One of the founders of Greenpeace has published a paper clearly demonstrating that ocean acidification is merely a tactic being used by environmental extremists to scare people into believing that CO2 emissions could cause the oceans to become acidic and, as a result, cause the extinction of shellfish and corals, and much of marine life.
Ocean acidification, if it were true, would be a far more serious threat than rising temperatures or climate change.
Alarmists have created an issue divorced from climate change.
It allows environmental extremists to claim that CO2 emissions must be eliminated even though CO2 doesn’t cause rising temperatures or catastrophic climate change.
The paper, Ocean Acidification Alarmism in Perspective, by Patrick Moore, examines the issue in considerable depth and concludes that CO2 entering the oceans will not result in the oceans becoming acidic or cause extinctions of marine life.
It’s obvious to anyone who has taken high school chemistry that the oceans are basic, and could never become acidic.
Extremists use the term acidification to infer that CO2 might be able to make the oceans less basic, which misleads people into thinking the oceans can become acidic.
Environmental extremists also make the claim that shell fish and corals cannot contend with higher levels of CO2 in saltwater as the CO2 would create an acidic, less basic, environment that would prevent shellfish from forming calcium carbonate by using the calcium and CO2 dissolved in seawater.
The alarmists also contend that the killing off of these species will spread to the extinction of other marine life.
Dr. Moore’s, paper deals with successive issues, from whether CO2 can cause the oceans to become acidic, to whether CO2 in the oceans can disturb or interrupt the ability of shell fish and related organisms to contend with higher levels of CO2.
The paper states,
“The pH of the world’s oceans varies from 7.5 to 8.3, well into the alkaline scale. It is therefore incorrect to state the oceans are acidic or that they will become acidic under any conceivable scenario.”
Dr. Moore’s paper establishes that CO2 levels have varied widely over millions of years, without adversely affecting the ability of marine life to survive.
Among other items of interest, the accompanying graph shows that current atmospheric CO2 levels, despite a small recent uptick, are among the lowest in the Earth’s history.
Also, as noted by Dr. Moore,
“During the late Carboniferous Period and into the Permian and Triassic Periods, CO2 was drawn down from about 4,000 ppm to about 400 ppm, probably owing to the advent of vast areas of forest that pulled CO2 out of the atmosphere and incorporated it into wood and thus into coal.”
The ability of organisms to adapt to changing environmental conditions was explored in depth by Dr. Moore in his paper.
Dr. Moore’s final conclusion is that:
“There is no evidence to support the claim that most calcifying marine species will become extinct owing to higher levels of CO2 in the atmosphere and lower pH in the oceans.”
Extreme environmentalists are creating a new threat, ocean acidification, now that their existing claims of dire catastrophes from climate change are being refuted by scientists.
As they have done in the past, they constantly create new threats that create an unending attack on modern life and modern civilization. It exposes them for what they are, anti-people, anti-civilization extremists.
Quoting from Ehrlich, author of The Population Bomb:
“Over population is now the dominant problem.”
Ocean acidification is merely another bogus threat, promulgated by extreme environmentalists.
Watch for my new book, which will be available in January.
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Thanks Donn,
Your work in exposing the Propaganda by the “Greens” is helpful. So is Dr. Moore’s work. Keep up your excellent efforts and I will be sure to be one of the first customers to buy your new book. Merry Christmas,
Dick Storm
OK, many thanks, and Merry Christmas.
Donn, I appreciate a health dose of skepticism about environmental alarmism but hanging your hat on Dr. Moore’s non-peer reviewed paper as the “be all end all” of Ocean Acidification seems like confirmation basis. As a point of discussion, here’s a counterpoint: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/planet-oz/2015/apr/16/ask-the-real-experts-about-ocean-acidification-not-climate-science-deniers
Thanks.
I have been looking into the issue of ocean acidification and felt comfortable using Dr. Moore’s article as I believe it is basically (no pun intended) correct.
As always, I encourage people to evaluate issues for themselves. That is the reason I inserted the chart into the article, where the chart demonstrates that atmospheric CO2 has not harmed clams or other seafood throughout eons of time.
The link you provided tries more to discredit Dr. Moore than provide factual evidence to contradict his views. Yes, some scientists disagree with him, but that doesn’t mean Dr. Moore is wrong.
It’s clear that environmentalists believe Dr. Moore is a traitor, and go to great lengths to discredit him: The link to the article you provided supports that view.
The mere fact that extreme environmentalists use the phrase “ocean acidification” is clear evidence they are trying to scare people. They could have said, “oceans might become less basic”, but that’s not scary.
I believe the facts provided by Dr. Moore are correct, and hope that everyone will do their own research to arrive at a conclusion independent of what others say.
I have read many of your blog posts and have been given new insights by most of them.
This is the first one that seems patently wrong. Ocean acidification is being measured by scientists with accompanying measurements it’s effects. In my limited experience, many of the hardcore environmentalists you refer to generally speak of global warming – not ocean acidification. This is one article I would defer to instead of Dr. Moore’s or your own informed opinion: http://www.wmo.int/bulletin/en/content/monitoring-ocean-carbon-and-ocean-acidification
I do appreciate the prior comment you made when you responded; “(I) hope that everyone will do their own research to arrive at a conclusion independent of what others say.”
That is a similar thought to what I wrote in the final paragraph of a guest blog; “Valid scientists interact with dozens or even hundreds of fellow experts to build a solid story from their research. Less trustworthy scientists often rely on a very few cohorts (or on themselves alone!) to support a position. So let’s find actual experts & learn the basic science of climate change.” http://energyrealityproject.com/ocean-acidification-an-immediate-threat-or-why-all-the-hubub-about-climate-change/
Thanks for your comment.
Why use the term acidification if it isn’t to scare people? Oceans arn’t acid and never will be. Whether a very slight decrease in the basic reading of ocean waters can harm shellfish is worth exploring, but Dr. Moore’s paper is very compelling and contains good science.
Scientists are quite specific in their terminology – they don’t often borrow words from the public. Scientists also don’t generally consult PR firms when coming up with terminology. So I think you are over-reacting when you ask “…if it isn’t to scare people?”.
NOAA states that “Becoming more acidic is a relative shift in pH to a lower value.” They go on to say that “Since the pH scale, like the Richter scale, is logarithmic, this change represents approximately a 30 percent increase in acidity. Future predictions indicate that the oceans will continue to absorb carbon dioxide and become even more acidic.” http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/co2/story/What+is+Ocean+Acidification%3F
I could also say that a decades old battery is more alkaline than a new battery. Both are acidic, but the older would likely have a higher pH. Personally, I don’t care for the term EcoModernism. I endorse the concepts, but can’t stand the label. If you or Dr. Moore can introduce a better term for OA, perhaps that would catch on.
Smithsonian says; “Although scientists have been tracking ocean pH for more than 30 years, biological studies really only started in 2003, when the rapid shift caught their attention and the term “ocean acidification” was first coined (in the journal Nature). What we do know is that things are going to look different, and we can’t predict in any detail how they will look. Some organisms will survive or even thrive under the more acidic conditions while others will struggle to adapt, and may even go extinct.” http://ocean.si.edu/ocean-acidification
The Scripps Institute, Woods Hole Research Center, European Project on Ocean Acidification, and many other scientific groups including The Cousteau Society believe that the seas are decreasing in their baseness/alkalinity, and use the term acidification. Who am I to argue?
One last thought. Dr. Moore’s paper is published by the Frontier Centre for Public Policy, which seems aimed at govt policy makers more than scientists or the general public. I don’t believe that public policy (often by political scientists) is an actual STEM science. It’s more akin to PR. Besides, since Dr. Moore is a chairperson for FCPP, I would consider this paper to be self-published. Not that this makes Dr. Moore wrong in any of his suppositions, but it is certainly not a peer reviewed scientific paper.
Mr. Dears, though I disagree with you (vociferously apparently!) on this subject, I look forward to reading your insights on other issues in the future.
Chris:
Thanks for your comments.
Of interest is the following paragraph from Dr. Moore’s paper:
“Early shellfish such as clams arose more than 500 million years ago, when atmospheric CO2 was 10 to 15 times higher than it is today.14 Clearly, the pH of the oceans did not cause the extinction of corals or shellfish or they would not be here today. Why, then, are we told that even at today’s much lower level, CO2 is already causing damage to calcifying species?”
Dr. Moore’s paper is here for all to read and decide: http://bit.ly/1nlXmV3