Ocean Acidification And Climate Change

Climate change caused by increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide has been a front-runner in the global environmental quality debate for years; however, the other side of atmospheric carbon dioxide’s effect on our world - the massive absorption of carbon dioxide by the ocean - has received far less attention. While climate change is a change in global or regional climate patterns attributed largely to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels, ocean acidification, often called climate change’s “evil twin,” refers to a reduction in the pH of the ocean over an extended time due primarily to the uptake of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by the ocean. This carbon dioxide influx is a direct consequence

Even though the ocean may seem far away from your front door, there are things you can do in your life and in your home that can help to slow ocean acidification and carbon dioxide emissions. Ocean acidification is an environmental problem that affects us globally. Currently, it is impossible to predict exactly how the increased lowering of the pH of our oceans will effect marine food-chains and ecosystems since focus on this particular problem has just begun to increase in the ocean science community. It’s important that this issue becomes a main topic in the ocean science community so we can learn more about what is going on and, therefore, take the needed actions to remedy our mistakes. We do know, however, that at the current pace of ocean acidification we desperately need to make some changes in our world and become more considerate toward our environment, as we are main contributors to the carbon dioxide both in the air and in our oceans. Ultimately, we are putting more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than can be absorbed by the earth's natural processes, which is leading to this carbon dioxide imbalance and an unsteady state system. Future predictions we do currently have indicate that the oceans will continue to

Ocean acidification is an already observable and predictable consequence of increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations with biological impacts, and will need to be recognized and integrated into the global climate change debate in order to decrease long term damage, at the very least. You can personally help ocean acidification by reducing your individual carbon footprint. Reducing your personal carbon impact includes: carpooling, biking, using public transportation, keeping maintenance up to date on your cars, and using less electricity. It’s also important to support clean renewable energy initiatives in your community and organizations that protect the ocean, like The Alliance for Climate Education (ace) or The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Finally, one of the most important things you can do is to tell your friends and family about ocean acidification. A lot of people still don't know how the oceans around us are changing; thus, supporting public education about ocean acidification and its effects is very important so we can all understand what we are doing to our oceans before it is too