[LINK] "Haida group dumps man behind ocean fertilization"

[rfmcdonald]

The Globe and Mail's Mark Hume notes that the Haida organization involved in a recent controversial effort at geoengineering, dumping iron sulfate into the Pacific Ocean off the British Columbia coast in the aim of promoting plankton growth and thus absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, has fired Russ George, the man responsible for the decision. ((The Vancouver Sun has more, noting that apparently George disputes his firing.)

In a statement released on Thursday, Haida Salmon Restoration Corp. (HSRC) said it has “removed” Mr. George as a director of the company. “In addition, the HSRC has terminated Mr. George’s employment as an officer of the corporation,” it states.

Mr. George could not be reached for comment. The California businessman is a proponent of the theory that global warming can be blunted and ocean acidification stopped by fertilizing the ocean with iron.

The Haida organization made international headlines several months ago, when it dumped more than 100 tonnes of an iron substance into the ocean off Haida Gwaii in an attempt to stimulate plankton growth.

The HSRC hoped to recover its investment through increased salmon harvests and through selling carbon credits by demonstrating that the iron grew massive clouds of plankton that sucked CO2 out of the atmosphere.

But the experiment, which was not sanctioned by any official body and lacked the involvement of recognized ocean scientists, was widely condemned by researchers, the federal government and the United Nations.