Planktos, a small California company, proposed last week to spread 100 tons of pulverized iron over the Pacific Ocean near the Galapagos Islands. This proposal was made in hopes of fertilizing a rich crop of carbon dioxide-gobbling plankton.
EPA spokeswoman, Enesta Jones, responded to questions by saying the United States shares international concerns that large-scale seeding be carefully evaluated. However, the EPA has no jurisdiction over Planktos, according to her statement, because it won’t be using a U.S.-flagged vessel to dump the iron.
The Ecuadorian government completely rejected the experiment. The chancellor, Maria Fernanda Espinosa, said to the press that this experiment may have negative effects for the Galapagos Islands. The Minister of Environment, Ana Alban, agreed and added that after the new status of “Natural Heritage Site in Danger” authorities need to be very cautious about future experiments and proposals in Galapagos.
For more information, click on the following links:
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/broward/story/263171.html
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=39453
http://www.el comercio.com/noticias
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on Thursday, October 11th, 2007 at 3:47 am and is filed under Conservation.
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