Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill establishing an Interagency Committee on Ocean Acidification to to research and monitor the potential impacts of ocean acidification on marine ecosystems.
H.R. 4174, the Federal Ocean Acidification Research And Monitoring Act of 2007 passed by a voice vote.
Ocean acidification is the process by which the pH of seawater is being lowered through the absorption of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. The oceans have absorbed about half of the CO2 released over the past 200 years due to human activities.
As the oceans become more acidic it will be more difficult for shellfish, corals, and types of plankton to form their structures, like shells and skeletons. Loss of these organisms will affect the entire ocean food web because fish and marine mammals rely upon plankton and shellfish as a food source.
This has serious implications for humans as well. Fish and marine organisms provide approximately 15% of the world’s protein. Currently, the U.S. is the third largest seafood consumer in the world; costal and marine commercial fishing generates as much as $30 billion per year and roughly 70,000 jobs.
"Millions of people across the world depend on our oceans every day, either as a source for food, or for their very economic survival. Yet these vital resources are being slowly choked by water that is rapidly becoming more acidic," said Research and Science Education Subcommittee Chairman Brian Baird (D-WA). "We can’t afford to sit and do nothing while this potentially catastrophic problem festers in the background. This bill takes an important step towards understanding, and hopefully solving the problem of ocean acidification before it’s too late."
Next, this bill will be sent to the Senate for further consideration.
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