-Caveat Lector-
----- Forwarded message from Mark Graffis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> -----
Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 09:26:01 -0600 (CST)
From: Mark Graffis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To: Mark Graffis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Bush Administration plan to reduce global warming could
Bush Administration plan to reduce global warming could devastate sea life
Public release date: 17-Nov-2003
Contact: Todd McLeish
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
401-874-7892
University of Rhode Island
Bush Administration plan to reduce global warming could devastate sea life
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2003-11/uori-bap111703.php
URI marine biologist says CO2 injection in deep sea would alter ocean
chemistry, affect numerous creatures
KINGSTON, R.I. -- November 17, 2003 -- A Bush Administration proposal to
mitigate the effects of global warming by capturing carbon dioxide emissions
from power plants and injecting it into the deep sea could have disastrous
effects on sea life, according to a University of Rhode Island researcher.
Brad Seibel, assistant professor of marine biology at URI, said that while
the Administration's plan is still in the experimental stage, enough is
already known about the biology of marine organisms to say with certainty
that the plan will harm the marine environment in significant ways.
Increased CO2 in the oceans would result in decreases in the pH levels (the
measure of acidity) of seawater, resulting in dramatic physiological effects
on many species, Seibel said. Shallow-living organisms like shelled mollusks
and corals are already being affected by the growing levels of CO2 in the
atmosphere. As atmospheric CO2 diffuses into the upper layers of the water,
it inhibits the ability of shellfish to form shells and causes coral reefs
to dissolve.
Deep-sea creatures are even more sensitive to environmental changes, he
said. In some species, their metabolism would become suppressed and lead to
retarded growth and reproduction, while others would be unable to transport
oxygen in their blood.
"CO2 injection would be detrimental to a great many organisms," said the URI
biologist. "It would kill everything that can't swim fast enough to get out
of the way, because in concentrated form it's highly toxic, even to humans.
But the Department of Energy seems willing to sacrifice the animals of the
deep sea if it will stop global warming. That's not entirely unreasonable
considering that if we keep stalling on taking serious measures to reduce
global warming, we won't be able to do anything about it. But I'd still like
to see that we're doing everything else possible to reduce emissions before
we begin polluting the deep-sea."
The government's "carbon sequestration" plan is designed to collect carbon
dioxide emissions that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere and
store them in underground geologic formations or deep in the ocean. Energy
Secretary Spencer Abraham announced in September the creation of seven
regional partnerships to establish the framework needed to develop the
necessary technologies and put them into action. In addition, the Bush
Administration convened a Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum last June
where energy ministers from 13 countries discussed the potential for CO2
injections around the globe.
In the new book Climate Change and Biodiversity, published in August, Seibel
and co-author Victoria Fabry wrote: "From the perspective of marine
organisms, deep-ocean sequestration means concentrating an otherwise dilute
toxin to well above lethal levels, and placing it in an environment where
the organisms are less tolerant of environmental fluctuation in general and
CO2 in particular.Localized devastation of biological communities at the
injection sites is certain."
As seawater becomes acidified, growth rates of calcareous phytoplankton
(those with calcium carbonate shells) will be reduced as a result of the
effects of CO2 on the process of calcification. Metabolism in some animal
species may also be depressed by increased acidity. Furthermore, some fish,
squids, and shrimps will have a diminished capacity for oxygen uptake at the
gill and transportation through their bloodstream, leading to asphyxiation.
Seibel said that there is typically a natural exchange of CO2 between the
sea and the atmosphere, but increases of atmospheric CO2 are already
affecting the equilibrium. Intentional injections of CO2 will further
disrupt the ecosystem.
"The carbon dioxide-carbonate system is arguably the most important chemical
equilibria in the ocean," Seibel and Fabry wrote. "It influences nearly
every aspect of marine science, including ecology and, ultimately, the
biodiversity of the oceans."
Brad Seibel, assistant professor of marine biology in the University of
Rhode Island's Department of Biological Sciences, joined the URI faculty in
the summer of 2003 after having worked as a marine ecologist at the Monterey
Bay Aquarium Research Institute in Monterey, Calif. for several years. He
received undergraduate and doctorate degrees from the University of
California, Santa Barbara. In addition to studying the impact of CO2 on
deep-sea creatures, his research focuses on the physiology and adaptations
of marine organisms, especially squid, living in extreme environments like
the waters around Antarctica.
###
----- End forwarded message -----
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