As massive quantities of oil continue to spill into the Gulf of Mexico, an even more sinister threat to ocean life lurks unseen. Take action now to stop another type of oil pollution from spilling into our oceans – 22 million tons of CO2 are dumped into the ocean every day from burning fossil fuels.
CO2 pollution is rapidly changing seawater chemistry and causing it to become more acidic. Ocean acidification impairs the ability of marine animals such as shellfish, corals, and plankton to build the protective shells they need to survive. As it worsens, ocean acidification threatens to destroy ocean ecosystems, global fisheries, and the communities that depend on coastal resources.
While the oil spill must be stopped, we also need prompt national action to halt acidification that poses a far greater threat to all of our oceans and coasts. Already oysters are failing to reproduce in more acidic waters, and experts warn that coral reefs could disappear within a few decades.
This is a pivotal moment because the EPA is considering taking some of the first steps toward regulating ocean-acidification-causing CO2 under the Clean Water Act — an action prompted by a suit brought by the Center for Biological Diversity. Right now, there is a window of opportunity to ask the EPA for leadership in preventing ocean acidification from harming our valuable oceans and coasts.
Your action can help put limits on the CO2 pollution that’s exposing our oceans and coasts to corrosive waters. Please take a moment to urge the EPA to address ocean acidification and protect our oceans.
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Click here to find out more and take action:
http://action.biologicaldiversity.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=3807
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Sample letter:
Subject: EPA Protect Our Oceans From Acidification
Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2010-0175
I am writing to express my support of the EPA’s efforts to address the problem of ocean acidification. Protecting our oceans and coasts from acidification must be a national priority. Specifically, I urge the EPA to issue guidance on ocean acidification that will help to prevent the harmful impacts of acidification.
Ocean acidification is an overarching threat to the natural marine environment and the coastal communities that depend on our oceans. CO2 pollution, the result of our burning of fossil fuels, has changed seawater chemistry at a rate faster than seen in millions of years, affecting the growth, reproduction, and health of all marine life. Without curbs on CO2 emissions, ocean acidification could contribute to the collapse of global fisheries and disappearance of coral reefs, among other consequences.
The EPA has the ability to use the Clean Water Act to get a handle on the pollution that is causing acidification. The EPA can provide needed leadership on approaches to ocean acidification by providing guidance and developing a framework for state and national efforts to address ocean acidification. Accordingly, the EPA should issue guidance that will help states monitor ocean acidification, identify impaired waters, and take steps to limit the CO2 pollution that is causing acidification.
The EPA should use its full authority to tackle the important problem of ocean acidification. Regulating CO2 that is causing ocean acidification through the Clean Water Act can play a role in reducing CO2 emissions while complementing other efforts aimed at greenhouse gas reductions. The faster EPA encourages state and federal action to address ocean acidification, the more likely it is that those efforts will be successful.
I support the EPA taking action under the Clean Water Act to help protect our oceans and coastal resources from the threat of ocean acidification. Thank you for the opportunity to comment.
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Please take action by May 21, 2010.
Center for Biological Diversity P.O. BOX 710 TUCSON, AZ 85702 1-866-357-3349
