effects_on_ocean_acidification_on_marine_life
Oceans are amazing; they’re massive water bodies full of life and wonder. Life began in water, and the oceans hosted various creatures from many different times. From the Devonian to the Cretaceous period and to the current time, the sea is full of life, colorful, and diverse. It’s also vast and mysterious; a large portion of the ocean remains unexplored, and we continue to find new wonders every day. But… alas, many threats are currently present, and our ocean is tragically under threat. Ocean pollution, overfishing, killing of marine wildlife, climate change, and invasive species are all causing problems, but nobody expected it would lead to where we are now. Nobody ever thought this was possible, and neither did I; it was simply unthinkable. We thought we could combat it and erase all our problems. Many initiatives started, including cleaning up the ocean by 2050, reducing overfishing using education, increasing protection for endangered marine animals, and combating invasive species. These are all noble and great goals, but alas, they have shown little progress, but there was still hope. But with what we have learned now and what is to come, this may be the beginning of the end of the world. This is not an exaggeration, not sensationalizing; this is the truth: Our world might just be ending.
You’re probably on the edge of your seat. I’ll stop beating around the bush. Our world-ending problem is… ocean acidification. It’s a simple yet complex term; not many people think about it; they dismiss it as a nerdy fancy word. But it’s not just any word; it is what is ending the world; it’s what’s going to kill all life in the ocean and end all life on Earth. It’s simple: our oceans are becoming too acidic. Why is this a problem? Well, if the ocean continues going down this path of acidity, we could be seeing a complete loss in marine life; the oceans would simply be too acidic to survive, and all life forms, from blue whales to the smallest bacteria, would die. How are the oceans becoming acidic? It’s due to human activities releasing fossil fuels into the atmosphere; it’s climate change. Let me explain it for you: oceans absorb CO2, which reacts with water to form carbonic acid; it’s a simple chemical reaction. Now this happens all the time, but we are tilting it. With more fossil fuels comes more carbon into the air, and that far exceeds natural amounts; far too much water is acidifying. This is not natural; not one bit of it is natural or normal; it could end all life on Earth if we continue down this path.
You may be thinking, “He’s just being paranoid” or “He’s just trying to get more views.” You don’t have to take my word for it; experts with decades of experience have openly stated that the ocean is acidifying; it’s a fact. If you don’t believe me, just look up “Ocean Acidification.” Many organizations and experts have stated as a fact that the ocean is acidifying and that will end all life on earth if we continue down this drastic path. We’re on a slippery cliff right now, and we’re just barely holding on. Pollution, killing of marine life, overfishing, and invasive species are further exacerbating an already dire situation. Let me give you a glimpse of how things would play out if we did not take immediate and drastic action.
First, the coral reefs and bacteria would start to die out, which would affect crabs and other scavengers of the sea. It would also affect countless marine life that use coral reefs as a source of shelter and food, causing mass extinction. But it’s just started right now, and then we’re going to see larger, more iconic species go extinct, like the great white or blue whale or dolphins. The point is, they’re all going to go extinct. After a few more years, all oceans will just be watery wastelands, with not a single form of life left. Maybe a few bacteria would survive in the deep trenches, but even they would be highly endangered. This would end the world as we know it. Land life would be affected; oceans produce 50–80% of the world’s oxygen, and there would be a massive drop in oxygen; this alone would be enough to cause another extinction event, and millions of humans, along with other animals, would run out of food to eat and cause starvation. You’re probably wondering how quickly we could see the effects of ocean acidification on marine life; it could be in just a few decades. This would soon cause all life on Earth to go extinct, causing it to become a lifeless rock in space.
But there is still hope, but we need to do it fast and drastically. We need to quickly illegalize using fossil fuels around the world; we need to do this overnight, yet this would cause economic devastation, but we simply do not have much time left as of now. We need to take drastic action; after that, we need to invest billions in renewable energy sources and try to replace the world’s energy sources as quickly as possible. Then we need to bring in billions of dollars of funding for ocean protection and the protection of marine life. There needs to be awareness, and governments need to start public awareness campaigns to shed light on these issues. We need to make pollution illegal, with severe consequences for those who pollute; we need billion-dollar clean-up missions to clean up vast amounts of trash. We need to fight invasive species using science and ensure these invasive species do not harm local fauna and flora. Overfishing needs to be stopped; for now, there needs to be fish breeding programs, and fishing must be severely limited and highly monitored. These are just a few of the many solutions we can try; the truth is we don’t have much time left, and we need to act fast. The person can do many things by going vegan, protesting, and pressuring the government and local fishermen to act and stop destroying our oceans. Advocate for legislation that protects marine life and takes action against pollution; donate to organizations that do massive clean-ups, protect marine life, and take down fossil fuel giants. All of us need to take part in saving the world, so get out there; the world’s counting on you.
