A March 22 article in the Press Herald, “Harnessing the absorbent power of oceans,” was both fascinating and terrifying.

The oceans currently absorb so much carbon dioxide from the atmosphere that they are becoming more acidic, harming fish and other ocean life. The article’s author reviews many experimental projects that include dumping massive amounts of magnesium oxide into the ocean to bind carbon dioxide. Other companies are experimenting with “sinking rocks, nutrients, crop waste or seaweed in the ocean” to try to lock away carbon dioxide.

I am pleased that these engineers understand the severity of the climate crisis, but the size of some of these projects is worrisome. Speaking about one of the magnesium oxide projects, Sue Sayer, a researcher, said “she realized in discussions with Planetary that ‘they had no idea about what animals or plants or species live in St. Ives Bay,’” which is their proposed test site. The chance of unintended consequences looms large.

It seems backward to do huge experiments on the ocean while we are still pouring greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Seventy-five percent of the CO2 released into the atmosphere is from burning fossil fuels, which could be economically replaced by renewables except for the financial and political power of the fossil fuel industries.

Using renewables would decrease global warming and also decrease air pollution that directly harms our health. If Americans told their legislators they want a quick transition to renewables and continued small-scale experiments on ocean sequestration of CO2, this would become a safer and healthier world.

Nancy Hasenfus
Brunswick