4 out of 5 stars
The publisher provided a copy of this, free of charge, in return for an honest review.
The first thing that came to mind when I saw that this book was about algae, was algae blooms, (the clue is very much in the title). These are happening much more frequently now, caused by the excess runoff from farmland which goes into rivers and then the sea, where the resulting growth can cause horrendous problems with life in the area affected.
But algae are so much more than that. To begin with, none of us would be here without algae. They converted the poisonous atmosphere of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane, hydrogen and other gasses into oxygen. It took a couple of billion years, mind, but gave us an atmosphere we can breathe and equally importantly, a protective ozone layer.
That is simplifying it though. The first chapters of the book describe in detail the hell that the planet was at the time to a place where life stood a chance of surviving. All from these tiny pieces of slime. It is a wonder. Not only can we credit slime with giving life a chance to flourish on our planet initially, but it is still helping life exist here still. Algae are everywhere, and I do mean everywhere…
In some weird symbiosis with fungi, they make a new species called lichens, which can be much more than those grey patches that you find on walls. Seaweeds are algae and can be found in sushi, and ice cream as well as being a food in their own right, fat choi and laverbread are two examples. It has widespread uses around the world from fertilizers to animal fodder, it is used as a thickener and another algae is starting to be used as a replacement for oils as it can be used for the production of ethanol and other fuels.
I thought that this was a fascinating book. It opened my eyes to the critical role that algae have played in making our world habitable. It has great benefits, but too much of it can be a bad thing. Kassinger is an engaging writer and comes across as having endless enthusiasm about her subject. If you want to know more than you ever though possible abut algae then start here.
That is interesting!
It was a fascinating book. Have passed it on otherwise I could have sent it to you