Year: 2016
Type: article
Abstract: In the Haida experiment, the Haida tribe provided financial backing for an American businessman, Russ George, to dump over 100 tons of iron powder into international waters off the British Columbia coast.12 The Haida hoped that fertilizing the oceans with iron would stimulate the growth of plankton and in time boost the local salmon fishery.13 However, George's comments and his history of promoting geoengineering revealed a further, more controversial motive: to test whether ocean fertilization can sequester carbon from the atmosphere.14 Once George publicly announced what he had done, experts expressed grave concerns.15 The experiment not only lacked proper measurement and controls, but also took place without formal international sanction.16 Although it is contested whether the experiment violated domestic or international law, the incident triggered a Canadian government investigation, as well as allegations that the Canadian government itself was complicit in the experiment.17 The controversy has magnified the reluc-12.See David Biello, Can Controversial Ocean Iron Fertilization Save Salmon?, SCI.AM. (Oct.24, 2012), http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ fertilizing-ocean-with-iron-to-save-salmon-and-earn-money.13.See Joshua Learn, Are Record Salmon Runs in the Northwest the Result of a Controversial CO2 Reduction Scheme?, E&E PUB.(Nov.12, 2014), http://www.eenews.net/stories/1060008722. 14.See Henry Fountain, A Rogue Climate Experiment Has Ocean Experts Outraged, N.Y.TIMES, Oct. 19, 2012, at A1 (noting that George had previously proposed a similar iron fertilization project for the purpose of selling carbon offsets); Mark Hume & Ian Bailey, Businessman Russ George Defends Experiment Seeding Pacific with Iron Sulphate, GLOBE & MAIL (Oct
Source: Minnesota law review
DOI: 10.24926/265535.1130
Author: Albert C. Lin
Institution: University of California, Davis
Language: English
Subfield: Global and Planetary Change
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W992548326