GREEN ALGAE STRATEGY

A colorful, quirky call to arms by professor and engineer Edwards (Biowar I, 2008, etc.).

“See it gunk-up pools, ponds, aquariums and waterways / Investigate, research and write mostly about how to kill it,” Edwards writes of his subject in a meandering prose poem at the beginning of his book. “Are unaware pond stink comes from bacteria feeding on it / Have mislabeled this plant as icky, yicky, smelly green slime.” His muse here is algae, and many readers will find themselves nodding along as the author vents. Algae is disgusting, one might think, and it does clog up waterways–who would ever willingly live off the stuff? However, Edwards lays out a pretty persuasive case that the planet, now in the grips of an eco-crisis, could benefit from one small and “fabulous friend from the food chain’s floor.” Over ten chapters, Edwards details the plausible uses of algae–from sustainable food, to high-energy biofuel, to a low-cost way to sequester harmful carbon. Harnessing the natural power of algae, the author writes, would take “advantage of nature’s oldest, tiniest and yet fastest growing plant to recapture fossil carbon, to repair the Earth’s atmosphere and to produce both food and biofuel.” He does a good job of keeping the text light and the explications accessible: each figure and chart and calculation seems designed for the layman. It doesn’t take a Ph.D. to understand the general thrust of Green Algae Strategy, and nor should it. Although other scientists will have to thoroughly vet and test these theories, Edwards has presented a viable solution to the ferocious and ongoing battle over oil independence and soaring famine rates. More important, he has made his case passionately.

A convincing, against-the-odds case for one tiny organism changing the world.