Running Tide, a Portland, Maine-based aquaculture company, has said it expects to establish tens of thousands of tiny floating algae farms adrift in the North Atlantic between this summer and next. The hope is that fast-growing macroalgae will sink to the bottom of the ocean, storing thousands of tons of carbon dioxide in the process.
The company has raised millions in risk finance and gained media attention, and has big names like the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative among its customers. But Running Tide struggled to grow algae along the rope lines in the open ocean during the first attempts last year and has lost a number of scientists in recent months, sources with knowledge of the matter told MIT Technology Review.
At least several of the departures were due, in part, to concerns that company executives were not paying enough attention to the possible ecological effects of their plans. Some employees were also annoyed that Running Tide was discussing more controversial practices, such as adding nutrients to the ocean to stimulate the growth of macroalgae. Read the whole story.
“James Temple.”
Mandatory readings
I combed the internet to find the funniest / most important / scary and fascinating stories about technology.
1 An American defense company is considering buying Pegasus spyware
Potentially put such a powerful espionage tool that it is considered a weapon in the hands of the US. (FT $)
+ NSO was about to sell piracy tools in France. He is in crisis now. (MIT Technology Review)
2 Cars with autopilot systems have crashed hundreds of times
Ask serious questions about the security of these systems and our confidence in them. (WP $)
+ The great new idea to make autonomous cars that can go anywhere. (MIT Technology Review)
+ Elon Musk believes Tesla would be worth “basically zero” without its automatic driving technology. (Insider)
3 Within the ugly cultural war of crypto
Employees say the head of the major Kraken cryptocurrency exchange fostered a poisonous work atmosphere. (NYT $)
+ The future of the Celsius loan platform does not look bright. (Bloomberg $)
+ Crypto is weathering a strong storm. Some still endure the beloved life. (MIT Technology Review)
4 Rural America’s long wait for fast Internet shows no sign of slowing down
Even though the government sank billions of dollars in upgrades. (WSJ $)
5 The Chinese radio telescope picked up a mysterious signal
Which, while fascinating, is unlikely to be extraterrestrials. (The conversation)
+ This is how factories in space could work. (Quartz)
6 Ukraine’s Internet is being diverted to Russia
To submit its traffic to the country’s censorship regime. (cable $)
+ The United States wants to know how its electronics ended up in Russian military equipment. (WP $)
7 The Internet gave birth to a new way of working for the middle class
However, making money is still a precious little reserve. (New Yorker $)
+ Why TikTok is undoing all the hard work of MTV. (The Atlantic $)
8 How eBay Shaped the Modern Internet
And it became one of our first platforms in the process. (The Guardian)
9 Why your baby’s name isn’t as unique as you think
We are all more influenced by our cultural environment than we think. (motherboard)
10 The self-efficacy of Catholicism is in full swing
That’s not to say there are more people attending church, though. (Vox)
Appointment of the day
