Recent research has suggested that the oceans acidity has been increased from carbon emissions more now than over the last 300 million years. According to a study done at Columbia University that was published in the journal Science, the acidification of the ocean today is far worse than during any other major mass extinction in history when asteroid impacts and volcanic eruptions caused global temperatures to rise dramatically. Bloomberg reported that the closest pace of change in pH levels occurred during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum about 56 million years ago, when, it is estimated half of all seabed species went extinct. When seawater is acidified, coral and plankton at the bottom of the food chain cannot survive, with consequences that move up the food chain causing possible mass extinctions like the one that occurred millions of years before. Barbel Honisch, a paleoceanographer at Columbia’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory was quoted by the United Press International as saying. "We know that life during past ocean acidification events was not wiped out -- new species evolved to replace those that died off. But if industrial carbon emissions continue at the current pace, we may lose organisms we care about -- coral reefs, oysters, salmon." Due to the burning of fossil fuels we have increased the level of atmospheric carbon from the pre industrialization level of 280 parts per million to todays level of 392 parts per million. While increased carbon dioxide levels are seen as the main culprit in warming the planet, it also seeps into the oceans, forming "carbonic acid" resulting in more acidity. According to the researchers, the pH level of the oceans is currently dropping by about 0.1 per century. Much of the damage we are doing to the ocean is irreversible. "It's not a problem that can be quickly reversed," said Christopher Langdon, a biological oceanographer at the University of Miami. "Once a species goes extinct it's gone forever. We're playing a very dangerous game."
My research in global pollution thus far has seemed to focus mostly on air pollution. This has mostly been led by the articles that are available to me. Air pollution is a huge part of the global pollution problem but there are many other aspects that go along with it. The ocean is one of the major ones. It seems like enough attention is not being brought to this part of the problem. The impact the oceans have on everyones life is enormous. The first major impact would be on food and wildlife. The ocean is a major source of nutrition for many parts of the world. If the oceans were to become too polluted and over fished then there would be a shortage of food. This could lead to increased prices and even wars over ocean territories. Another economic impact would be on tourism. Many areas around the world rely on the ocean as a destination for tourists to come and spend money. If the oceans are to toxic and the wildlife is all gone then no one would want to go there. It was stated that we have already done irreversible damage to the ocean. Not only would affect our food and recreation but it could affect our everyday life. The role the oceans play in our weather and current climate pattern is huge. One fear of rising ocean temperatures is the melting of the glaciers. The glaciers are mostly fresh water and when they melt and combined with the sea water they alter the balance of the salt in the water and slow down the currents in the ocean. These currents are thought to control the weather patterns on earth. If the ocean did become too toxic of an environment the entire world would suffer. From a lack of resources and limited land due to rising ocean temperatures. There are many different ways that the ocean can become polluted. Today in our American culture it seems to be a norm. We still have towns along the NC coast building sewer pipes that empty directly into the ocean. Its always been easier and cheeper just to dump our waste and disregard our impact. But even here in Greensboro we have an impact on what happens to our oceans.
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