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Ocean acidification and its impact on our environment
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Ocean Acidification
Introduction
The Industrial Revolution was not only a turning point in the progress of human history, but the start of a great change in the Earth’s environment. Technological advances in industry and mass migration into urban areas led to a rising demand for energy sources, a demand met by fossil fuels. Casper, J. (2010) describes coal as ‘symbolic of the beginning of the Industrial Revolution’, the increased combustion of these ‘dirty’ fossil fuels further polluted the air and enhanced the volume of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. Changes in land use attributed to population rise, reduced the amount of photosynthesising biomass on Earth, diminished an important ‘carbon sink’ and concluded to enhance the Greenhouse Effect.
The reduction in photosynthesising biomass led to an increased reliance on the Worlds other carbon sink, Oceans. Between 26-44% of CO2 in the atmosphere is absorbed by oceans by photosynthesising organisms, mainly phytoplankton (Archer, D. and Pierrehumbert, R., 2011), seawater chemically reacts with aqueous Carbon Dioxide, one of the end products is Hydrogen ions (H+) (NOAA, 2013). The increased concentration of H+ results in the ocean becoming more acidic, since pH is determined by concentration of Hydrogen ions.
Causes
Fossil fuels, such as coal and oil, are Carbon rich compounds, the combustion of which produces Carbon Dioxide, a pollutant and a greenhouse gas. A large amount of energy is released during this process, which is why the pollutants off products are tolerated. This process occurs constantly throughout the world, in power stations, vehicles and cooking ovens, leading to an immense volume of CO2 being released every second, 50% of which is absorbed by oceans (Oce...
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...oceans. Anthropogenic systems such as the combustion of fossil fuels since the industrial revolution have greatly increased the rate of acidification to levels where negative impacts ensue. Negative impacts occur both to marine organisms that rely on certain water conditions to maintain vital functions and the environment which is damaged by highly acidic waters. There is great variation in the acidity of each of the oceans, differences caused by the chemical composition of the ocean and biogeography. Understanding of the potential impacts of ocean acidification is relatively new to the scientific community and therefore little is known on how to counteract anthropogenic influences. Although reducing the amount of carbon dioxide produced will in turn reduce the lowering of the oceans acidity levels and reduce negative impacts on the environment and marine organisms.
"Of Mice and Men" is a novel by John Steinbeck, written in the 1930s, a period known as the Great Depression. The novel, which takes place in Salinas, California, is about two workers, George and Lennie. The two men travel together and work on different ranches, with a dream of one day having their own farm. Steinbeck explores the themes of loneliness friendship, and hopes and dreams through the various characters and events. This extract takes place after George and Lennie arrives to a new ranch to work. John Steinbeck uses foreshadowing to prepare the reader for future events. This is done by the use of repetition, symbols, and metaphors. In this extract, the author foreshadows the events to come through the introduction of Curley's wife and through the reaction of George and Lennie. This extract is significant to the rest of the novel as it introduces the main antagonist, Curley's wife, and also influences what the reader thinks and feels about Curley's wife, as well as the danger the character poses.
...: The data shows that if there is minimal or extreme acidification in water then oceanic life will be experiencing severe stress. The findings show that my hypothesis was proven correct. Due to this project being a mini projection of the entire ocean it is clear that if humans continue adding chemicals into the ocean then the acidification will rise putting unwanted stress to the fish.
‘Of Mice and Men’ is based on the experiences of a migrant farmer, set in 1930’s America. The characters are also symbolized as realistic people, but influenced by the issues and circumstances based on the Wall Street crash, the American Dream and being set after WWI. I empathies for these characters for the consequences of these historical events are what to have made ‘Of Mice and Men’ a tragedy in relation to loneliness.
The daily struggle of the working class, fear of loneliness and the reality of putting all your energy into plans that fail are the different themes relating to John Steinbeck's novel, "Of Mice and Men". The characters depicted by the author are individuals who are constantly facing one obstacle after another. The book illustrates different conflicts such as man versus society, man versus man, man versus himself and idealism versus reality. The book's backdrop is set in the Salinas, California during the depression. The two main characters include two men, George and Lennie. Supportive characters include a few ranch hands, Candy, Crooks, Curly, Slim and Carlson.
The story Of Mice and Men took place during the 1930’s. That time period was very different from today. Race and gender were very important characteristics that determined whether a person had the opportunity to make money. The 1930’s were also a time where people started questioning life and the American culture. Many people like John Steinbeck thought that life was very unfair and questioned whether if life was even worth living. In Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck demonstrates that mans dream is destined to be destroyed by a cruel reality.
The beginning of the industrial revolution resulted in an increase in the amount of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) released into the atmosphere due to an increase in industrial and agricultural productions. The ocean absorbs approximately 32% of the CO2 that is released from burning fossil fuels into the atmosphere each year, and thus the dramatic increase in atmospheric CO2 is coupled with an equally drastic increase of CO2 absorbed by the ocean. Ocean acidification is simply the process of the chemical change in seawater caused by the absorption of CO2 (Schlesinger & Bernhardt, 1997).
Ocean acidity will spoil marine ecosystems if it remains persistent. Preserving sustainable fishing industries will become unmanageable if the carbon dioxide absorbed by the world’s oceans is not considerably abridged.
Of Mice and Men is a novel written by John Steinbeck. It is set in California during the great depression. The story follows two ranch hands who travel together and are very poor. Throughout the novel we witness many different philosophical references. Many different types of characters from this novel are reused in today’s society. Steinbeck also writes eloquently about the many different emotions, aspirations, and dreams of man.
Guinotte, J. M. and Fabry, V. J. (2008), Ocean Acidification and Its Potential Effects on Marine Ecosystems. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1134: 320–342. doi: 10.1196/annals.1439.013
When people burn fossil fuels to accumulate and produce energy a substance called carbon is produced. Carbon is released into the air in a form known as carbon dioxide. Carbon moves throughout the biosphere on the planet as it is recycled and reused. Carbon exists in the earth’s atmosphere in two common forms which are methane and carbon monoxide. These gases absorb and retain heat in a process known as the greenhouse effect. The Planets natural greenhouse effect makes life possible by regulating our temperature. It turns out that adding too much to the greenhouse effect can have horrible consequences on the environment. Each year, five and a half billion tons of carbon is released by burning fossil fuels and of that three billion tons enters the atmosphere. The remaining carbon usually gets absorbed by the oceans.
Of Mice and Men took place in several different places in California. After fleeing Weed, California, Lennie and George trave up the Salinas River until arriving on a farm in Soledad, California. Their adventures all take place in the 1930’s. The time period does have significance to the plot of the story, because during this time the agriculture business was booming and many people and their families were traveling across states and countries to find work. Most people looking for work ended up working in factories or doing back breaking work in fields due to The Great Depression.
In the atmosphere carbon dioxide is chemically neutral, however when it dissolves in seawater it reacts with H2O to form a weak carbonic acid. Over recent years, oceans have become more acidic because of the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The acidity of the ocean is determined by the concentration of hydrogen ions which are then measured on a pH scale – where the greater the level of hydrogen ions, the lower the pH (Askins, 2008). As the pH of the ocean drops from the pre-industrial value of 8.2 to 7.8 by 2020, ocean acidification is predicted to have a great effect on the ocean. Many of the aquatic organisms are very sensitive to the acidity of water, and as a result there will be effects at all levels of the marine food web (Balch & Utgoff, 2009). The carbonate shells of marine animals for example can dissolve in acidic waters. Also coral reefs will also be impacted negatively by increased acidity in addition to the effect that warmer waters are already having on them (McCarty, Wolfenbarger,
Of Mice and Men is a novel by John Steinbeck. This book is an analogy about what it means to be a human. George and Lennie share the ambition to own their own ranch, but they encounter obstacles that stand in the way. Ironically, Lennie will become the greatest obstacle in them achieving their dream. This novel was first published in 1937, which is one of the most important aspects of the book. The reason why it is one of the most important aspects of the book is because one result of the Great Depression was a lack of steady jobs, which increased the amount of nomadic workers. When Steinbeck wrote this novel, ranch hands were beginning to be replaced by machinery and their way of life was disappearing fast.
Over the last two centuries, humanity has become increasingly reliant on fossil fuels. Over that time, the consequences of constantly burning fossil fuels have accumulated into a threat to industrialized cities. The burning of fossil fuels causes acid rain to shower on cities and ecosystems around the world, tormenting their inhabitants. The increasingly deadly pollution caused by the burning of fossil fuels has caused the deaths of many people around the world by causing respiratory problems. Not only has the pollution worsened, but the supply of fossil fuels is not limitless – as humanity’s reliance increases the supply decreases, and that is all the more reason to break humanity’s reliance on fossil fuels. Fossil fuels should be replaced with cleaner alternatives because fossil fuels cause environmental hazards, are non-renewable, and are detrimental to human health.
The emission of green house gasses due to human activity contributes the most in increasing global warming. Today, fossil fuels are used as a source of energy for transportation, electricity, industrial process and to increase human comfort in this era. Over the last decade humans have created mass amount of industries. These industries have been burning fossil fuels such as coal, which release carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide; carbon dioxide absorbs heat that raises the temperature of the earth. More than 80% of carbon dioxide comes from tr...