Cool Aid Acid Test

Oceans are fun! Human fun! We have surfing, swimming, sailing, cruising, big-boat-delivery systems, yummy sea food, ocean views, resources galore… dead zones, mercury build-up, super acidity, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch… not to mention those other fun things like direct weather-related disasters.

Let start with what climatologist Ken Calderia calls “global warming’s equally evil twin,” ocean acidification. 30% of the earth’s carbon dioxide is ultimately absorbed into the oceans and the life forms beneath the surface. With global warming come massively gigantic amounts of unbridled CO₂. “[Calderia] recently spent time along the Great Barrier Reef attempting to measure the impact to date... Most carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere is eventually absorbed by the ocean, making the waters more acidic. In fact, ocean chemistry is changing at least 100 times more rapidly than it did during the 650,000 years before the industrial age, according to [the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - NOAA].

“Rising levels of CO₂ can stunt growth, undermine reproduction or simply kill marine life. It also depletes carbonate in the ocean, an ion used to build the shells and skeletons of corals and shellfish. At least a quarter of all sea life spends part of its life among coral reefs, so the ripple effects are potentially devastating… In fact, shifts in ocean acidity led to mass extinction hundreds of millions of years ago (possibly following a devastating asteroid strike or volcanic explosion).” SFGate.com, June 5^th. Nature? Are you reading this? You may have to start over?!

But wait, there’s more! So wherever you find large port cities, you find that the waters for many miles around devoid of the teaming life that once abounded. “Dead zones are hypoxic (low-oxygen) areas in the world's oceans andlarge lakes, caused by ‘excessive nutrient pollution from human activities coupled with other factors that deplete the oxygen required to support most marine life in bottom and near-bottom water. (NOAA).’ In the 1970soceanographers began noting increased instances of dead zones. These occur near inhabited coastlines, where aquatic life is most concentrated. (The vast middle portions of the oceans, which naturally have little life, are not considered ‘dead zones’.)

“In March 2004, when the recently established UN Environment Programme published its first Global Environment Outlook Year Book (GEO Year Book 2003), it reported 146 dead zones in the world's oceans where marine life could not be supported due to depleted oxygen levels. Some of these were as small as a square kilometre (0.4 mi²), but the largest dead zone covered 70,000 square kilometres (27,000 mi²). A 2008 study counted 405 dead zones worldwide.” Wikipedia 

How about solid garbage? Where does all the stuff we dump into the oceans wind up? Take the middle of the Pacific (between Hawaii and California). That area of ocean provides us with a lovely example of a slowly rotating gyre (based on currents and the rotation of the earth) that has, over decades, slowly sucked up debris that has been pulled into it vortex. “The Great Pacific Garbage Patch collects marine debris from North America and Asia, as well as ships traveling through the area. Trash from the coast of North America takes about six years to reach the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, while trash from Japan and other Asian countries takes about a year…

“No one knows how much debris makes up the entire patch. The North Pacific Subtropical Gyre is about 19 million square kilometers (7 million square miles). It is too large for scientists to trawl the entire surface. In addition, not all of the trash floats on the surface. Denser debris can sink to the middle or bottom of the water. We have no way to measure this unseen litter…

“Any kind of trash can get into the ocean—from glass bottles to aluminum cans to medical waste. The vast majority of marine debris, however, is plastic. Scientists have collected up to 750,000 bits of plastic in a single square kilometer (or 1.9 million bits per square mile) of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.” NationalGeographic.com

Over time, our industrial effluents have also released massive amounts of mercury into the atmosphere, which, once again, settled massively in our oceans. Eat fish laced with mercury, also over time, and well…. “Human-generated sources, such as coal-fired power plants, emit about half of atmospheric mercury, with natural sources such as volcanoes responsible for the remainder. An estimated two-thirds of human-generated mercury comes from stationary combustion, mostly of coal. Other important human-generated sources include gold production, nonferrous metal production, cement production, waste disposal, human crematoria, caustic soda production, pig iron and steel production, mercury production (mostly for batteries), and biomass burning… [And then what happens to the poor sole – er… soul – feasting on swordfish, over time?]

“[A person suffering from] Mercury poisoning (also known as hydrargyria or mercurialism) … may experience profuse sweating, tachycardia (persistently faster-than-normal heart beat), increased salivation, and hypertension(high blood pressure)… Affected children may show red cheeks, nose and lips, loss of hair, teeth, and nails, transient rashes, hypotonia (muscle weakness), and increased sensitivity to light. Other symptoms may include kidneydysfunction (e.g. Fanconi syndrome) or neuropsychiatric symptoms such as emotional lability, memory impairment, and/or insomnia.” Wikipedia. Oceans 11, Oceans 12, Oceans 13… where will it end?

I’m Peter Dekom, and ready the roosts, because the chickens are “in-coming”!!!