A recent study revealed that climate change may release toxic mercury in the Arctic. It estimates that the amount of natural mercury stored in permafrost in the Northern Hemisphere is twice as much mercury as in all other soils, the ocean, and the atmosphere combined. And now that it’s thawing at higher rates, it’s making the mercury vulnerable to release. Not only will this affect animals at the top of the food chain, it may also impact local inhabitants who rely on these predatory species as important food sources. Despite this grim discovery, solutions for preventing mercury uptake in wildlife lie in transdisciplinary collaboration, innovation, and technology. Agrisoma, a bioscience company based in Gatineau, Québec, recently developed a jet fuel from the first oilseed crop. This new resource will be certified as a sustainable biofuel as it produces 77% lower carbon emissions than conventional fossil fuels used in the jet industry.
Check out our MC3 blog post to learn more about this innovative development in Canada!
Permafrost in High Arctic by Brocken Inaglory via Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons License