this post was submitted on 05 Dec 2023
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[–] [email protected] 87 points 11 months ago (2 children)

While it's good to be skeptical, algae tanks like this are actually a good idea for the use-cases for which they are designed. Places where trees would be difficult and expensive to grow. The tanks more efficiently capture carbon, require less maintenance, produce fertilizer as a byproduct and the solar panels on the tank produce enough extra power for there to be a USB charger on the bench. The goal isn't to replace trees with tanks but to use them where it makes sense to do so.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 11 months ago (1 children)

This was my thought as well. They should be used in addition to, not as a replacement for, trees, bushes, and grass.

It does make me wonder, though, whether or not we could use these to help capture more carbon than we're creating.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 11 months ago

That would require a gigantic scale of operations, and trees are just waaaay more economical.

Think of entire oceans full of algae not being enough to stop what's currently going on with ecological situation.