As Wildfire Season Approaches, Phytoplankton Take On Fires’ Trickiest Emissions

By Jenaye Johnson

Just last year wildfires generated over 2.1 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions around the globe. That’s the equivalent of driving 500 million gas-powered cars around for a year, according to the EPA. With the wildfire season burning its way through this summer, several research groups are now working to demonstrate one small plant species’ ability to offset some of those pollutants.