The Negative Effects Of Ocean Acidification

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Ocean Acidification Al Gore once said, “CO2 is the exhaling breath of our civilization,” this quote is completely accurate human civilization resolves around the production, consumption, use of entities that contain CO2. Due to our extreme use of CO2 based products we are causing a rapid spike in the CO2 levels in the atmosphere, the Mauna Loa CO2 records indicate CO2 levels has risen from 315ppm in 1960 to 403ppm in 2016 and it is still rising (noaa). This drastic increase of this toxic gas is that it is damaging the world, as we know it. The most talked about consequence of this is climate change, but the other “equally evil twin” is ocean acidification. This effect of this excessive amount of CO2 being released into our atmosphere is the decrease of pH levels of the oceans due to the increase uptake of CO2. The lowering pH level is due to the combination of CO2 and H2O combining and form carbonic acid, which is an acid. This acidification of the oceans is already wreaking havoc on the oceanic ecosystems and the effects will be more devastating in the …show more content…

The dying of species such as fish due to the increase in pH will affect the fishing industry, making it more difficult to find health, sellable fish. The NOAA states, “fisheries related to coral ecosystems range from artisanal subsistence fishing, commercial fisheries, aquaculture, the live reef fish for food industry, recreational fishing, the aquarium/marine ornamental trade, and the curio and fashion industries” (NOAA). This will also impact the coastal tourist industry, which is a multi-billion dollar, because people all around the world go to areas such as the Great Barrier Reef to the extraordinary ecosystem at work. Many people also consume fish and sea life and although the effects of eating sea life with lower pH is not apparent right now it is unrealistic to think it will have no

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