World Wildlife Fund Opposes Iron Dumping In Ocean

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.


The World Wildlife Fund announced its opposition to a plan by the for-profit Planktos, Inc. to dump up to 100 tons of iron dust in the open ocean west of the Galapagos Islands. The experiment is designed to produce phytoplankton blooms that may absorb carbon dioxide. The American company is speculating on lucrative ways to combat climate change. But WWF spokespersons say there are safer and more proven ways of preventing or lowering carbon dioxide levels, and that the real risks in this experiment could cause a domino effect throughout the food web.

Potential negative impacts of the Planktos experiment include: shifts in the natural species composition of plankton; gases released by the large amount of phytoplankton blooms; bacterial decay following the induced blooms and the resulting anoxia, leading to a potential dead zone in the area; the introduction of large amounts of impure (but cost-effective) iron to the ecosystem, tainted by other trace metals toxic to marine life.

The waters around the Galapagos are rich with 400 species of fish, as well as sea turtles, penguins, marine iguanas, sperm whales, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, crabs, anemones, sponges and corals. Many of these animals are found nowhere else on earth. Planktos, Inc. plans to dump the iron in international waters using vessels neither flagged under the United States nor leaving from the U.S., so federal regulations such as the U.S. Ocean Dumping Act don’t apply and details don’t need to be disclosed to U.S. entities.

Take note: a new form of piracy is born. Science piracy on the high seas. Isn’t Sea Shepherd in the area right about now? Calling the good Pirate, I mean, Captain Paul Watson . . .

BTW, here’s a good example of the media getting it all wrong:

–JULIA WHITTY

Fact:

Mother Jones was founded as a nonprofit in 1976 because we knew corporations and billionaires wouldn't fund the type of hard-hitting journalism we set out to do.

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2024 demands.

payment methods

Fact:

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2024 demands.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate