Kelp Can be Used to Create Plastic

Kelp Can be Used to Create Plastic

A story that provides further foundation to my series, The Rise of Oceania.

If you know anything about my books, you understand that my characters live and work in the oceans, and on the ocean floors, to provide resources for their mother nations.  The citizens of Trieste, for instance, live just off the coast of Florida, on the seafloor at a depth of 30 meters (100 feet) in the Gulf of Mexico, and are farming fish for mainland USA.  They’re also a launching-off post (or gateway) to underwater mining ventures and kelp farms.  These products are also sent back to the States to aid the economy.  You see, in this series, climate change, global warming, scorched farmland, famine, and rising waters are pounding the world’s coastal nations as well as those in the mid- to low latitudes.

This is something I’ve been talking about for years now.  We need to start thinking about using our oceans to counter climate change, and not wait for the effects to hit before trying to do something.

Kelp is a remarkable form of marine vegetation.  There are many species.  In optimal conditions, it can grow ONE METER IN A DAY.

A meter a day.

Can you imagine a country suffering from food scarcity, especially in a warmer and arid environment due to climate change, and also having access to a crop that might grow that fast?

(The only crop I can think of that comes close on land, although not used for food, are bamboo trees, which can grow 30 cm a day.  They say if you are in a bamboo forest, you can hear it “creaking” as it grows.)

Kelp seems like a great option, especially for countries that have a coastline, but what are its uses?

In The Rise of Oceania, some of the characters work specifically in this field.  Some underwater colonies focus on kelp, while others focus on fish or minerals.  One in particular focuses on education (Churchill Sands, the UK city) and one on growing land-based crops in underwater domes (Blue Downs, Australia’s city, as seen above in the schematic by artist Cheyney Steadman).

Here are some uses of kelp from my series:

• As a food source.  Some nations already make heavy use of kelp in their diets.  Currently, in the Western nations, this is still a new (or growing) use. We do use it as a thickening agent in toothpaste, for instance.
• As a source of methane.  The crop grows incredibly fast.  The process is simple and involves present technology and heavy (underwater) labour:  Simply harvest the forest before it becomes unmanageable, dry it and ship it away for further processing into methane — a fuel source for the struggling surface nations.
• As beer.  Yes, kelp beer is a thing in The Rise of Oceania.  It doesn’t taste great, but it reduces the need for imports from land nations.

Kelp as Plastic

This news story recently attracted my attention. Researchers have discovered a method to turn a species of kelp into plastic.  There are currently many startups investigating kelp as a plastic alternative.  One company, Sway, has had exceptional success.  They started in 2020 and have since won the Tom Ford Plastic Prize — a $1,000,000 award competition to search for alternatives to petroleum-based plastics.  Here’s an embedded video, from Business Insider, which demonstrates what Sway is doing:

Imagine that.  From this …

To this:

And right now, in some areas of the world due to Global Warming, kelp forests are exploding.  Off the western coast of Australia and in the Arctic Ocean are two notable regions.

Climate change is inexorable. Some of it is natural, and much of it is human-generated.  We are not going to stop it.  We need to adapt and evolve and change our economies to fit the new world environment.  Our economies have to be prepared.  CLIMATE CHANGE MEANS JOBS.  Countries (i.e. Canada) need to promote and support businesses like these startups, and get ahead of the climate crisis, and use it to our advantage. — TSJ, 18 December 2024

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A BLANKET OF STEEL is out now!

WATCH THE GRIPPING BOOK TRAILER HERE.

FOR PURCHASE OPTIONS CLICK HERE

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A Blanket of Steel from Timothy S. Johnston and Fitzhenry & Whiteside, Ltd.

“Read the book and prepare to be blown away by one of the best writers I have ever had the pleasure to read. Timothy S. Johnston is simply amazing.” — FIVE Stars from Readers’ Favorite

“Innovative technology, Mac taking risks no one else would dare and thinking his way through to brilliant solutions … But the stakes are higher than they’ve ever been before. This is it. The countdown to the final battle … Johnston does an excellent job of keeping the tension taut as he plays with the reader’s perceptions of characters we thought we knew and trusted …” — SFcrowsnest

“Expect to be left breathless. Trust me here. Please. I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN.” — Michael Libling, author of The Serial Killer’s Son Takes A Wife and Hollywood North: A Novel in Six Reels

Book Cover & Jacket Copy:

AN UNSTOPPABLE THREAT!

A mysterious assassin has murdered Cliff Sim, Chief Security Officer of the underwater colony, Trieste. Cliff was a mountain of a man, highly trained, and impossible to defeat in combat. And yet …

Someone brutally beat him and left his broken body in a secret Chinese facility at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.

And included a calling card for Truman McClusky, Mayor of Trieste.

Taunting him.

Mac has led the underwater colonies in their fight against the world’s superpowers. Climate change has devastated the surface; nations suffer famine, drought, rebellion, rising waters, and apocalyptic coastal flooding. But now, as Mac leads the underwater colonies to freedom and independence, he’s faced with the gravest threat of his life: a Russian assassin, hellbent on killing Mac and everyone he cares for. Now Mac must uncover the identity of the killer, face him in combat, and at the same time lead people in battle against the largest underwater force ever assembled. It’s Mac’s final test, and to win the war, he must use every tool at his disposal, including the most surprising and devastating underwater weapons ever invented.

If Mac fails, all hope is lost for the future of human colonization on the ocean floors.

But the assassin could be anyone …

Watch your back, Mac.

A Blanket of Steel is the most gripping thriller yet in The Rise of Oceania.

FOR PURCHASE OPTIONS CLICK HERE

The other books in The Rise of Oceania series by Timothy S Johnston:

The War Beneath 9781771484718
The Savage Deeps 9781771485067
Fatal Depth 9781554555574
An Island of Light 9781554555819
The Shadow of War 9781554556007

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TSJ’s Awards

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THE WAR BENEATH:  FIRST PLACE 2018 GLOBAL THRILLER Action / Adventure Category Winner, 2019 Silver Falchion Award Finalist, 2018 CLUE Award Semi-Finalist, 2019 Kindle Book Awards Semi-Finalist, & 2019 CYGNUS Award Shortlister

THE SAVAGE DEEPS:  FIRST PLACE 2020 CYGNUS Award Winner, 2019 GLOBAL THRILLER Awards Finalist, 2022 Kindle Book Awards Semi-Finalist; 2019 CLUE Award Shortlister

FATAL DEPTH: FIRST PLACE 2021 GLOBAL THRILLER Award Winner, 2022 Silver Falchion Award Finalist (Best Action Adventure), 2021 CYGNUS Award Semi-Finalist

Praise for THE WAR BENEATH

“If you’re looking for a techno-thriller combining Ian Fleming, Tom Clancy and John Le Carré, The War Beneath will satisfy … a ripping good yarn, a genuine page-turner.” — Amazing Stories
“One very riveting, intelligent read!” — Readers’ Favorite
“If you like novels like The Hunt for Red October and Red Storm Rising,
you will certainly enjoy The War Beneath.” — A Thrill A Week
“If you’re here for thrills, the book will deliver.” — The Cambridge Geek
“… an engaging world that is highly believable …” — The Future Fire
“This is a tense, gripping science fiction/thriller of which Tom Clancy might well be proud . . . When I say it is gripping, that is the simple truth.” — Ardath Mayhar
“… a thrill ride from beginning to end …” — SFcrowsnest
“… if you like Clancy and le Carré with a hint of Forsyth thrown in,
you’ll love The War Beneath.” — Colonel Jonathan P. Brazee (RET),
2017 Nebula Award & 2018 Dragon Award Finalist
“Fast-paced, good old-fashioned Cold War espionage … a great escape!” — The Minerva Reader