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esprit-de-lescalier t1_j8rx137 wrote

Reply to comment by fluffy_assassins in Amazon puts $1.6m behind 'world-first' plan to harvest seaweed at offshore wind farm by For_All_Humanity

The bigger question is why is Amazon investing in seaweed of all things. Wind farm I can understand: cheap electricity to run their datacenters, but seaweed?!

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Cheapskate-DM t1_j8s1dgb wrote

Wind farm is free real estate. 🤷‍♂️ frankly this kind of double-dipping is fucking great and we should encourage more of it!

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n3w4cc01_1nt t1_j8s67me wrote

it's cheap and requires basically nothing but fish poop to grow. for example they could make a seaweed bed next to a tilapia farm

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>“By farming just two per cent of the ocean, we could provide enough protein to feed a world population of 12 billion people. Seaweed is extremely protein rich, low in fat, low in carbohydrates, and rich in vitamins, zinc and iron”.

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Cindexxx t1_j8tiard wrote

Too bad the iodine would kill us all lol. I less there's a lower iodine one. Thyroid issues are no joke.

I still think it's a great project, to be clear. It's just not a complete solution; it is a great part of a complete solution though.

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n3w4cc01_1nt t1_j8u9gop wrote

it's possible to isolate proteins and vitamins for cheap. the protein helps people feel full then the rest can be taken care of with hydroponics which waste less resources than open farms. another thing they can do is get corn farmers to grow sugar beets to replace hfcs. there are so many options to boost the economy, make healthier foods, and end hunger out there.

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Aggravating-Bottle78 t1_j8s2mz3 wrote

One potential use is co2 sequestration (if you sink it) as kelp grows way faster than trees (several feet in a day) It can also be a cheap livestock feed. And it can grow with very few input costs (no herbicide, fertilizer) all you need is an area of ocean, some ropes nets etc. And it will grow in winter. Theres a Canadian guy former fisherman who has been building a market for it as well. Often it can include mussels and oyster farms.

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Bewaretheicespiders t1_j8sotkr wrote

There are droughts all over. Growing stuff in seawater gets pretty interesting. There are a lot of things you can do with seaweed besides eating. Heck if nothing else you can make fertilizer out of it, mined sources of potassium are running out as it mostly ends up in the ocean.

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[deleted] t1_j8t6mb0 wrote

Probably just smart vertical investment based on the cost/demand for seaweed or perhaps a way to funnel losses off one project onto cost of operation of another while getting a tax break.

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