"It has never been a permit to investigate the ocean
The president of Planktos, Russ George, not the opposition that is finding its proposed fertilizing the ocean with iron to observe their possible contribution in the fight against global warming. "The coast of the Canary Islands receives millions of tons of iron from the Sahara in a natural way, there are phytoplankton blooms continuously," he argues. According to George, his project should not alarm anyone: "Some organizations say they are going to throw thousands of tons of iron to the ocean, but it is ridiculous, the Weatherbird II is a small boat and let's just dump tens of tonnes in a region the millions who come to them naturally. " The oceanographer of San Francisco does not confirm the exact amount of ore dump at sea, because, says it is first necessary to study the ecosystem of the area. "This is science," he said.
The arrival of the vessel at this time Planktos is not coincidental. In winter there is a smaller number of natural phytoplankton blooms, which, according to George, is a good moment to provoke a 'bloom' artificial.
As for the lack of authorization to dump iron in international waters, the president of Planktos is emphatic: "Never in the history of oceanography has been necessary to ask permission to investigate the ocean."