will largely fall to the ocean floor where it will be lost for all time. The level of CO2 in the atmosphere is dangerously low for plant growth.
This isn’t the first time an environmentalist has wrecked havoc for the Haida:
http://thetyee.ca/Life/2005/08/04/GoldenSpruce2/
This will sequestrate some CO2 in the biomass that descends into the deeps but since there can be no CO2-AGW**, it won’t do any good. Instead, it will initiate local AGW as the dimethyl sulphide emitted from dead phytoplankton forms sulphate aerosols reduces droplet coarsening rates of low level clouds, this reducing albedo.
So, this idiot has caused more global warming!
How much CO2 was released in mining that iron? I’ve also seen dumb proposals for Mg and Ca coatings on structures that would react with CO2 and capture it. The only problem with that is Mg and Ca are mined from dolomite, which is a carbonate. So you’d be mining Mg and Ca, releasing CO2, so that you can recapture the CO2. Most iron ores are not carbonates, but some are. Anyway, it all seems so pointless and even potentially harmful. That man doesn’t know exactly whats going to happen to that iron. He’s just wasting it by throwing it into the ocean.
Unfortunately there is a long history of American’s trying to apply their own ideas in other countries, and turning friends into enemies in the process. Here on the west coats of BC we have “Tides”, a front for US interests manipulating the political system to made BC into the next California. It is no different that the Chinese trying to manipulate the US political system.
Folks in the US, please wake up. Your make no friends by pissing in your neighbor’s pool.
Perhaps this is not the case, but if there is an algae bloom, isn’t there a high probability of hypoxia and therefore fish kill all in the name of saving the planet. Reminds me of allowing the “taking” of migratory birds, eagles, bats, in the name of alternative energy. Don’t these people think issues throught?
The green agenda claims another government. The premier of Ontario – the largest province in Canada – resigns.
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1272015–walkom-mcguinty-resigns-the-self-inflicted-death-of-dalton-mcguinty-s-bold-agenda
But the centerpiece of the McGuinty agenda was his controversial green energy policy. …
But like the rest of the McGuinty agenda it soon ran into trouble — from rural residents worried that windmills were making them sick, from suburbanites who didn’t want new gas turbines built near their homes, from hydro users angered by their rising energy bills.
In the end, through a crazy-cat combination of Liberal deviousness and government incompetence, all of these contradictions came to a head.
On Monday night, McGuinty said he realized that it was time for his party to try someone new. What he meant was that, politically, he had no choice.
So he announced his resignation. In doing so, he took his government’s entire agenda with him.
Notice the emotional effect of the reporter’s use of the word “dumped?” That’s what we do with, eewww, dirty, poison GARBAGE! If she had approved of what he did, she would have written that he “placed” or “added” or “mixed” the substance; or if she wanted to sound really scientific, “admixed.”
The press and their editors may be as thick as lumber on the science, but as verbal propagandizers, they are skilled and dangerous. Always keep your eye on them.
Apparently, the CAGW cultusts believe that to save the planet they must destroy it. The order of the day is “do something, do anything but do it NOW!”. That means doing the first thing that comes to mind rather than making sure there is a problem and that the problem can be solved without making things worse. Interestingly, reality does not pay attention to so called good intentions. It simply follows immutable cause and effect in response to human action. I suggest that deep down where it really counts, they know this and actually do want the destruction their ill-conceived actions produce. They do not mean well. Their intentions are not at all good.
As with all things liberty, the rules are only for the little people.
Lionell Griffith says:
October 16, 2012 at 7:55 am
I suggest that deep down where it really counts, they know this and actually do want the destruction their ill-conceived actions produce. They do not mean well. Their intentions are not at all good.
=========
Agreed, the high priests of old practiced “human sacrifice” in the name of saving the people they sacrificed. The Inquisition tortured and killed millions in the name of saving their souls.
Today’s Climate Scientists have painted themselves into the role of modern day High Priests. They hold themselves above criticism, labeling anyone that questions them as “deniers”. In the name of saving humanity they are again calling for human sacrifice on a massive scale.
To save the planet, the High Priests of Climate want a dramatic reduction in low cost energy use. However, it is this low cost energy use that makes modern civilization possible. Without this access to low cost energy, it would be impossible to support cities with populations in the millions as are now common across the planet.
These people, those living in large cities, would need to be sacrificed to save them. Same story, different actors.
Nice video news clip here. 3 minutes.
Iron sulfate dumped off B.C. coast in controversial project
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2012/10/15/bc-iron-sulfate-dumping-haida-gwaii.html
The fact is that ocean fertilization could in fact have beneficial results by increasing ocean based food yields.As for climate? Who knows.
But more plankton utimately equals more edible fish,a nd this is a good thing.
The impaortant result would in the fish catch.
I think ocean fertilization will be no more dangerous to the oceans than fertilizatin of the lands.
Calling it ‘geo-engineering’ is playing into the grandiose delusions of the AGW community.
Ok so this guy lies to locals so he can secretly dump iron sulphate into the ocean. I don’t buy the idea that it was simply to save the planet, this project smells of money.
I can’t help but wonder; Where did the money originate for his project, who would pay for this?
Just remember: the rules don’t apply to enlightened or friends of the enlightened. The Democrats are always crying about the rich paying their “fair share”, but the Democrats, like every politician, are also rich and always find a way to stay rich. And, by no coincidence, all the politicians give taxpayer money to those who grease their palms. Al Gore, being one of the enlightened, can fly around the world and live in big houses while telling us to conserve for the good of the planet. How many of these climate scientists pushing AGW are paupers? How many live the way they tell us we must live to save the planet?
What would be ironic is if all the salmon in the area ate up the iron dust and became healthier and robust beyond belief, due to a previously undetected iron deficiency.
ferd berple says:
“Here on the west coats of BC we have “Tides”, a front for US interests manipulating the political system to made BC into the next California. … Folks in the US, please wake up. Your make no friends by pissing in your neighbor’s pool.”
Please Fred, do not mistake the Peoples’ Republic of Californication with the rest of the US. We in the US have enough problems trying to keep the Californicators from making every nearby state into another California after they flee the mess thay have made.
Amazing. At my plant if we release more than 1 PPM of iron in our effluent water we are in violation of our permit and then there is hell to pay. And then this clown goes out and dumps all of this iron in the ocean, Jeez….
“The Pacific Ocean, just off Canada’s west coast”
That’s interesting. Must be some newly discovered body of water separating the ocean from the coast.
And David Suzuki, Hansen-et-al have the audacity to say that WE should be charged with crimes against humanity.
It’s unfortunate that “There are very clear international agreements that there is (to be) no ocean fertilization,”. While the intent behind these agreements may be good, (pollution prevention), in the long run, this is a blatantly stupid policy. Imagine what the planet would be like today if there were international agreements that banned the fertilization of soil.
Fertilizing the oceans is an idea that needs to be explored, albeit very carefully. We’ll never learn to stimulate the oceans without careful experimentation. I’d much rather see grant money spent on carefully controlled ocean fertilization experiments than squandered on… (fill in this blank with your favorite pet peeve).
Coming up next: environmentalists that proactively start depopulating their country.
Nobel Peace Price material.
Well, you an count on one thing. The federal govt here in .ca will nail him to the wall and fine him into oblivion. No fanfare. No trumpets blaring like certain administrations I won’t name here. Just quietly pound that polluting bastard into dust.