Carbon emissions creating acidic oceans not seen since dinosaurs

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/mar/10/carbon-emissions-oceans-copenhagen

Carbon emissions creating acidic oceans not seen since dinosaurs

Chemical change placing 'unprecedented' pressure on marine life and could cause widespread extinctions, warn scientists

David Adam, environment correspondent
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 10 March 2009 00.05 GMT

Human pollution is turning the seas into acid so quickly that the coming decades will recreate conditions not seen on Earth since the time of the dinosaurs, scientists will warn today.

The rapid acidification is caused by the massive amounts of carbon dioxide belched from chimneys and exhausts that dissolve in the ocean. The chemical change is placing "unprecedented" pressure on marine life such as shellfish and lobsters and could cause widespread extinctions, the experts say.

The study, by scientists at Bristol University, will be presented at a special three-day summit of climate scientists in Copenhagen, which opens today. The conference is intended to update the science of global warming and to shock politicians into taking action on carbon emissions.

The Bristol scientists cannot talk about their unpublished results until they are announced later today. But a summary of the findings seen by the Guardian predicts "dangerous" levels of ocean acidification and severe consequences for organisms called marine calcifiers, which form chalky shells.

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[hatrack]

1. Oops!!

Not much more to say.

[OKIsItJustMe]

2. How about "We're sorry! Our bad!"

But it's OK, I mean it's not as if we depend on the oceans in any way…

[Barrett808]

3. It seems the denialists are always silent on this one...

...somehow, abrupt and drastic change in ocean chemistry is more concrete than thermodynamics.

[OKIsItJustMe]

4. I think it may be because "Global Warming" doesn't mean "acidic oceans" to most people

And besides, how bad is it really? Why I went swimming in the ocean, and I didn't get acid burns or anything?

The same goes for "http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/283.html">acid rain." Here in NYS, we have some beautiful crystal-clear lakes and ponds, thanks to the acid rain from coal plants to the west.