If you’ve been keeping up to date with the alarmingly quickened pace of climate change, it should be no secret to you that greenhouses gases such as carbon dioxide are the main culprits behind the rapid warming of our Earth. However, a major detail that many individuals fail to recognize, and what the non-fiction novel, The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert highlights are the dangerous effects carbon dioxide plummets onto oceans and their biodiversity. In her book, Kolbert illustrates the extreme reality of a sixth extinction looming in the not-so-distant future, approximately a century to provide a clearer picture. Chapter 7 of Kolbert’s novel begins with her exploration to Castello Aragonese, home to the acid sea infiltrated by volcanic gases that reside on the island. The presence of volcanic gases mimic the effects of carbon dioxide on our present-day oceans, and the results found in the Aragonese ocean are alarmingly terrifying with marine life being completely obliterated with the absence of barnacles, urchins, and the un-calcified shells of limpets; entire generations of species that have been persisting ever since human life existed are being completely wiped out in these toxic, acid-filled waters. Although this may sound unbelievably ludicrous in our modernized and non-dystopian society of the present-day, the hardcore evidence is shouting into the void as humans turn their backs away from these prominent signs of the extinction of our entire existence. While the oceans for the majority of our Earth do not show these same effects yet, the direction our industrialized society has been going in has shown signs of an extremely likely future of an entire world of acidic oceans if the presence of greenhouse gases and climate change is not taken seriously.
To understand how exactly anthropocentric activity has been a causation of our dying oceans, it’s essential to be aware of what happens when carbon dioxide interacts with water. In a condensed explanation, once carbon dioxide is absorbed by ocean water, it immediately transforms into carbonic acid through a chemical reaction. The presence of carbonic acid decreases the amount of calcium needed to sustain ocean life and the structures of coral reefs which serve as underwater ecosystems to maintain life in the seas. Essentially, the increase of carbon dioxide is equal to a decrease in calcium, which then equates to a decrease in the biodiversity of ocean species and ecosystems. Although life in the ocean and life on land may seem as though they are two separate entities that may not directly affect each other, the entire world is an ecosystem reliant on every aspect of it’s existence. Producers in the ocean such as the marine animals who are facing grave dangers make it possible for oxygen to exist for human life, and if that fact isn’t alarming enough, it should be noted that two out of the five extinctions that have occurred have shown these exact signs of a gradual disappearance of the diversity of multiple species.
Charles Darwin and his theories of evolution and natural selection did not prepare us for this possible extinction. All the rules of “survival of the fittest” get chewed up and spit out mercilessly by the Earth when the chemistry of the very nature of our world is being altered at an abnormal and expedited rate.
Our footprint may have caused significant impacts and monumental changes in a fascinating form through the road of technology, but as a Shakespeare enthusiast would phrase it, this is our tragic flaw that will lead to our downfall.
However, we are not in a Shakespearean play. We have the opportunity to reverse our tragic flaw and there is hope for a better future, remember that there are ways you can halt the influx of acid being thrown into our fragile oceans. Raise your voice and spread awareness; there truly is a strength in numbers that mustn’t be ignored. Share this article, commit time to produce your own research, stay educated and informed on environmental policies. Eat less meat to reduce your carbon footprint; the farming of livestock produces more greenhouse gases than all forms of polluted transport combined and is plausibly the biggest cause of ocean acidification. Ditch the plastic; you don’t need to completely cut out plastic from your life, but definitely reduce the amount you use in any way possible. Plastic not only kills marine life through suffocation, but also increases the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Donate to organizations with scientists willing to find solutions to unfold the destructive damage that has been done. Every voice matters, including yours.
