Holding thread whilst FMF discussion is on going

Thread was started in wrong section i.e. the opening posts was a Forum Management issue/discussion not a "Science..." section topic. Removed these posts from the subsequent thread so they are not just dumped to AAH. We'll see where they can find a more permanent home once the FM issues are resolved. FMF thread: http://www.internationalskeptics.com...d.php?t=284232

Posted By:Darat

Meanwhile - the 900 lb gorilla - aquatic version....sneaks upon us with a big bill...

Quote:

Acid damage to coral reefs could cost $1 trillion 18:30 08 October 2014 by Colin Barras Ocean acidification is set to cost us $1 trillion by 2100 as it eats away at our tropical coral reefs. That's the warning from a report released today by the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, which assesses the economic impacts the problem could have. The ocean's pH is now 8.0, down from 8.1 in the mid-18th century. Because the pH scale is logarithmic, this change means that, over the past 250 years, the world's oceans have seen a 26 per cent increase in acidity – a result of the oceans absorbing about a quarter of our carbon dioxide emissions. With ocean pH projected to dip to 7.9 by the end of the century, the oceans may soon be 170 per cent more acidic than they were before the industrial revolution – a change that is likely to affect not just our ecosystems, but our economies too. Rapid pace Ocean acidification is a trend that went largely unnoticed until a decade ago, but the rapid pace of scientific investigation since means huge progress has been made in understanding its effects. "It's really challenging staying on top of the subject it's growing so rapidly," says Murray Roberts at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, UK, who co-edited the report.

more

http://ift.tt/1sSep0R

via International Skeptics Forum http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=284298&goto=newpost