Green Options

An ocean acidification lawsuit filed Thursday in the state of Washington is the first of its kind.

Most of us are familiar with the idea of carbon dioxide (CO2) from industrial development leaching into the atmosphere, causing global warming. The effect of CO2 on ocean temperatures and acidification is much less well publicised, but just as worrying. In fact, it’s a potential cause of famine.

Leading experts at the 2009 Aspen Environment Forum called ocean acidification caused by high levels of CO2 emissions a “planet changer”, and predicted that all coral in the ocean would be in danger of dying off by mid-century if we continued to burn fossil fuel at our current rate.

Ken Caldeira of Carnegie Institution, Martin Hoffert of New York University, and Dawn Martin of SeaWeb told attendees at the session “The Ocean Carbon Cycle: Facing the Damage” that we haven’t taken the issue seriously enough, and expressed dismay at the lack of media coverage for such an important issue.

“People would be more upset if you told them that their favorite TV show was canceled than if you told them that entire biomes would disappear.” - Ken Caldeira, Carnegie Institution

Scientists gathering specimens in a submersible off the coast of Hawaii have discovered the oldest living colonial creature on Earth, dated at 4,265 years old.

The geriatric discovery (Leiopathes sp.) is a deep water tree-like coral, which grows only a few micrometers every year. That’s an annual growth rate at around the size of a human blood cell. And the Leiopathes sp. wasn’t the only old creature found. Also discovered was a 2,742 year old gold coral (Gerardia sp.).

The discovery raises needed awareness about the delicate, fragile ecosystems of deep sea reefs, which are endangered due to trawling and global warming.

Perhaps best known for its wetsuits, the water sports company Body Glove has partnered with Reef Check and surfline.com to help rally support for the protection of coral reefs.

The three organizations want you to sign a largely symbolic online pledge that serves as an “International Declaration of Reef Rights.” Body Glove is throwing in some prizes such as a wet suit as an additional incentive for us to take a few minutes to sign the pledge.

While coral reefs around the world are increasingly threatened by pollution, climate change and development, scientists in Bonaire are investigating a coral reef success story.

Aimed at kicking off the International Year of the Reef, the Bonaire 2008 [...]