It's all over but for the sweating?

[freebeard]

Really? It's been in the news.

[NeilBlanchard]

The problem is that when the ocean absorbs carbon dioxide, it ends up as carbonic acid which lowers the pH and this makes it harder for plankton and shellfish to form their shells.

The ocean is getting more acidic.

The pH has already dropped from ~8.2 to ~8.1 and plankton levels are about 40% lower now than in the 1950's. The acidity varies depending on the composition of the nearby coast - largely granite land like New England and the pacific northwest have more acidic ocean water than areas that are largely limestone, like the mid-Atlantic coast. As luck would have it, colder water means better fishing, and these areas most often have granite nearby. Also, colder water can absorb more carbon dioxide.

So, this is bad for the base of the ocean food chain - which is bad for the whole ocean.

[suspectnumber961]

About the only fish I'll eat now is canned wild-caught salmon at ~$2.70 (?) per 12 oz can....this even at a discount grocery. The can likely has BPA in the lining. Tuna is mostly polluted with mercury....the least expensive light tuna is from thailand...my dog won't eat it. The better tuna has more mercury. Even the salmon has some chemicals. Chinese farm raised fish is a no-no.

Bought some breaded fish when I got stupid...found that by thickness it was 2/3s breading...or basically fish flavored breading.

More people...fewer fish.....

Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard

The problem is that when the ocean absorbs carbon dioxide, it ends up as carbonic acid which lowers the pH and this makes it harder for plankton and shellfish to form their shells.

The ocean is getting more acidic.

The pH has already dropped from ~8.2 to ~8.1 and plankton levels are about 40% lower now than in the 1950's. The acidity varies depending on the composition of the nearby coast - largely granite land like New England and the pacific northwest have more acidic ocean water than areas that are largely limestone, like the mid-Atlantic coast. As luck would have it, colder water means better fishing, and these areas most often have granite nearby. Also, colder water can absorb more carbon dioxide.

So, this is bad for the base of the ocean food chain - which is bad for the whole ocean.

[suspectnumber961]

https://www.scientificamerican.com/a...SA_WR_20121212


Across two decades and thousands of pages of reports, the world's most authoritative voice on climate science has consistently understated the rate and intensity of climate change and the danger those impacts represent, say a growing number of studies on the topic.

This conservative bias, say some scientists, could have significant political implications, as reports from the group – the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – influence policy and planning decisions worldwide, from national governments down to local town councils.

As the latest round of United Nations climate talks in Doha wrap up this week, climate experts warn that the IPCC's failure to adequately project the threats that rising global carbon emissions represent has serious consequences:

The IPCC’s overly conservative reading of the science, they say, means governments and the public could be blindsided by the rapid onset of the flooding, extreme storms, drought, and other impacts associated with catastrophic global warming.

"We're underestimating the fact that climate change is rearing its head," said Kevin Trenberth, head of the climate analysis section at the National Center for Atmospheric Research and a lead author of key sections of the 2001 and 2007 IPCC reports. "And we're underestimating the role of humans, and this means we're underestimating what it means for the future and what we should be planning for."

[radioranger]

well from what you've discovered nothing we here could do would really help much it seems since china and india etc arent going to follow along . only thing we could really have done was stop buying there stuff but they've captured almost all the markets. we in fact should not allow any imports unless we can verify they were made in a enviromentally safe manner, corruption at all levels would make this impossible. greed rules it seems till it is too late.

[Xist]

During the semester, I tried to limit my visits here to brief ones as breaks. Then I finished finals and it seems like I caught up with everything pretty quickly and maybe it seems like there are few updates around here because I am checking frequently, but I ended up here. You guys know that I really like talking and I imagine that many people have decided that I am an ignorant simpleton (in smaller words, some worthy of censoring), but I must say that I have been lost during much of this debate\discussion. Fluorescent bulbs are standard in this complex, but it seems like apartments never have recycling. Soldiers ranted and raved about how small the garbage cans were in Germany (I believe that my sister had the same situation in San Francisco), but if you actually recycle, you really only throw away a fraction.

Before I had a bunch of Army stuff and lived in a larger apartment I held onto my recycling and then would take it to work, a recycling center, etc, but I am afraid that I just throw much of it away.

I honestly wonder what percentage of people recycle properly. I had roommates that used the recycling bin for garbage and I remember seeing recycling bins as filthy as any garbage can, including one dirty diaper stuck to the side. It seemed like many people who made an effort to recycle still did it wrong, like throwing bags of paper in the cans.

There were a few times when I would spend a little time sorting the recycling. Then, once, I saw the Germans come through and, since the recycling was overflowing, they threw the excess in the garbage.

I apologize for this being somewhat off-topic, but at this point, basically whatever I understand on the topic is what I may understand from this thread.

I do like the Earth, though. It is, as The Tick said, "where I keep all my stuff!"

[freebeard]

You guys know that I really like talking and I imagine that many people have decided that I am an ignorant simpleton (in smaller words, some worthy of censoring), but I must say that I have been lost during much of this debate\discussion.

I never thought that. This thread is a microcosm of the larger world, an endless discussion that doesn't move the ball.

I, too, am surrounded by people who throw un-flattened cardboard boxes in the trash. The sad thing is that even if we live an exemplary low-impact life, it would take six of us to counteract one of the un-thinking ones.

We may as well be, to quote Flashback Blues, "happy sailors dancing on a sinking ship"

[gone-ot]

With "Tombstone-mentality" gooberments, ain't nothing gonna happen until after something BIG & BAD has already happened...multiple times!

[Xist]

Originally Posted by freebeard

I never thought that.

Give me time.

I like making fun of myself. I do a much better job than anyone else!

I imagine that if you took a poll asking if bad drivers should have their licenses revoked, the idea would be popular, but they would never agree on standards because however they set them, some of them would lose their licenses.

I remember a sci fi book, I think that it was written by Piers Anthony. I actually did not like it, but the idea was that Earth was overpopulated and we ran into aliens suffering the same problem, so we took over each other's planets and eliminated "unnecessary" people.

It really seems like it comes down to that and I cannot imagine that it could ever be a good thing.

While I am being semi-irrelevant (when am I not?), Sheryl Crow tried to convince people to limit themselves to one piece of toilet paper per visit. I could use a real source, but I really like Cracked! The 7 Most Retarded Ways Celebrities Have Tried to Go Green | Cracked.com

[niky]

One piece? Try recycled toilet paper. That's what we use. Funny is how the first promo bundle came packaged with free "virgin pulp" tissue. The irony was lost, apparently, on the grocery store.

Conservation by slowing down industry and consumerism is something no government wants. Resource conservation through population reduction is something no church wants. And those two changes are likely the most important needed to ensure our continued survival.