We’ve all seen the headlines about melting sea ice in the Arctic. It is tangible harbinger EVIDENCE of the enormous quantities of carbon dioxide, or CO2, our industrial world has pumped into the atmosphere.
But there is another equally insidious peril below sea level. Alaskans are at the forefront of “the other carbon dioxide problem” — ocean acidification. Some of the CO2 pollution dissolves into the ocean, creating carbonic acid and making the ocean more acidic.
No one fully knows what this change will do to the oceans. But we do know that if we don’t reverse this soon, we’ll end up with a drastically different ocean, to the detriment of nearly everyone who depends on it. Think jellyfish instead of salmon.
Acidification makes it harder for organisms to make shells or other protective structures — they essentially dissolve in the more acidic water. This change poses new risks for a vast range of ocean life, from clams and coral reefs, to crabs, shrimp, lobsters, krill, sea urchins, sea snails, and some kinds of plankton, to name a few.
Continue reading ‘Take a few simple steps to reduce ocean acidification’