Creating a Healthier World

Ocean Acidification is an environmental threat that is silently ruining our earth every day. Over time ocean acidification will destroy the earth if we do not slow the process and find solutions to this current threat. Ocean Acidification is the decrease in the pH of the Earth's oceans and is caused by the intake of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere which hurts our oceans and reefs. pH levels are critical because it determines whether organisms can survive in that environment. The changing levels of pH will harm marine life, and if it continues marine life will eventually not be able to survive. The primary consequences of pH decrease are the mass extinction of coral reefs and an increase in global warming which ultimately leads to crucial marine life dying. This issue could change our food, water, and air indefinitely. Atmospheric carbon is rising from fossil fuel emissions and slowly making the ocean more acidic as it continues.

Ocean acidification also makes global warming worse, triggering a domino effect that will ruin our Earth completely. Global warming worsens ocean acidification but also is affected by it. Ocean acidification hinders the ocean's ability to absorb carbon dioxide, therefore, worsening global warming. Global warming and ocean acidification together are the perfect recipe for disaster, each directly affecting each other. As greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere from the ocean the earth will warm and the harm to the earth will spread. Oceans are affected by ocean acidification itself and as it continues it even starts to harm land ecosystems as well.

Ocean acidification is a rising issue that can be extremely detrimental to our planet as it continues. Over the last decade, there has been a big focus on studying the potential impacts of ocean acidification but there is still a lot more to be learned. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration states that “Because sustained efforts to monitor ocean acidification worldwide are only beginning, it is currently impossible to predict exactly how ocean acidification impacts will cascade throughout the marine food web and affect the overall structure of marine ecosystems.” We need to further understand ocean acidity, how climate change affects the ocean, and carbon dioxide absorption into the ocean, but what we do know is it is already showing adverse effects. Anything we can do to try and stop or slow ocean acidification will benefit the future of the ocean. While we may not know enough just yet to fix the problem completely we can try to take better care of the earth and continue to research. I urge younger generations to educate themselves on this topic so us and our future generations can ensure the damage does not continue. Some extremely helpful resources to educate yourself about this topic would be the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, their website has information not only regarding ocean acidification but also climate change and so much more. Each of us can help easily by doing things like carpooling, recycling plastics, cutting down on the amount of plastics we use, and spreading the word about ocean acidification. We need to take these steps because marine life like coral reefs, fish, and crustaceans are starting to die, and without these marine organisms, we will suffer. The carbon dioxide absorption into the ocean is going to ruin our oceans with time, and it is essential we try to correct the problem the best we can sooner than later. The further we let this issue progress the more difficult it will be to fix. Earth and the ecosystems within it are essential to life, and actions need to be taken to help before the Earth, and our oceans are destroyed. The generation of kids and adults still in or just out of school are the future, it is this generation’s job to find a solution. Human impacts are destroying the coral reefs, and the increased fossil fuel burning is making acidification even worse. Carbon dioxide levels are increasing and have now reached a point where it is irreversible. These levels warm the planet and increase acidification, harming coral reefs all over the world. The majority of coral reefs have suffered significant stress, and it is expected to continue and worsen. As a society, we need to change so we do not make our current problem even worse.