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Green Development LLC Explains Why We Need to Protect Aquatic Plant Life

Green Development LLC Explains Why We Need to Protect Aquatic Plant Life

It’s no secret that pollution wreaks havoc on our air and oceans. Human activity produces large quantities of carbon dioxide and methane—the two most dominant greenhouse gasses that are fueling global warming and ocean acidification at alarming rates; nitrogen-boosted fertilizers run into the oceans, causing dead zones that devastate aquatic life. Kelp and seagrass play a significant role in keeping our air and oceans clean, and have the potential to do much more if efforts to protect and enhance kelp forests continue to gain popularity. The clean technology experts at Green Development LLC explain how kelp and seagrass help us, the current threats to these species, and why humans need to ensure there is an environment healthy enough to support their prosperity.

How can kelp help?

Traps Carbon Emissions and Nitrogen Runoff

Much like plant life on land, kelp grows by way of photosynthesis: the process of absorbing sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen. With growth rates up to two feet per day, efforts to protect and enhance kelp forests have a significant edge in helping to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Not only does kelp remove carbon dioxide from the air, but it also plays a crucial role in managing environmentally harmful runoff from farms. One study found that 15-30% of the 124 million tons of nitrogen used globally as fertilizer ends up in coastal waters, contributing to 245,000 square kilometers of dead zones. Kelp is able to sequester nitrogen and carbon from the water, undoing the environmental damage from agricultural runoff and helping to secure the ecosystem for many aquatic species of plants and wildlife.

Reduces Agricultural Methane Production

Researchers at the University of California, Davis, have shown that feeding beef cattle a diet partially supplemented with red seaweed reduces methane production by over 80%. Cattle and other ruminant animals are responsible for approximately 5% of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. Significantly more land is suitable for grazing rather than crop production, so finding ways to make the grazing process more eco-friendly will go a long way to altering existing practices that are affordable and accessible to feed the world without significant impacts on methane production.

Threats to Kelp and Seagrass

Endangered Sea Stars

Sea stars play an important role in the ocean’s ecosystem, and a specific species of sea stars is facing extinction due to a disease catalyzed by warming ocean conditions. Between 2013 and 2017, nearly 91% of the sunflower sea star population between Mexico and Alaska was wiped out.

Sea stars eat sea urchins, and sea urchins eat kelp. Without sea stars to keep the population of sea urchins in check, the sea urchins over-populate and consume more kelp than the sea is producing. If humans could see underwater with the same ease that we see the effects of deforestation and wildfires, we would notice the 95% drop in coverage along bull kelp forests that line the Pacific Coast.

Overharvesting Seaweed/Kelp

A market estimated at $1 billion per year has increased demand for a carbohydrate called alginate, a natural thickener for food, textiles, and pharmaceuticals, derived from seaweed. While fishermen once harvested the kelp in a sustainable fashion by collecting them once they had washed ashore, this rapidly increased demand for alginate has caused kelp to be harvested with concerning intensity—40,261 tons of one Chilean species in 2018 alone. Scientists are concerned about the impact this will have on the ecosystem, with deforested “barrens” already beginning to show where the species has not recovered from harvesting.

Efforts to Save the Kelp

People who understand how critical seagrass and kelp are to maintaining the planet are working to help protect it. The World Bank estimates that using just 4.4% of the U.S. waters to grow seaweed would eliminate 135 million tons of carbon and 10 million tons of nitrogen from seawater. In fact, over the past decade, global seaweed production has doubled, with an estimated value of $59.61 billion in 2019.

Research facilities, start-ups, and individual proprietors are coming up with ways to clean up our oceans, while still turning a profit. With ample growing space available, ocean farmers are beginning to grow kelp as a crop. The carbon and nitrogen that kelp sequesters make it a powerful fertilizer that can then be sold back to farmers as fertilizer. If this trend continues, kelp and seagrass could become powerful allies in the efforts to curb and reverse the negative environmental impacts of pollution.

About Green Development LLC

Green Development LLC is the leading developer of utility-scale renewable energy projects in Rhode Island, specializing in wind, solar, and battery storage. The company delivers significant energy savings to municipalities, quasi-public entities, nonprofits, and other qualified entities through the virtual net metering program while providing long-term lease payments to landowners and farmers.

Since 2009, Green Development has been instrumental in transforming the energy mix in Rhode Island to clean, reliable energy. The company has developed more than 70 MW in solar and wind capacity, with plans to add 75 MW in 2021. Green Development is devoted to preserving farmland, reducing water and air pollution, increasing energy security, and creating local jobs. Current wind and solar sites reduce carbon emissions equivalent to using 8,557,790 gallons of gas each year.

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