Carbon trade

Cool us Cocco 2010

Recycled glass drink bottle and thermometer
Engraved and inlaid with acrylic
300mm H x 60mm W x 60mm D

Coccolithophorids are plankton that live in the oceans in vast numbers. Collectively they work as a massive carbon sink by absorbing carbon dioxide in the skeletons. When they die, their skeletons fall to the sea floor. Layer upon layer, they trap carbon dioxide that has fallen from the atmosphere. In this way, they help maintain the chemical balance of our atmosphere (Mary E. White, 2003).

However, now there is more CO2 than they can deal with, and their fragile forms are beginning to distort (Australian Antartctic Division website).

Are we are burning more fossil fuel than is sustainable to maintain the natural chemical balance of the marine environment?