Ocean Acidification
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Why is the ocean becoming more acidic?
The ocean has absorbed about a third of the excess carbon dioxide emitted by burning oil, coal, and natural gas. Seawater is now roughly 30% more acidic than it was at the start of the industrial revolution. This is a big change for every living creature, from whales and lobsters to the microscopic organisms they eat, called plankton.
Why should we care?
- Know where most of our oxygen comes from? Plankton.
- Know who depends on oplankton for food or oxygen? Humans! Also, fish, whales, lobsters, coral and virtually all other living things.
- Think trees produce our oxygen? They do, but plankton produce more.