I read your recently published article about ocean acidification and the effects it’s having on oysters. I am currently taking an oceanography course at the University of Texas – Austin and we have learned about and discussed in depth the troubling reality of increasing acidification. We understand that acidification is depriving oysters of essential carbonate ions, which are required for creating their shells. Unfortunately, this applies to other shelled organisms as well as the coral reefs. In recent years we have witnessed a severe decline in a great percentage of the world’s reefs as they struggle to sustain life and their physical beauty.
As was touched upon in the article, humans have remained horrifically unaware of the damage being done to the world’s oceans. It’s hard enough to change the minds of people who are able to physically witness the harm being done to our terrestrial environments, let alone the harm being done to the other 75% percent of the world, which is so important yet so largely unappreciated. So I was very happy and grateful to see even a smaller paper such as the Santa Barbara Independent writing about and drawing attention to a problem equally as important as (and linked) to climate change.