Whale Poop, Phytoplankton and the Role of Nature Conservancy in Climate Change Solutions

I’ve only been working to methodically learn more about potential solutions to the climate crisis for a few weeks, and already I’ve seen arguments. The first one that really jumped out at me was a thread on LinkedIn. 

The original post was about some recent Department of Energy grants to companies working on developing direct air capture (DAC) infrastructure. One commenter declared that DAC is an enormous waste of time and resources and was basically going to add to the problem because it’s so useless. A smart conversation followed (such a change for the internet!) in which one or two people partially agreed with the critic, and at least one offered a respectful rebuttal. The whole exchange left me with about a million questions that I’m still working on answering. (This is a complex, faceted problem and learning about it is slow going.) 

The same sort of argument plays out again and again in most areas of discussion around climate change. Mention hydrogen, someone is sure to come along and tell you all the drawbacks. Bring up EVs, and you’re likely going to hear about batteries—the materials necessary to make them, the length of time it takes, the lack of charging stations, and so on.

It’s just human nature. 

Like with most things, the answers are never going to be black and white. We should explore a whole lot of different solutions and components of solutions, including looking to nature. When I was in middle school (or junior high, if you want to gauge my age) I remember thinking that it is a little disappointing that everything has already been explored and there aren’t any great discoveries left to be made. What a silly kid I was! Recently, I came across two different stories that fascinated me both because they represent areas of where much is left to be discovered and because they may be able to help mitigate the climate crisis. 

No whales visible in the photo, just the amazing, endless horizon.

Fecal plumes

A couple of weeks back I found myself taking a drive and listening to a bunch of different podcasts. One of them was part of a series on whales, and the expert talked about fecal plumes. (I’ve tried to find the name of the podcast, but Apple doesn’t keep a history of what you’ve listened to and I have no idea!) 

The expert talked about how since whale populations have begun to recover, scientists can now trace their migration paths thanks to the phytoplankton, which thrives on whale poop, and also happens to be a natural type of carbon sequestration. Whales go deep to eat, then come to the surface to poop, where the combination of sun and fertilizer help the phytoplankton thrive—creating a “whale pump.” 

As I read more about this (just because it’s interesting), I came across an article arguing that “the stories about whales helping tackle climate change are overblown.” Surely no one thinks that whales alone can save us? And even if they could, why would they? Whales aren’t *the* solution, but they are helping. The ocean itself is a vast, unexplored world. There’s so much we don’t know about life in the depths of the ocean or the various ecosystems that exist there. 

Turkey tail growing on a log in the autumn.

Mushrooms

Several people asked me if I watched Fantastic Fungi over the last year, and I finally did last week. It’s a pretty interesting documentary, with some stunning time lapse photography, but it only lightly passes over the potential of mushrooms to store carbon. However, scientists are beginning to look much more closely at how mycorrhizal fungi move carbon through soil systems.

Researchers at the University of Sheffield found that mycorrhizal fungi hold up to 36% of fossil fuel emissions annually. That’s 13 gigatons of carbon—more carbon than China emits in a year. Like whales, it’s doubtful that fungi are *the* solution to the climate crisis, but certainly they should be considered as one mitigator. 

The scientists were shocked by their findings, calling them “jaw-dropping.” Professor Toby Kiers, who participated in the research said, “Mycorrhizal fungi lie at the base of the food webs that support much of life on Earth, but we are just starting to understand how they actually work. There’s still so much to learn.” Even the soil that produces our food represents and unexplored world and discoveries yet to be made.  

Just a nice view of some nature

Nature conservation

Both whales and mushrooms are elements of nature conservation—along with protecting the rainforests and the coral reefs and biodiverse habitats around the globe. Getting to net zero emissions is essential and that requires technological solutions that enable a transition to clean energy sources. Halting climate change will also require pulling already-emitted carbon from the air. Resiliency is yet another piece of the puzzle. 

In 2023, already, “there have been 23 confirmed weather/climate disaster events with losses exceeding $1 billion each to affect [the] United States,” according to the National Centers for Environmental Information. Even if carbon emissions stopped entirely today, these events would not, so humans must adapt while we work on solutions. Restoring our natural carbon sinks, like the ocean, peat bogs, the mycelium network, and so on, both slows emissions and helps protect us in big climate events. In an opinion piece published by the Royal Society, three scientists from the University of York write, “Natural or restored habitats perform functions that are crucial in mitigating climate change and promoting societal adaptation. For example, wetlands, peat bogs and rainforests are often intense carbon sinks while intact, vigorous wetlands and coral reefs from natural, sel-repairing breakwaters that can protect coasts against sea-level rise better than man-made defenses.”