US House passes bill to study ocean acidification
USA: Last week the US House of Representatives passed a new bill, The Federal Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring Act.
This legislation establishes a comprehensive, interagency program to conduct research on the processes and consequences of ocean acidification due to increasing carbon emissions.
The bill was introduced by Representative Tom Allen, a Maine democrat. The bill will bring researchers much closer to a better understanding of the effects carbon emissions have on fragile ocean environments. In a press release Allen said that "Ocean acidification has the potential to profoundly change our ocean ecosystems, and may seriously and negatively impact commercial and recreational fisheries, tourism, aquaculture, and many other ocean related industries."
He added that "For example, research by scientists at St. Joseph's College in Standish, Maine, has revealed that ocean acidification, due to climate change, may substantially increase the mortality of young clams, threatening Maine's USD 16 million industry and the livelihoods of 1,800 commercial clam diggers."
Allen said about one-third of the carbon dioxide released by the burning of fossil fuels ends up in the oceans, altering ocean surface carbon chemistry.
"Thirty years ago, when acid rain posed a dire threat to Maine's lakes, we documented the harm and devised a legislative response through monitoring and research," said Allen. "The Federal Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring Act will enable us to develop a similar response to ocean acidification."
