ON CREATING HEAVEN ON EARTH
THE dialogue is between an engineer, who specialises in sustainability, and a marine scientist who has developed a micro algae strain that can absorb heavy metals efficiently. The Researchers had grown up together. They are brainstorming a method that will protect aquatic ecosystems from the toxic heavy metals that mining produces.
Now when she had left him and changed from her sweat soaked clothes into a fresh sarong he felt fine and good. Spirits were high and they later sat beside the pool, and she twists her long hair; it was down, and the auburn highlights were blowing up and flickered around the curl. While thick moisture was in the air, that sweat had returned and they moved and wet flesh was sticking to the body of the vinyl cushion and it is very easy and comfortable and their minds returned to the problem of supplying the energy transition with metal without destroying Mother Earth.
Earlier when discussing genetically engineered algae, she was in her element. She had explained how they also feed on carbon dioxide, and that was another toxic element that mankind must manage. It is not that we don’t need it, in the atmosphere it regulates our environment maintaining desirable temperatures. But too much and the weather becomes unpredictable, first there will be years of storms and floods and they will only continue until it is too hot for clouds then when they disappear the desert becomes absolutely dry and consuming. How long we have really depends on when that temperature is reached, it might be only twenty years but reaching that temperature is not certain we could survive if we find ways to improve the production of energy. When they grow the algae convert sunlight into sugar and her best strain was five percent more efficient, she said that a study was published this Thursday announcing how much carbon dioxide is absorbed by their photosynthesis, more than any other.
“They are that good.”
“They may do even better, and they also absorb heavy metals like cadmium and lead and we think we can use this ability to create a mote, use it as a barrier around hard rock mines!” she said becoming excited and she was feeling relaxed and confident, “we may even use them to concentrate those waste metal. They are valuable.”
She had found when she focused on the problem long enough she envisioned a world where heaven and earth combined into a symbiotic coexistence and that was wonderful.
“They do need a lot of fresh water,” she says. “It is best we find a site near the equator and the desert will be difficult. The solar model predicted the algae will grow well in the desert but there is little water. We need a good balance between irradiation energy and temperature and acidity and the site must have water. And we must build so many new mines for the energy transition we must not let them burden the people of the future by leaching heavy metals from their tailings for years and years.”
“A researcher who is interested in small scale sustainable mining that I met at a conference, told me about a nickel mining site in South Sulawesi. In that hot wet climate, that is where he wants to build a sustainable prototype to prove the concept of sustainable mining. He gave up a comfortable life to work on what he calls a negative emissions mineral processing plant. He used to build enormous embankment dams to hold waste from the oil sands in Canada and he is a good civil engineer but he said he was struggling with the mathematical modelling.”
“What a disaster that was. What a rape of nature were those Canadian oil sands. No wonder he wants to help. He must be consumed by guilt.”
“He is guilty alright but motivation often comes from that deep sea of regret. But he has good ideas, a vision of us rebuilding the world.”
She moved in closer and slithered along his side until she was close to his ear.
“Remember when we dammed the little creek under the bridge near the school. It is just like that and you always built the strongest wall for your dam. And we put little fish in the ponds we made. It is just the same idea, the algae and fish absorb the metals and they don’t flow further down the river.”
“It is not the same. We didn’t kill the innocent fish with toxic waste. But I do remember, and you always encouraged me then. I watched the little fingerlings. All those years ago. So, we will save the wild world together that is what this “we” will be, atonement and salvation.”
“I have nothing better to do. Do you?”