We often think that human activity, however well intentioned, negatively impacts nature. This need not be the case, nor has it always been the case in the past. For example, the tallgrass prairies of our Great Plains and their enormous productivity can be attributed to the fire ecology practiced by Native Americans.
Development of large-scale seaweed farming in our oceans can be another type of human activity to enhance nature’s bounty. An increasing body of research is documenting the potential of growing kelp and phytoplankton forests to provide food, feed, fertilizer, fiber, and biofuels to most of the world while efficiently storing carbon, offsetting or even reversing acidification and increasing oxygen. Kelp grows many times faster than trees and even fast-growing bamboo.
Human industrial practices and consumption patterns have led to hotter waters and expanding “deserts” in our oceans. Think of dying coral reefs, extensive dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere, and sea floors carpeted with plastic microfibers but devoid of life. Scientists have found that 99 percent of tropical and subtropical oceans are almost totally lacking in marine life. With warming, the oceans’ currents and winds are being turned off one by one. These and other changes to our oceans are laid out alarmingly in the recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.