Name: What If Algae Took Over the Oceans?
Uploaded: 2020-04-04T08:07:22.000Z
Duration: 6 min 4 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

about our lives than just how we vacation.

a little far-fetched, but it's already taking over

smaller bodies of water around the world.

When algae grows densely and out of control,

And in 2019 there was an algal bloom so large it could be seen from space!

since it produced toxic effects for both animals and humans.

But despite all the danger involved, if algae took over our oceans,

as it would quickly become our biggest weapon against climate change.

we're going to have to become a little  more acquainted with the green stuff.

You may only know it as the weird green stuff that grows on rocks,

Algae is an informal term for a large, diverse group of aquatic organisms

that have the ability to conduct photosynthesis.

They can occur in a variety of forms and sizes,

from single microscopic cells to seaweeds.

they could provide a much-needed helping hand in our fight against climate change.

No matter what trees or plants try to tell you,

algae is the real master of photosynthesis.

It provides more than half the oxygen in our atmosphere via phytoplankton and seaweed,

and it consumes more carbon dioxide than trees.

While trees take generations to mature enough to really make a dent in carbon concentration,

giving it the potential to be even better at absorbing

and consuming carbon than our woody friends.

And algae isn't just good for cleaning the air.

Some kinds of algae can also provide food for marine life,

But perhaps the most intriguing possibility of a world with algae-filled oceans

is how algae could be used to replace some of the most harmful products on our planet,

Some of the biggest oil companies are now researching whether

algae can be used as a sustainable fuel source,

as some researchers think it might be possible  to produce 19,000 liters (5,000 gallons)

of biofuel from a single acre of algae in one year.

So if we had entire oceans of this stuff,

and by removing some contaminants from the air.

But keep in mind that our oceans are gigantic, and

filling them with green sludge is bound to have some negative effects

Large masses of algae can block out the sunlight for smaller organisms

living near or under it, causing aquatic plants to die.

And once the aquatic plants are gone, the fish,

shellfish and other marine animals that eat them would follow closely behind.

Harmful algal blooms, such as brown or red tides and blue-green algae,

or can accumulate in the bodies of smaller aquatic animals

sea lions, otters and manatees, among others.

People who eat shellfish containing dangerous algae

can suffer diarrhea, seizures and even death.

So if we want to harness all the positive impacts of algae,

there might be a better option than allowing it to take over our oceans.

Maybe we could farm algae in land-based facilities instead.

We obviously wouldn't be able to produce an oceans' worth of algae,

but we could still provide material for other uses without

depriving fish and other vegetation of sunlight.

maybe we could even double the amount of oxygen in our amosphere.

But you know that's a story for another WHAT IF.

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What If Algae Took Over the Oceans?

stuff

potential

incredibly

material