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Letter: Don't forget the algae

Published 21 December 2002

From Andy Cunningham

Your reader Eric Kvaalen suggests it might be possible to reduce global warming by covering a few million square kilometres of ocean with white floats to reflect sunlight (30 November, p 24). A nice solution, apart from one major flaw. The floats would stop sunlight reaching the ocean, killing off the algae. Without algae generating a large amount of atmospheric oxygen and soaking up a large amount of carbon dioxide, the world would end up a worse place to live.

Stockport, Cheshire, UK

Issue no. 2374 published 21 December 2002

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