Environmentalists oppose
carbon-dioxide sea test

Researchers want to test the effects
of the chemical in the ocean

---

By Diana Leone
dleone@starbulletin.com

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency should deny researchers' request to pump liquid carbon dioxide into the ocean four miles off Kauai, representatives of several environmental groups testified yesterday at a hearing in Honolulu.

"Carbon-dioxide dumping is not the solution to the problem of global warming. It merely substitutes a new and different set of problems," said Gregory Kaufman, president of the Pacific Whale Foundation.

At issue is whether the EPA should grant researchers a permit to release 20 tons of "food grade" liquid carbon dioxide over a two-week period at a depth of about 3,000 feet. They want to study its effects on the chemistry of the ocean and sea life where it is released, with an eye to determining whether deep-ocean "sequestration" of carbon dioxide could be a long-term solution to the surplus of the compound in the air.

Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, most of it generated from burning of fossil fuels, is widely considered a major contributor to global warming.

The EPA will hold hearings on the proposal in Lihue today from 4 to 6 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. at the Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School cafeteria, 4431 Nuhou St. Written comments will be accepted by the agency until June 15.

No one in the audience of 12 at the first of two hearings in Honolulu yesterday spoke in favor of the permit.

A version of the $5 million experiment was proposed two years ago for a location about 1.5 miles off Kona's Keahole Point on the Big Island, but it was abandoned because of controversy about its possible effect on marine animals.

An estimated 24 billion tons of carbon dioxide are released into the air every year, said Gerard Nihous, a scientist with the Pacific International Center for High Technology Research, which is coordinating the project for a consortium that includes the United States, Japan, Norway, Switzerland, Canada and Australia.

"The notion is this (deep-ocean sequestration) could help relieve the atmosphere and surface of the ocean from an environmental catastrophe," Nihous said.

Cha Smith, director of Kahea -- The Hawaiian Environmental Coalition said, "Dilution is not the solution.

"This is a very flawed concept, a very inappropriate approach."

Jeff Mikulina, Sierra Club of Hawaii director, also questioned spending more money on disposing of fossil fuel pollutants instead of investing in renewable energy sources.