Editorial: Emissions threaten oceans

Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2007 | 7:23 a.m.

Scientists and government officials have known for a while that greenhouse gases are responsible for more than drastic climate changes. Now the news of an additional, potentially catastrophic consequence is getting out to the public - the world's oceans are in great jeopardy.

Absorption of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases is causing the oceans to become more acidic, threatening every form of life in them, from microscopic organisms to whales.

The News Tribune newspaper in Tacoma, Wash., quoting oceanographers from Washington State University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, published a story last week about the damage already done to oceans and the potential for much greater damage over the next 100 years.

The oceans are 30 percent more acidic than they were at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution (late 18th century), the paper reported. By the end of this century, they could be 150 percent more acidic, the article said.

Richard Feely, an oceanographer with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told the paper, "Everything points to dramatic effects. There are suggestions the whole ecosystem could change over time." A Washington State professor of oceanography, Steven Emerson, said the oceans' increased acidity level could be permanent.

Ocean waters with increased acidity are called corrosive, and scientists are certain they will eventually make their way inland, affecting oyster beds and clamming areas, the paper reported. Feely said up to 1 billion people worldwide depend on seafood for survival.

In our view, the threat to the oceans has not received nearly enough attention. We hope efforts by members of the Washington congressional delegation spur action. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and two other Washington Democrats, Reps. Brian Baird and Jay Inslee, are sponsoring legislation to create a more comprehensive program to monitor and research ocean acidification.

The threat to the oceans is all the more reason for the United States, and the world, to redouble efforts to reduce greenhouse gases.