While doing research for a new book on jellyfish, which happens to be the most lethal killer in the ocean – or anywhere else, for that matter – I got sidetracked by an article announcing that environmentalists had brought a lawsuit against the EPA for allowing Washington State residents to pollute our ocean with carbon dioxide.
I was stunned. The Washington coastline is pristine compared with other seas. Any coastal waters polluted badly enough to warrant court action should be packed tightly with jellyfish of one species or other. Like the Sea of Japan which is so full of giant Nomura's jellies that nobody can fish or swim there for at least three months of the year. Those things weigh up to 400 pounds and have killed at least four people in the last few years.
The Center for Biological Diversity claims that while it isn't noticeable to the naked eye, carbon dioxide pollution (acidification) in Washington's oceans is bad enough to seriously affect shellfish, sea urchins, shrimp. prawns, and any other marine creature that uses calcium carbonate to produce their protective shells.
When I looked into it a little bit more closely however, the whole thing appeared more like a fund raising stunt than a serious action. Nowhere are there any examples of negative impact on the creatures they claim are threatened. And nowhere is there any sign of acid.
In the many seas and coastal areas that are really endangered, the cause is never carbon dioxide, but the result of devastating fishing practices and waste pollution. Look at the west coast of Africa. It used to be the richest fishery in the world, but is now on the brink of ecological collapse thanks to over-exploitation by European Union factory ships. They have taken out so many of the top level predator fish, that massive blooms of jellyfish are literally choking coastal waters, keeping local fishermen from earning even a meager living for their starving families.
A marine research arm of the European Union, which has the worst ecological record in the world, hopes to cover up by blaming carbon dioxide, using undecipherable statements like: “increased seawater temperatures due to global warming enhance the capture of carbon dioxide by the world ocean, leading to a gradual increase in acidity in recent years". Oh yeah?
This thing about increased ocean acidity is really catching on. I always thought the oceans were alkaline not acidic. The catch phrase “more acidic” is nothing more than a fear tactic.
The current PH of the ocean is about 8.07. By their own admission, the PH level of the ocean will decrease to a low of 8.04 by – the end of this century...a long time (91 years) from now. Even then it's not much to worry about. Distilled water is 7.0, milk is 6.6, orange juice 3.6, lemon juice 2.2, and battery acid -0.2.
It seems to me the PH would have to get below 7.0 before you could say it was becoming more acidic. Maybe I'm missing something though, because scientific articles about the approaching carbon dioxide holocaust are starting to appear everywhere with increasing frequency.
The acidification proponents use frequent qualifiers such as: “may soon”, “might threaten”, “could affect” and “if we don't”, which does nothing to strengthen their case.
Besides, super-scientist Craig Venter, who decoded the entire human genome only six years ago, now has a $600 million deal with Exxon, to switch the world from fossil fuels to DNA-altered algae which takes CO2 out of the atmosphere and could swing the fear pendulum in the opposite direction, from global warming to another ice age.
Is this CO2 thing a tempest in teacup, or what?
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