Dr. Antonius Gagern |Executive Director of the Carbon to Sea Initiative - Video

In this episode, Hilary Langer met with Dr. Antonius Gagern, the Executive Director of the Carbon to Sea Initiative, for a lively conservation about a hot topic: the promises and sensitivities of tinkering with the ocean’s chemistry to enable it to store more carbon dioxide. Initial research on ocean alkalinity enhancement supports its potential as a significant means of capturing carbon. Carbon to Sea is a $50M non-profit effort that brings together leading funders and researchers to explore ocean alkalinity enhancement.  The area is gaining increasing attention and traction, as evidenced by the White House’s launch (https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/news-updates/2023/10/06/marine-carbon-dioxide-removal-potential-ways-to-harness-the-ocean-to-mitigate-climate-change/__;!!FRI9lTGh_NIa3R0!AEJ3_yad4ZfWqRMPkLcU78ZhRryM9c6Zy4vanxKmVaPS_V88X2AEsI2sCnCFJhMVZhU_JH1LWdoQRZd6OU2MN0Nm-uPsUwKivASt$) of a “Fast-Track Action Committee” on Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal. Within the past year, the U.S. federal government has put out about $100 million in grants to accelerate research in the area, including (https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/oceanacidification.noaa.gov/fy23-nopp-mcdr-awards/__;!!FRI9lTGh_NIa3R0!AEJ3_yad4ZfWqRMPkLcU78ZhRryM9c6Zy4vanxKmVaPS_V88X2AEsI2sCnCFJhMVZhU_JH1LWdoQRZd6OU2MN0Nm-uPsUyz3w6yc$) $23.4M from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Researchers and funders are balancing the urgency of action with the need to ensure that any intervention is a clear win for the oceans they seek to protect.


Links: 

• Home - Carbon to Sea Initiative (https://carbontosea.org/)
• Meta's former CTO has a new $50 million project: ocean-based carbon removal | MIT Technology Review (https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/06/06/1074124/metas-former-cto-has-a-new-50-million-project-ocean-based-carbon-removal/)
• Climate crisis sparks effort to coax oceans to suck up carbon dioxide | Science | AAAS (https://www.science.org/content/article/climate-crisis-sparks-effort-coax-oceans-suck-carbon-dioxide)
• Supercharging Nature to Suck Carbon From the Air - WSJ (https://www.wsj.com/articles/carbon-capture-startups-tech-global-warming-3a597f92)

Episode recorded May 15, 2024






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