CREATION CARE CORNER

This is a time when we have concerns about basic human rights and powerful people taking advantage of others.  These concerns spill over into our alarm about climate change, because powerful people and groups are taking advantage of the powerless in climate change issues, as well.  The poorest people struggle with the worst effects, and the powerful change laws and ignore the plight of our planet to the advantage of the rich and powerful oil interests and polluters.  Finding ourselves in these circumstances, we must continue to learn and push back at the powerful to protect the planet and the lives God gave us.  To this end, we will continue to discuss in this space current information and science which can help us all, even helping those who would sabotage our planet.

Seaweed Invasion

Scientists are warning that the world’s oceans may be undergoing a fundamental “regime shift”, as vast mats of seaweed spread rapidly, fueled by global warming and fertilizer runoff.  A new analysis found that floating seaweed blooms expanded by 13.4% each year between 2003 and 2022 in the tropical Atlantic and western Pacific.  The Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt now stretches thousands of miles and is visible from space, and others exist near New Zealand and off Florida.  The researchers say this could alter ocean chemistry and ecosystems by blocking sunlight, destabilizing surface waters, and potentially speeding up climate change.  In Florida, the annual cost from disrupted fishing, reduced tourism, and damage to coastal infrastructure has been estimated as high as $13.5 billion.                                               – from The Guardian, British newspaper of record

Should We Correct the Ocean’s pH?

Scientists are testing a bold new approach to curbing climate change.  They hope to slow the increasing acidity of the ocean by adding alkaline chemicals to seawater.  Since the industrial revolution, the seas have absorbed roughly a third of human-caused carbon dioxide emissions.  That’s made seawater about 40% more acidic than it once was, threatening shellfish, coral reefs, and the marine food web.  In a recent experiment, scientists released 16,200 gallons of sodium hydroxide or lye, into the Atlantic to see whether it could safely increase the water’s pH.  It temporarily lifted the pH of nearby waters from 7.95 to 8.3 without obvious short-term harm to marine life.  If this was pursued, it would be “the largest thing humanity has ever done”.  Without some kind of action, the oceans could start losing the ability to absorb carbon by 2100.                                                                        –from the New York Times

-Sandy McKitrick