Food chain collapsing due to ocean acidification. The plankton that supports life in and out of our oceans is dying and if that happens the fish, large and small, will disappear and in turn the sea birds will die. This decline will work its way all the way down the food chain, even threatening our own existence. In some parts of the world the fishing industry is already reporting its effects, eg oysters unable to grow normally. Acidification is caused by the carbon dioxide that accumulates in our atmosphere and is naturally absorbed by the world's oceans causing the calcium carbonate to dissolve. Some plankton and other animals that produce skeletons made from calcium carbonate are then unable to develop normally and are weakened and unable to adapt and reproduce. Carbon dioxide is being produced in excess by human activities, eg industries that directly and indirectly produce carbon dioxide. We can no longer afford to be indifferent or we as a species will rapidly face extinction like other animals and plants before us. We need to take care of the planet that supports us and our birds or face the consequences.
I couldn't have said it better, double bar. Things are getting quite desperate but keep fighting, folks, & never give in. We need to leave some form of life for evolution to build on.
Last week during the night, when I can't sleep,I often listen to the ABC . There was a very interesting discussion to this topic.
I will try and find it, so I might give a link. They made the point that the main cause is all the plastic that flows into the ocean and doesn't break down.Minute parts of it, that is in countless products like Toothpast, everything that polishes etc.
There is no way of filtering those particles out, they are so small that they are not held back by any mesh we have . The only way to prevent this from happening, that is, if it's not too late already, would be to ban many of the chemicals like Whiteners, Brighteners....in short everything that starts with "Poly.....
I'll try to find this program now.
M-L
Araminta, do you mean the main cause of ocean acidification is chemicals? If so, I understood that increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are the main cause. Carbon dioxide dissolves in water to produce carbonic acid if my high school chemistry serves me well.
What must the health of the oceans be like now compared to say, a hundred years ago? They must be in a dreadful state, with global warming, overfishing, oil spills, chemical and nuclear waste dumping, ships' waste, oil tanker accidents, oil drilling and filthy rivers full of untreated sewage, chemicals, litter and factory waste pouring in from Asia every day. I despair.
Ocean acidification is a direct result of carbon pollution. The current gvt wants to repeal the carbon tax and replace it with making the dole and pension harder to get. The weather for the recent past in Australia shows how important climate change is, the bushfire season will probably start in August this year for the southern states. In the northern hemisphere there is so much smog it is cooling the whole hemisphere by reflecting back heat. The air circulation of the 2 hemispheres is mostly independent so we in the southern hemisphere get the full effect of heating but it isn't so strong in Europe, nth America and Asia. The ocean acidification affects the whole planet, and it will take the planet a long time to recover.
I found a transcript of the program.http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/scienceshow/microplastics-threaten-marine-food-webs/5471190
Have a look. This is more about the damage "plastic" does to the ocean and all life in it!
M-L