Ocean carbon sequestration is failing because we are ignoring one of the ocean’s most powerful climate allies: seaweed forests. This blind spot could cost us precious time in the fight against climate change. This episode asks a simple but urgent question: how can one of the fastest-growing, most productive ecosystems on Earth still be missing from climate policy?
Seaweed blue carbon challenges everything we think we know about how the ocean stores carbon, because kelp forests do not lock carbon in place, they move it. Scientists are now tracking how seaweed captures carbon near the coast and exports it to the deep ocean, where it can be stored for centuries, yet conservation frameworks have not caught up with this science.
Kelp forests, climate change reveals the emotional core of this story: we are losing ecosystems that protect biodiversity, support fisheries, and quietly help stabilize the climate, often without realizing their value until it is too late. The surprising insight is that seaweed may already be helping the climate far more than we give it credit for, but only if we choose to protect it.
Chapters:
00:00 What is ocean carbon sequestration and why does it matter right now?
01:10 Why are seaweed forests missing from climate solutions?
02:20 How does seaweed actually capture carbon?
03:25 What happens to carbon after seaweed breaks off?
04:30 Can exported seaweed carbon really be stored long-term?
05:40 Why kelp forests matter for biodiversity and fisheries?
06:55 What science is only now uncovering about seaweed carbon?
08:10 Why current conservation frameworks fall short?
09:30 What would change if seaweed was counted as blue carbon?
11:00 What can protecting seaweed habitats do for the climate?
#oceanconservation #MarineBiology #SaveOurOceans #ProtectTheOcean #OceanAwareness #BluePlanet #ConservationMatters #ScienceForChange #SustainableOceans
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