Next meeting Nov 8, Th, noon

Our last meeting ended without an agenda for the next one. Tomorrow will be a free-for-all. Please come.If you’re short on time and don’t want to chase down an article of your own, here are two wonderful reading ideas provided by Laura M and Look:

1. Read about jatropha cultivation in India. This crop is being grown as a source of biofuel. Could Iowa be reseeded with jatropha? See Biofuel: The little shrub that could – maybe (Nature, 10 October 2007)
2. Read about seeding the ocean with iron. Ocean plankton have the potential to absorb far more CO2 than plants on land. A portion of the plankton sinks to the bottom of the ocean and effectively sequesters this CO2 for a long time period. Can we enhance the ocean’s ability to soak up CO2? Some scientists and some companies think so. Read more:
   1. Seeding the sea with iron (Oakland Tribune, October 29, 2007)
   2. Researchers ’seed’ ocean with iron to soak up CO2 (The Independent (London), May 3, 2007)
   3. An Ethics Code for Ocean Carbon Experiments (ScienceNOW, October 10, 2007)
   4. Iron Findings (Nature, April 26, 2007)

Can’t get enough? Here are a few more:

1. Three companies involved in ocean fertilization: Planktos and Climos and Ocean Nourishment Corp.
   
2. Iron seeding seas to fight global warming proposed (Inside Bay Area, October 29, 2007)
3. Project to Capture CO2 with Plankton Puts to Sea (NY Times, November 6, 2007)
4. Enviros Challenge Dumping Urea in Ocean to Sink Carbon (Wired , November 7, 2007)
5. Comment: The Western Appetite for Biofuels is Causing Starvation in the Poor World (The Guardian, November 6, 2007)