Note: The following information comes from interviews with Peter Fiekowsky; from his book, “Climate Restoration: The Only Future that Will Sustain the Human Race;” from his scientific papers; and his Climate Restoration Fund website.
In every year since 1950, carbon dioxide has increased in our atmosphere except one, 1991. What happened in that year gives the information we need to decrease carbon in our atmosphere, the source of global warming.
First, though, an analogy is in order.
If you have a poisoned lake, it is a pretty good idea to stop putting more poison into the lake. (We have been trying to do that in our “atmospheric lake” every year since 1993, with little success.)
But this is a different idea: How about starting to remove some of the poison that is already in the lake — in our atmosphere!
That is the point of this commentary: How do we take out the carbon already in our atmosphere?
The answer brings us back to 1991. In 1991, Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines erupted and released great amounts of dust and debris into the oceans.
Scientists saw that carbon in the atmosphere almost leveled off that year. They finally linked the two events: The eruption deposited great amounts of iron dust, which served as fertilizer in the oceans.
This, in turn, caused huge blooms of microalgae. These, through photosynthesis, consumed so much carbon. Since carbon freely passes between air and water, there was almost no increase in carbon in the atmosphere in 1991!
Following is a simple plan to reproduce that process: to remove carbon already in the air by fertilizing parts of the ocean with iron to stimulate the growth of large amounts of ocean algae.
Because of his continuous exchange of carbon between the ocean’s surface waters and the atmosphere, photosynthesis in the algae will remove tons of carbon from the atmosphere!
Analysis of Carbon Dioxide in Our Air
First, a brief review of the effects of CO₂.
Parts per million of CO₂ in the atmosphere — And its significance to humankind:
280 ppm — Pre-industrial amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere. Optimal for agriculture and ecosystems.
Lasted for 10,000 years until 1800. ~1800
300 ppm — The highest CO₂ our ancestors ever experienced for nearly a million years — therefore, proven safe. This level was last seen in 1920. ~1920
350 ppm — Said to be the theoretically safe level. Last seen in 1987 ~1987
420 ppm — This is today’s level, in 2024. It was also the level 14 million years ago before hominids evolved.
450 ppm — This is the current target level of reaching “net-zero by 2050.” Even if we reach this goal, no expert claims it will support life as we know it. (Beyond this, in 1993 the United Nations set yearly goals to reduce carbon emissions. The reality is that the world has never reached even one of these yearly goals!)
600-800 ppm — Common projections for CO₂ in 2100, even if we actually achieved net-zero by 2050!
Besides continuing to reduce carbon emissions, wouldn’t it be wise to begin to remove the carbon that’s already here?
Mount Pinatubo (and the 10 last ice ages) have proven to us that we can do this. Here’s how:
The simplified plan (by the numbers) to remove carbon and restore our atmosphere to 1920 levels by 2050.
In order to reduce CO₂ and, hopefully, end global warming by 2050, we must employ:
- Six ships, hired or reconditioned, which will carry
- 50,000 tons of iron sulfate or other iron fertilizers, mixed with ocean water, and distributed in
- Six sites in ocean eddies, beyond international water boundaries for
- 20 years, continuously, which will fertilize and increase algae growth by
- 2%, which will absorb
- 60 more gigatons of carbon per year than is now absorbed, which will reduce CO₂ to
- 300 parts per million (1920 levels), which will give us a stable climate by the year
- 2050 at a cost of
- $1 billion per year, which equals less than
- 1 cent per U.S. citizen per day!
The Only Known Drawback
The only known drawback to this plan seems to be a fear of the term “geo-engineering.” People are worried about possible adverse consequences.
The 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption carried out ocean iron fertilization “naturally,” and it almost leveled off carbon in the atmosphere for one year.
Since 1995, 13 scientific studies replicating the process of fertilizing the ocean with iron have been conducted and published.
These also have created large growths of ocean microalgae. No negative results have been observed.
Of course, ongoing close observation of carrying out this proposed plan must continue.
The fear of what is called “geo-engineering” in this case seems to be unfounded. There is no scientific data to prove any harmful effects.
In addition, “geo-engineering” has been around since hunter-gathers decided to cultivate land and plant crops. We then built myriads of geo-engineering devices: reservoirs, aqueducts, irrigation, etc.
Conclusion
Replicating this age-old natural process — fertilizing parts of the ocean with iron to bloom microalgae — will safely remove excess tons of carbon already in the atmosphere.