All of you have calculated your emissions and you have surely discovered the unexpectedly high impact of some of your behaviors (eating meat, flying to a sunny destination, etc.) on your total footprints.
Are there any behaviors that you are really willing to change or to improve for the sake of the environment? What challenges do you encounter or think you will encounter while trying to change these things? What help, support, and insights from others would make your life easier with these new behaviors?
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Ocean Acidity
Gillian Major
Mrs. Laws
Biology-Period 5
29 September 2016
Ocean Acidity
From the start of the industrial revolution, the atmosphere has experienced a rise in CO2 levels by the burning of fossil fuels. A disastrous result of such carbon dioxide levels is the ocean’s increased acidity. According to scientists, the ocean has endured a twenty percent increase in the ocean’s acidity, over the previous two centuries. This increase in acidity has affected the reproductivity of fish and is progressively stunting the growth of shell-growing marine life.
But, we as humans can help stop the actively rising ocean acidity by lessening the amount of carbon dioxide we emit into the atmosphere. To accomplish this, we might want to come up with plans to turn people off to the burning of fossil fuels. That could mean new regulation and standards for factories and other big emitters of fossil fuel. We could try raising costs on factories that burn fossil fuel and give special privileges to factories that agree to lower a emission policy.
We could be the generation that puts an end to the rising carbon dioxide level of our atmosphere by educating ourselves and our peers on the danger and disaster we are in and will be in if we don’t come together and make solutions. Young people can work together to create efficient inventions that could regulate our atmosphere, reverse damages done, and prevent future destruction. Entrepreneurship would still live on, but at the same time the idea of being “green” will be of the most important. Taking care of the Earth isn’t just to help ourselves here and now, but it’s also to help future generations.
I agree Gillian! The earth's oceans have maintained their acidity level for millions of years, but in the last 200 years the acidity level has risen by 20%. This is the effect of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. We know this because oceans absorb most of the carbon dioxide that is in the atmosphere. The result of this is that the acidity rises. Many shell-bearing animals could be greatly affected by this because the acidity prevents these animals from forming their shells. Fish can also be affected by this because the acidity can harm their reproductive system. The rising acidity of the ocean could also potentially affect the oceans' capacity to absorb carbon dioxide, which means more carbon dioxide would be in the atmosphere. Gillian made a great point by saying we need to take action and our generation could be the one to step up. We need to protect ourselves from the dangers of greenhouse gases for ourselves and future generations.
Source: http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/oce … ification/