Climate Change in California: Impact on Marine Ecosystems

Other than purportedly decreasing "global temperature," (a purely theoretical, ultimately unknowable number in reality), what else would a reduction in CO 2 do? My greatest fear with SFO disappearing is that those people might move near me!

The lack of geologic perspective in climate change fear mongers really shocks me. "Stop Climate Change?" The global climate has been naturally shifting between wild extremes for billions of years. Do you think you're going to stop it now? Sea levels have been fluctuating naturally for billions of years: Should we, with our hubris thinking humanity's so great, try to stop something that's natural? Sure our actions have to affect our surroundings to some degree, but even without us the climate would be shifting NATURALLY. And you're kidding yourself if you think scientists really have a good idea what percentage of current climate change is human-induced. Scientists don't. As Michael Crichton pointed out in one of his later novels, the science is just too young, and the models too artificial. There are environmental organizations that are condemning, right now, calls by some climate change fear mongers to "geo-engineer" the planet's climate. NPR has been running stories interviewing "geo-engineering" advocates. We're messing with our surroundings enough - It's foolish to deliberately do more. I agree with the environmentalists in condemning such talk. No orbital panels cooling our atmosphere. No seeding the atmosphere with sulfates. We need to re-shape our human infrastructure to meld it more thoroughly into ecosystems, allowing ecosystems to naturally adapt to natural climate change as they have been for billions of years. Less sprawl. More green roofs. More compact transportation infrastructure. Finally, I have NEVER heard a good explanation as to why we should be so worried even though it's still COOLER in the current Holocene interglacial than it was during previous interglacials ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interglacial ). Why couldn't it be that the current warming is natural, and the earth is naturally reaching the higher temps seen during previous interglacials? Oh yeah, and for all those worried about the increased percentage of CO2 in the atmosphere, it's been way higher in the past: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ph...on_Dioxide.png Sure huge changes like that will kill some species. But we're not God. Climate change is natural, and all the stuff that's supposedly caused "only" by humans has been seen to occur naturally in the past. Our goal should be to sway with natural climate change, not to stop climate change. Because climate change IS natural. And I hope it gets to the point where the Arctic Ocean ice cap permanently melts, shortening shipping lanes, and when the Antarctic ice sheet melts, so that people can settle that land (read Kim Stanley Robinson's "Antartica" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarctica_novel ).

We make over 90 million tons CO2 each DAY. Atmospheric CO2 is rising 2ppm per year (0.5%), TWICE that of 50 years ago. CO2 levels are 37% above the highest levels for 650,000 years. Dissolved CO2 makes acid. Ocean pH has already dropped from 8.2 to 8.1 and H+ ion is up over 25% In 25 years CO2 will reach 450ppm which most oceanographers warn will interfere with growth of calcium carbonate forming plankton and corals. They make the base of the ocean's food chain Dissolved CO2 makes acid. By 2100, at current rates of increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide, average ocean pH will drop 0.3 - 0.4 and be @ 7.8 with an increase in acidic H+ ion concentration of 150-200%. That will cause a 50% DECREASE of ocean carbonate ions (CO3). Carbonate ions are needed for growth by plankton & corals at the base of the ocean's food chain. For info. on CO2 ocean acidification check YouTube: Dr. Richard Feely, NOAA Ocean Acidification Part 1 of 3 /watch?v=0KgRpJxWQDw&NR=1