Our role in ocean acidification

In this video, Associate Professor Abby Smith, from the University of Otago, talks about what we can do to help reduce ocean acidification.

Point of interest Make links to other initiatives to reduce carbon emissions that students may have heard of.

Transcript

ASSOC PROF ABBY SMITH One of the things about ocean acidification is that it’s really scary. I wouldn’t like to see the marine environment without any shelled creatures in it, and I’m pretty sure most people wouldn’t. Whether you just eat molluscs, or whether you collect shells, or whether you are interested in the survival of biodiversity on this planet, probably most people don’t want to see our ocean to be completely without shell-producing organisms. There is very little we can do about it. We have already produced enough carbon to cause a lot of trouble. There is absolutely no geo-engineering solution that we know of. There is nothing we can put in the sea to make it turn out, to fix it. There is not antacid for the indigestion of the ocean. What we need is to stop producing carbon dioxide in our atmosphere right now. So when you have the opportunity not to use your car, you should think about all those little tiny creatures out there in the sea desperately struggling to make their skeletons and walk.

Acknowledgements: A and M Macleod Barbara Agnew Rosminah