Ocean acidification is becoming more of a problem, and there is almost nothing being done to stop it. Ocean acidification is the lowering of the ocean's PH level. The more acidic the ocean is, the more of a threat it poses to marine life. There are few corporations that are working to decrease the amount of CO2 going into the ocean, but unless there are regulations and laws passed in favor of stopping ocean acidification, their efforts will be almost useless.
Many types of marine organisms such as coral, clams, and sea urchins depend on the right amounts of certain chemicals in order to form their shells. Ocean acidification changes these levels of chemicals, and could, in the future, cause these organisms to not be able to form their shells. Some organisms have more of a resistance to ocean acidification, but others that are sensitive to it could be facing extinction in the near future. However, some sea snails have proven that ocean acidification does not affect them at all because they changed their shell-making process. This could mean that other organisms can also adapt to ocean acidification.
The ocean's PH has already dropped roughly 0.1, or an approximate 30% since the 1750's. "Scientists from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany say that if we were to remove CO2 from the atmosphere at a rate of 2.5 times that of the current annual emissions, oceans would not recover to a low-emission state by 2700." -[Hannah Osborne, IBT, page 1]. However, if changes were to start now, ocean acidification could technically be reversed before it is too late, but it would take a very long time.
Ocean acidification is caused simply by CO2 emissions being absorbed by the ocean and mixed into its chemical makeup. While it is very harmful to most marine organisms, ocean acidification in itself is just basic chemistry. If scientists were to put funds, effort, and time into it, they could probably develop a way to bring the ocean's acidity back to its original state.
Making up over 70% of the planet, the ocean is one of the most important parts of Earth, as it is a source of food, transportation, recreation, and most importantly, home to over 1 million species of marine life. It is important that the ocean is protected from the dangers of acidification, or else everybody will suffer the consequences of the pollution that humans caused and did almost nothing to stop.
SATIRE (Creative writing 2):
There are two people that live in a tower in a city. Everybody else stays on the streets. The two people dump all of their garbage, waste, and old belongings off of the tower, and into the people below. They think it's okay because they think" If it doesn't affect us, then it must be okay."
Works Cited
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Choi, Charles Q. "Ocean Acidification from CO 2 Is Happening Faster Than Thought." Scientific American. N.p., 06 Jan. 2009. Web. 28 Feb. 2017.
Pinsker, Lisa. "Geotimes - December 2004 - Acidic waters threaten sea life." Geotimes - December 2004 - Acidic waters threaten sea life. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2017.
"Ocean acidification may be good for thriving marine snails." New Scientist. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2017.
"Researchers determine why the ocean has absorbed more carbon over the past decade." Phys.org - News and Articles on Science and Technology. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2017.
Osborne, Hannah. "Reversing ocean acidification with aggressive CO2 removal will take more than 700 years." International Business Times UK. N.p., 03 Aug. 2015. Web. 03 Mar. 2017.
"FAQs about Ocean Acidification." Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2017.
"Reduce Ocean Acidification." NRDC. N.p., 15 Dec. 2016. Web. 07 Mar. 2017.
Laumer, John. "Global Warming's Evil Twin: Ocean Acidification - A Present And Measurable Danger." TreeHugger. N.p., 12 Mar. 2010. Web. 08 Mar. 2017.