No. Just. No.

Seaweed pods.

 Where do I even start?

We are experiencing the 6^th great mass extinction due in large part to habitat destruction from extractive practices. Mining seaweed for edible water pods is just like mining fossil carbon to create fuel. Isn’t there enough evidence that extractive practices wreak havoc? Why do we seek yet another extractive ‘solution?’

Besides, shouldn’t we have some curiosity as to why seaweed exists in its particular ecosystem in the first place? Maybe, just maybe seaweed hangs out in oceans because it serves a purpose and isn’t just waiting to be siphoned into human use. What right does our species have to disrupt yet another ecosystem? It’s not even to meet needs, but rather to serve the arguably self-indulgent endeavor of an elite few.

All of earth’s systems are destabilizing. Who specifically, in the midst of this, can use the planet for enormously resource intensive events like marathons? Who has this sort of environmental privilege and who ultimately pays for it?

It adds insult to injury to then market such environmental extravagance as sustainable by boasting seaweed pods instead of bottled water. It’s like bragging you’re no longer beating someone with a crowbar but with a baseball bat instead.

What needs to stop is the actual beating.

What needs to stop is half the world carrying on with business as usual while the other half burns and drowns. What needs to stop is half the world seeking easy fixes so they can continue business as usual.