TED Talk: Can Seaweed Help Curb Global Warming? – My Thoughts

Whenever I’m lucky enough to be by the ocean, I can’t help but worry about the sheer amount of pollution we’re producing, and what sort of effects it’s having on our marine life, as well as the climate. What’s even more frustrating is the fact that there is so much we can do to combat it. 

Recently, after becoming particularly disheartened by the amount of plastic waste I came across while at the beach, I listened to a TED Talk by Professor Tim Flannery, entitled ‘Can Seaweed Help Curb Global Warming?’ In it, Tim speaks in great detail about how he believes seaweed farming could be the solution to the dangers of climate change and global warming. 

There were a lot of points in this particular talk that really resonated with me, which is why I’ve chosen to analyze it in more detail today. Don’t get me wrong, there are some points I don’t really agree with, but I believe on the whole, he’s most certainly onto something. 

Here are my thoughts on Tim Flannery’s TED Talk ‘Can Seaweed Help Curb Global Warming?’ 

What Exactly is the Idea Behind ‘Can Seaweed Help Curb Global Warming?’

Back in 2019, renowned professor, explorer, and environmentalist Tim Flannery hosted a truly fascinating and eye-opening TED Talk looking at how seaweed farming could potentially help to tackle global warming. 

Now, Tim is no slouch when it comes to matters regarding the environment. In fact, he is a co-founder of the Australian Climate Council so it’s safe to say that he more than knows a thing or two about the environment. 

In his talk, Tim floats (pardon the pun) the idea of large-scale seaweed farms for trapping atmospheric carbon emissions. Flannery talks in detail about how seaweed farms could be ideal for reducing CO2 emissions. Furthermore, he mentions how once the seaweed sinks to the ocean floor, the carbon can be stored long-term. 

Tim is convinced that covering just 9% of the world’s oceans in sustainable seaweed farms would reduce the amount of greenhouse gases we emit by more than 50 gigatons. This would essentially offset all human greenhouse emissions and nip the problem of global warming in the bud.

So, what’s the science behind all this? Well, like any other plant, as seaweed grows it absorbs Carbon Dioxide from the air and expels oxygen as a byproduct. It basically acts as a natural air purification system. Once the seaweed dies, it sinks to the ocean floor and locks away the carbon, rather than releasing it into the atmosphere and contributing to global warming. 

Seaweed also has so many different uses. Not only is it a healthy and delicious ingredient for cooking, it can also be used as a form of biofuel which would eventually replace fossil fuels. 

Potential Drawbacks

As stated before, I personally agree with a lot of the points that Tim covered in this talk. I’m big on seaweed farming and believe it has enormous potential. Unfortunately, I feel there are some possible drawbacks which Tim failed to cover. 

Obviously, like seemingly everything nowadays, the biggest obstacle to overcome is going to be the cost. Covering nearly 10% of the world’s oceans with seaweed farms is going to be a huge logistical nightmare that would cost an absolute fortune. Where will this money come from? Local governments? Don’t count on it anytime soon. 

My biggest worry, however, is the potential effects it could have on marine life. While these farms are designed to be eco-friendly and kind to our planet, you simply couldn’t build something of that scale on our world’s oceans and not harm the local ecosystems. I’m a realist, and I know that the machines, tools, equipment, materials, and manpower needed to construct these farms would negatively impact the oceans. That is my biggest concern without question. 

Once the seaweed farms were operational and the seaweed was growing, it would also restrict sunlight from getting into the water. Again, this could harm the ecosystems. 

All in all, though, I believe that the ends justify the means, and if it was practical, I believe that Tim Flannery’s idea of ocean seaweed farms to tackle global warming would be ideal and would certainly get my backing as a climate advocate.