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Aaron StrainÌý
Professor and Baker Ferguson Chair of PoliticsÌý
Whitman CollegeÌý

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Dreams of "unf**king the planet" and "saving the world" with massive seaweed-based carbon dioxide removal (CDR) projects exploded into prominence during the past seven years. The "Seaweed Revolution" quickly became a darling of the likes of Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, liberal media outlets, and a wide array of geoengineering, marine permaculture, and green start-up gurus. The movement capitalized on seaweed's charisma and a really good story: Seaweeds, the narrative ran, are the "rainforest of the ocean," "carbon-sucking sea trees."ÌýEven as start-ups and investors rushed forward with multi-million-dollar projects backed by this brilliant story, there was a sense that the science didn't add up and the analogy didn't work. Only a few years after the boom began, seaweed CDR now faces significant scientific challenges--and deep investor skepticism (particularly after the dramatic failure of the industry's most prominent start-up). Examining the wild ride of seaweed CDR, this talk goes beyond technical debates about the effectiveness of seaweed carbon projects to show how the cultural practices of "start-up culture" scupper real climate solutions. It ends by looking at two seaweed CDR start-ups that are trying to do things differently and suggests that "doing fine" might be better than "saving the world."Ìý