ABOUT

Okay, okay. It’s true. Spirulina is just a really pretty name for pond scum. But this blue-green
algae is MAGICAL. It’s so magical, in fact that NASA relies on it, using it as a food supplement for
astronauts in space! And seaweed? It’s just as important a resource for both the ocean AND for our
bodies. Seaweed is an algae that has always been a source of Vitamin C for sailors, preventing scurvy,
but even more important than that? Seaweed makes oxygen that feeds the animals in the ocean and is
in the air we need to breathe, too. In fact, the World Wildlife Foundation says seaweed is “a win for you,
the ocean, and the planet”. It’s a wondercrop! It doesn’t need yucky chemicals for fertilizer and, as it’s
growing, it absorbs carbon dioxide from the air, cleaning up our environment.

IN TROUBLE

Rising water temperatures resulting from climate change is hurting seaweed and
spirulina populations. Also, as there is more carbon dioxide in the air and in the ocean, the water is
becoming more acidic. There was a 93% decline in kelp canopies in California between the years of
2008 and 2014! So please don’t think of seaweed as the stuff that gets stuck on your legs or your
surfboard when you’re trying to swim in the ocean. Think of it as the home for many animals that need
its protection, as the protector of the stability of land, as a cleaner of carbon dioxide from the ocean and
air, and as an incredible source of nutrition and health for all sorts of animals and humans, too!

HOW TO HELP

Efforts are underway to help the farmers of seaweed. In the shallow coastal waters
where farmers usually grow their seaweed, fishing boats often get in the way. Helping seaweed farmers
grow their seaweed farms further out into the water can help everyone. Every effort you can make to
help in the fight against climate change also helps seaweed and spirulina – and we don’t want our
oceans without them!