Did you know cows contribute to ocean acidification? This may sound strange, but it’s true!

Cows create methane through manure and burps. Methane is

a greenhouse gas that traps the sun’s heat which causes
global warming. Global warming is one of the main factors
that contribute to my topic, ocean acidification. You may be
wondering what ocean acidification is. It’s when the ocean
becomes more acidic from absorbing carbon dioxide from
the atmosphere which has many impacts on living things, like
coral reefs dying, weakening the shells of shellfish, and
impacting the food chain. In my paper, I will explain how
ocean acidification happens, the impact ocean acidification has on living things, and how we
can solve this problem.

Global warming is one of the factors that contributes to ocean acidification. According to
scientist Dr. Sam Dupont, “There is no place on earth where ocean acidification isn’t
happening”. He states that ocean acidification is happening because of the increase of
carbon dioxide that we produce, through things like burning fossil fuels or cutting down
trees. These things produce carbon dioxide, which goes into the atmosphere. The ocean
really helps us by absorbing one-third of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere.
When the ocean absorbs carbon dioxide, the carbon dioxide reacts with the water and
makes carbonic acid, which makes the ocean more acidic. Acidic means that the level of pH
is not okay for normal sea life. Additionally,
research shows that the carbonate acid breaks
apart into bicarbonate ions and hydrogen ions. The
bicarbonate ions decrease and the hydrogen ions
increase.
This means there isn’t enough calcium carbonate
for shellfish for their shells to be stronger. If
things don’t change, the ocean will be two times
more acidic by the end of the century.

This evidence shows that by burning fossil fuels we cause ocean acidification because when
we burn fossil fuels, carbon dioxide goes into the atmosphere, and the ocean absorbs 30%
of carbon dioxide. Because they absorb so much carbon dioxide, this impacts the pH level
when the carbon dioxide reacts to the water and makes the oceans more acidic. Global
warming is a big problem for ocean acidification.

Ocean acidification has a big impact on all living things. Marine life is impacted because of
carbon dioxide in the ocean. According to the article Understanding Ocean
Acidification--and What We Can Do About It, one way marine life is impacted is by not
enough calcium carbonate in the ocean. Because of that, it’s harder for some species like
clams, mussels, crabs, and corals to build their shells and skeletons. Research shows that
another way they are impacted is hunger for bigger species. It’s hard for plankton to live
in acidic water, so they are dying. Because of plankton dying, bigger species that eat
plankton are dying, like different fish. This affects the food chain. Sam Dupont states
that because ocean acidification is happening so fast, marine life can not adapt, so more
species are dying. Because of species dying, biodiversity is going down. A lot of species are
already disappearing. For example, in California, there were oyster farmers but now they
cannot farm oysters because all of them are dying. They were all dying because of ocean
acidification.

Ocean acidification also impacts corals a lot. According to an article giving coral reefs a
future, more than half of coral reefs have died because of ocean acidification and global
warming. If we don’t stop ocean acidification, by the end of the century, more than 90 %
of coral reefs will die.They are dying because of losing algae that gives them food and
their colors.They can revive,but it’s too hot in the ocean. Corals are a really important
ecosystem, and without corals a lot of fish will lose their home. They also produce a lot of
oxygen so losing them would be a problem.

Additionally, research has shown that humans are impacted by ocean acidification too.
Sam Dupont claims that in the Arctic ocean acidification is stronger than in warm waters
because ocean acidification is much stronger in cold temperatures. This means that people
living in Arctic regions are impacted the most. Ocean acidification also impacts people a
lot in developing countries, like Africa, Latin America and Asia . People living here are
impacted because they are depending on the ocean as a source of food and money. It
Impacts types of tourism like diving and surfing. Ocean acidification is also causing hunger
in people because the food chain in the ocean is impacted and we are losing fish. We are
losing fish because of a food chain crash. Plankton are a very important part of the food
chain and can’t live in acidic water. So fish that eat plankton don't have enough food and
are dying. Fish that eat fish that eat plankton are also dying, and it is repeating over and
over. More and more species are disappearing. Fish are the primary sourse of protein in
many countries.

All of this evidence shows that ocean acidification impacts living things a lot by different
ways.It impact shellfish by making water more acidic and by destroying calcium
carbonate.It impacts plankton by killing them.It impacts corals by destroying algae.It
impacts people by destroying food chain and corals And it impacts fish by destroying
calcium carbonate and plankton,which are the base of food chain.

Ocean acidification can be fixed. According to an interview with Sam Dupont, to resolve
the problem of acidification, there are two main things we can do. The first one is called
mitigation and that means we have to stop releasing carbon dioxide.
For example, some ways to stop releasing carbon dioxide is to stop driving cars too much
because by driving cars you create carbon dioxide that releases to the atmosphere, and
this is the first stage of ocean acidification. When I conducted my survey, 44.4% of the
27 people who responded drive a car every day which adds to carbon emissions. According
to Sam Dupont, some other ways to mitigate carbon dioxide are to stop burning forests
and fossil fuels, don't eat too much meat and don't use the internet too much. Did you
know that spending 8 hours on your computer creates the same amount of carbon dioxide
as eating a steak? From the article Understanding Ocean Acidification--and What We Can
Do About It, we can also help with ocean acidification by not destroying natural habitats,
stopping overfishing, asking the government for laws to reduce pollution as well as protect
animals and trying to find more ways for green energy. In fact, in my survey, 55.6% of
people said they want the government to have more regulations about carbon emissions.

The second thing we can do to resolve ocean acidification, according to Dr. Dupont, is
keep the ocean healthy. One way the government can do that is by making powder out of
rocks and putting it in the ocean. It’s called buffering. It changes the chemistry of the
ocean in a positive way and it makes the ocean a bit less acidic.

Research shows that reducing the amount of carbon dioxide is necessary to stop ocean
acidification. Some things the average person can do are ride a bike to places that are not
too far away from the house, do not eat too much meat, do not use the internet too much ,
and do not use electricity
when you don’t need it. I
believe it is most important
to spread information about ocean acidification to families, friends or colleagues because I
think one of the biggest problems of ocean acidification is that no one really knows about
it. In my survey, I asked participants if they thought ocean acidification got enough
attention and 74.1% of people said that ocean acidification needs to have more awareness.
It doesn't get enough attention and we cannot keep it like that.

As you can see from my evidence, ocean acidification can be fixed by reducing the amount
of carbon dioxide, by keeping the ocean healthy and by spreading information about ocean
acidification. It also shows that if you want to help more, you can eat less meat, use the
internet and lights less, drive a car less and use more green energy. The government can
help by stopping destroying natural habitats, stop overfishing, protect animals and make
rules to reduce carbon footprint.

Before I started my research I had no idea that there is a problem called ocean
acidification. I had never really taken action for the ocean, and at first I wanted to do
ocean pollution for my PYPx. When Ms Tracy was out and we had a meeting online, she told
me about ocean acidification. We did small research with Ms Tracy and I changed my mind
and told myself that ocean acidification is a thing I really need to do.

Now I have completed my research and I learned that ocean acidification is caused by
many things like beef farming, because cows burps and manures produce methane. It is
also caused by burning fossil fuels, because this creates carbon dioxide. Ocean
acidification is caused by cutting down the trees, because they make oxygen, which helps
with ocean acidification. Additionally, it is caused by using the internet too much, because
it uses energy. Another thing that contributes to ocean acidification is using too much
energy, because it creates carbon dioxide. Overfishing also causes ocean acidification
because without fish, corals are dying. Finally, destroying natural habitats causes ocean
acidification, because most natural habitats have a lot of trees.

My thinking about ocean acidification also changed. Earlier I thought about ocean
acidification as a small problem for the environment, but now I understand it much more
deeply. I think about it like a really serious problem. Earlier I thought I would never come
back to study it after PYPx, but now I think about it as a passion of my life.

This is important because I really want to teach people about ocean acidification because
they will be able to take actions and spread information about ocean acidification. This will
make even more people take action for ocean acidification. As a result, this will stop ocean
acidification for a while. This would help the animals in the ocean as well as help our food
chain. It would also help with climate change.

I also learned that to help with ocean acidification you can do things like use green energy.
People can drive cars less, because cars create carbon dioxide. Scientists can make powder
out of rocks and put it into the ocean, because it makes water a bit less acidic. We can ask
the government to make laws to reduce carbon footprint. Finally, we can pick up the trash,
because it makes life in the ocean a bit better.

As a future researcher, I might consider inquiring deeply in ocean acidification because I

understand that ocean acidification is a passion of my life and I cannot stop researching.
In the future I really want to be a scientist that studies and helps with ocean
acidification.