You are conducting your daily routine and you see no change at all, therefore there’s nothing that could possibly worry you. But surprisingly, there is change happening even though we do not see it. Sometimes it’s hard to believe something that can’t be seen, like climate change (Global Warming). There aren’t many who act upon these changes because they are not aware of it. Climate change has been studied for many years and it is shown that the beginning of climate change began at the rise of the industrial era. Ever since then we humans have caused a great amount of CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) to be emitted into out planet’s atmosphere. Why do we seem to not worry too much nowadays about the emission of CO2 to our atmosphere, lithosphere or hydrosphere? Many of us don’t feel affected personally by climate change, nothing in reality is being taken away from any individual due to climate change, in which case most humans continue living their regular lives. To battle against climate change there are many sacrifices to consider, some which are changing the transportation style, which might be going from driving automotive to riding bicycles or using public transportation. Also food consumption would be a sacrifice one can undergo in order to combat climate change, and that would be going from a meat diet to a more green diet in order to reduce the demand for breeding more animals, which also has a big role in emitting CO2 via animal waste its natural gases. If we were to all take part in reducing CO2 emissions by making sacrifices as mentioned it would make an impact on climate change.
https://www.pmel.noaa.gov/co2/story/Ocean+Acidification
Currently a major amount of CO2 is being emitted; not only being held in the atmosphere but also in our hydrosphere. Hydrosphere is considered as the liquid surface of our planet such as the ocean. The ocean contains a standard pH level, being the level of acidity. Due to the excess amount of carbon dioxide and how it’s now being held in the ocean, it causes the pH level to decrease. The decreasing pH level means more acidic water and although the decreasing of pH is slow, this still affects life under the sea. According to the National Ocean Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), it’s been recorded that the acidity level in the ocean has dropped 0.1 unit. As little as 0.1 ph. unit is actually about a 30% acidity increase in the ocean. Following this data there’s also a 30% absorption of CO2 from the atmosphere, which within time could even increase more by the way we humans continue living our daily lives. As mentioned, before we might not worry about these changes because it’s not affecting us directly, but in an approximate time of ten or more years there could be a possibility of the ocean acidification affecting many aquatic lives in which we depend on for food. Also mentioned by the National Ocean Service is that if certain organisms are at risk because of ocean acidification then the entire food web could possibly be at risk as well. Now there are some ways that can help improve this situation. Algae and seagrasses are beneficial to the ocean due to its photosynthetic process. This means these organisms are able to absorb CO2 just like trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Ocean acidification is of serious concern, due to how billions of us humans rely on ocean nutrition, and not just for feeding but also for labor. There are many jobs which can also be at risk due to the changes in the ocean and the possible lack of sea life. Therefore, we should consider the idea of taking care of the planet we all share, and with as little as changing a diet or means of transportation would be helpful to all living species in this planet.
