Acidification of the Ocean

by Ben Bird

Carbon Dioxide Paper
I think the burning of fossil fuels is very bad for the human population, the plant and animal population, and also the environment.  The environment and animals around us are slowly dying off due to severe pollution.  A major factor adding on to all this pollution is the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and natural gas; burning these releases carbon dioxide into the air?

Figure 1: A factory pumping out Carbon Dioxide as it burns coal
Carbon dioxide weighs more than the air we breathe.  This means that when carbon dioxide is produced and dispersed into the air it sinks to the very bottom of the air (sea level).  When the carbon dioxide sinks to sea level it either goes into our water ways and affects our food sources or sinks until it gets to the lowest level of the air and affects the environment, people, or animals on this level.  Also when carbon dioxide sinks to the lowest level, the carbon dioxide traps radiation at ground level, creating ground level ozone. This ground level ozone layer prevents the earth from cooling at night.  When the carbon dioxide sinks into our oceans it makes the water more acidic.  In fact, according to http://www.cnn.com “the world’s oceans have gotten 26% more acidic since the start of the Industrial Revolution.”  CNN also says “that by 2100 there will be a 170% increase in the ocean’s acidity, compared to pre-industrial times.”

Figure 2: a diagram that shows how Carbon Dioxide affects our oceans

As I mentioned earlier, when the carbon dioxide sinks it begins to affect the animals in the oceans and lowest levels of ground.  Did you know daily that the world consumes 654,273,972 lbs of fish?  If the carbon dioxide is getting into the fishes bodies and harming them or killing them, this is taking away one of the world’s main food sources and making things more difficult for the human race.

Figure 3: Dead Fish
Another reason why humans need to decrease the amount of carbon dioxide we output into the environment is because carbon dioxide is a natural, never ending, greenhouse gas. Some other natural, never ending, gases are water vapor, methane, and nitrous oxide.  All of these gases help keep the Earth warm.   These gases absorb the sun's energy and redirect energy back to the Earth's surface to help keep the Earth warm. When there is to much carbon dioxide, it creates an overabundance of greenhouse gases that trap additional heat. This trapped heat leads to melting ice caps and rising ocean levels, which may  cause flooding or hurricanes.  When the climate changes and water levels rise, volcanic eruptions are more likely to occur.
The main change we can make is changing almost everything that burns fossil fuels to using renewable energy.  These renewable energies include:  solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, ocean thermal, biomass, biofuel, and hydrogen.  Using these energies instead of fossil fuels, will save our fossil fuels, as well as reduce the generation of carbon dioxide and clean up our air and water ways.
So please help stop the burning of fossil fuels and production of carbon dioxide, and make life for humans and animals alike easier.
Sources:
Factory pumping out CO2 as it burns coal
http://thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/CarbonEmissions.jpg
Diagram that shows how Carbon Dioxide affects our oceans
http://oceana.org/sites/default/files/acidification_chemistry_chart_3.jpg
Dead Fish
http://www.sott.net/image/image/s7/149222/full/toxics_result_in_mass_mortalit.jpg  
Facts and Information:
www.cnn.com/2013/11/14/world/ocean-acidification-report/
http://www.waterencyclopedia.com/En-Ge/Food-from-the-Sea.html
http://www.ehow.com/info_8583965_carbon-dioxide-affect-environment.html