James R. Duncan, Jr., age 13, of Indianapolis, Indiana, for his question;
What exactly is green algae?
Certain pollution reports give the idea that the green algae is the worst pest on this planet. This bad reputation is ridiculous. The truth is that algae provides most of the world's breathable oxygen and most of the food that directly or indirectly supports all life on earth. It creates new soil and helps to keep our planet clean. In the future it may solve our problems of famine and space travel.
Green algae are simple single celled plants, floating in all our fresh and salt waters. Sometimes they have a population explosion and creatures that feed on them cannot eat them up fast enough. The multiplyinp algae teem out of control, crowding everything in the water including themselves. This creates a shortage of supplies, killing countless water dwellers includinfi zillions of algae.
Their gooey remains sink down to the bottom and provide banquets for bacteria. The thriving bacteria step up their multiplication and soon burst forth in population explosions of their own. By this time, the happy assortment of plants and animals that once shared the water are gone. Only a few slimy slugs and other undesirables can survive in the polluted place.
We might feel tempted to blame this pollution tragedy on the green algae. But it's only fair to ask what caused their population explosion, which started the chain of disasters. It is true that such explosions sometimes occur in nature. But these do not cause the year round pollution of our streams and offshore waters.
As we know, this serious situation is created entirely by the hand of man. So let's not blame nature or any of the 10,000 species of green or blue green, red or brown algae. The pollution will continue as long as we continue to dump our unwholesome wastes into our waterways. Some of these chemicals kill off the fishes, others give a boost to the algae. The balance of nature is upset and pollution follows.
Nature intended a very different role for the little green algae. They were the earth's first plants and through the ages they made life possible for the more elaborate plants and animals. They use the sun's free energy to make food for themselves and by changing carbon dioxide, they provide most of the world's breathable oxygen. They are the base of the food chain that supports all the creatures in the seas.
A green algae called chlorella can multiply several thousand times in a few days. Scientists report that it teems with proteins, vitamins and carbohydrates. Masses of these tiny plants can be used as plant fertilizer and even processed for human food. Perhaps this chlorella algae will solve the food and oxygen problems of long distance space travelers on their way to other worlds. Perhaps it will solve the future famines threatened by the human population explosion, right here on our own planet.