Wide Sargassum Sea (and carbon removal robots!)—w/ Seaweed Generation's Mike Allen & Patricia Estridge

A massive amount of seaweed known as the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt is growing as a response to climate change. To date, it has expanded to a width twice that of the United States.

When sargassum reaches the coast, it causes human health problems, destroys ecosystems, and wipes out tourism, usually in communities that don’t have the resources to combat the issue.

So, what can we do to prevent these destructive seaweed blobs from reaching coastal regions and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in the process?

Patricia Estridge and Mike Allen serve as CEO and Chief Science Officer, respectively, at Seaweed Generation, a startup using robotics and seaweed to fight climate change.  

On this episode of Reversing Climate Change, Patricia and Mike join Ross, Siobhan, and Asa to explain how their technology, a Pac-Man meets Roomba meets WALL-E style robot, collects seaweed and sinks it in the deep sea.

Patricia and Mike discuss Seaweed Generation’s pilot project with Antigua, describing the advantage their process may have over other methods of carbon removal and how they’ve been received by the community there. 

Listen in for insight around the growing acceptance of open-systems pathways for carbon removal and learn how you can get involved in helping Seaweed Generation tackle the sargassum problem around the world.

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Resources

Seaweed Generation

Thanks a Ton

Carbon Removal Memes on Twitter

A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid

‘Leveling the Playing Field for Open-System Carbon Removal’ by Dai Ellis & John Sanchez

‘Quantification Uncertainty and Discounting’ by Dai Ellis & John Sanchez

Patricia’s Interview with Mike on the Seaweed Generation Podcast

London Convention Protocol

The Ocean Cleanup