Home
Newsletter
Events
Blogs
Reports
Graphics
RSS
About Us
Support
Write for Us
Media Info
Advertising Info
Global warning

Global carbon dioxide emissions rapidly acidifying Earth's oceans

Thursday, November 16, 2006 by: Jessica Fraser
Tags: global warning, emissions, ocean acidification


Most Viewed Articles
https://www.naturalnews.com/021104_global_warning_emissions.html
Delicious
diaspora
Print
Email
Share

(NewsTarget) The world's oceans are absorbing excess carbon dioxide emissions, turning them acidic and threatening all forms of sea life, according to climate experts at a recent UN conference on climate change in Kenya.

The oceans have trapped roughly a third of the world's carbon dioxide emissions, said professor Stefan Rahmstorf, head of Germany's Potsdam Institute for Research into Climatic Effects.

Because carbon dioxide is a heat-trapping gas, its high concentration in the oceans is contributing to global warming, as well as turning ocean waters acidic, which prevents vital sea life from properly forming.

"The oceans are rapidly changing," said Rahmstorf. "Ocean acidification is a major threat to marine organisms."

Acidic ocean waters are also depleting fish stocks and coral reefs, which "fundamentally" alter the world's food chain, Rahmstorf said in his study, "The Future Oceans -- Warming Up, Rising High, Turning Sour." In the study, Rahmstorf and eight other scientists warn that the world is witnessing problems similar to the acid rain phenomenon of the 1970s and 80s.

According to David Santillo, a senior marine biologist at Greenpeace's Research Laboratories in Exeter, Britain, many scientists are unaware that the oceans are becoming acidic because of carbon dioxide emissions.

"The ... effect for humans is that some of these marine resources that we rely on may not be available in the future," Santillo said.

Rahmstorf also warned that trapped carbon dioxide gasses in the oceans are helping fuel global warming. Within 70 years, he predicts world temperature increases will result in frequent storms that will threaten 200 million people with floods.

Scientists from more than 100 countries are attending the UN meeting in Nairobi to discuss possible solutions to climate change. The 35 industrialized countries that agreed to the 1997 Kyoto accord -- which prompted a 5 percent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions below 1990 levels by 2010 -- are discussing emissions targets for beyond 2012.

###


Receive Our Free Email Newsletter

Get independent news alerts on natural cures, food lab tests, cannabis medicine, science, robotics, drones, privacy and more.


comments powered by Disqus



Natural News Wire (Sponsored Content)

Science.News
Science News & Studies
Medicine.News
Medicine News and Information
Food.News
Food News & Studies
Health.News
Health News & Studies
Herbs.News
Herbs News & Information
Pollution.News
Pollution News & Studies
Cancer.News
Cancer News & Studies
Climate.News
Climate News & Studies
Survival.News
Survival News & Information
Gear.News
Gear News & Information
Glitch.News
News covering technology, stocks, hackers, and more