Inside Track
Fighting Climate Change by Dumping Chemicals in the Ocean?
Daily Caller reported on February 14 that scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Massachusetts are planning an experiment in which they will dump approximately 6,000 gallons of sodium hydroxide — a common ingredient in soaps, cleansers, and chemical pipe cleaners — into the waters off of Martha’s Vineyard to ascertain whether artificial alkalinity enhancement of oceans can help address so-called climate change.
“Ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) leverages a natural process to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by adding an alkaline solution to the sea surface,” says WHOI’s website. “The ocean’s pH (level of acidity/alkalinity) governs its ability to take up the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.”
The experimental process is not considered a solution to the scourge of climate change, but a supplemental strategy, possibly giving the world more time to get off of fossil fuels in favor of energy sources such as wind and solar.
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