Starting with solutions: A Global Political Ecology of Algae Innovation
Nature-society scholars have taken on the green energy transition – but what about green materials? Despite the fossil fuel extraction and high emissions profiles associated with cement, fertilizers, and plastics, there is little critical research on possible alternatives or on how a transition to a green materials future might take shape. Seaweed, however, is increasingly touted by scientists, policymakers, and investors for its potential as a climate-responsive replacement for fossil fuels in industrial applications such as plastics, fertilizers, fuels, and animal feed. This talk presents preliminary research from the North Atlantic and Southeast Asia on the political-ecological dimensions of technological innovation in the global seaweed industry. Dr. Goldstein first outlines the current barriers to and consequences of scaling up seaweed cultivation for a low-carbon future. She then argues that the bio-technical innovation of turning seaweed into a climate-responsive technology is a crucial locus of power through which to understand how the green materials transition may reproduce, or reconfigure, global development dynamics.