This article focuses on Washington State and the effects of ocean acidification on marine life in the state. The article says how ocean acidification harms marine life, food security, cultural practices, fisheries, and the shellfish industry, but Washington is combating this and has been since 2018 when it became the first state to start an ocean monitoring program. In addition, they’ve set many different deadlines for how much they want to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, though these issues may be hitting Washington harder than other states, these issues they face are seen throughout the country.
This article shows just how much Washington relies on marine life and how detrimental it would be if ocean acidification continued in the direction that it’s going for both marine life and human lives. This is related to environmental science because it talks about an environmental problem, ocean acidification, and addresses the issue and aims to solve it through scientific means and practices. In addition, they are solving these problems through data that they collected and continue to collect.
Flores, M. (2023, June 8). Striving for a resilient ocean on World Ocean Day. Ecology.wa.gov. https://ecology.wa.gov/blog/june-2023/striving-for-a-resilient-ocean-on-world-ocean-day
I hope that other coastal states besides Washington will do the same. The health of the fish does not only hurt us but as well as the food cycles it is apart of as well. In what ways is Washington combating the problem though?
For starters, they are establishing many deadlines for how much they want to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but they also continuously monitor the coast of Washington to see patterns in ocean acidification and fluctuations. So, through this data, they are able to pinpoint acidity hotspots and address those areas to get the acidity down.
Due to carbon emissions ocean acidification has become a great problem. Many areas such as washington relies on marine life for food, and with the ocean dying it may no longer yield what is required to sustain life.
Yes absolutely, greenhouse gas emissions are the biggest contributor to ocean acidification, which obviously causes an abundance of problems throughout the ocean. As you said, people in Washington and all over the world rely on seafood, so ocean acidification could cause millions to go hungry.