stars_mcdazzler wrote, "...in just ten years oceans will become so acidic that a mass aquadic extinction will occur, leading to desertification."
Stars, on most of your [other] points, I sadly agree with you.
But I have very uplifting news for you on one point: ocean acidification does not threaten
any aquatic species with extinction, in ten years, or ten thousand
years, or anything between. In fact there's no evidence that any
species has been significantly harmed by ocean acidification or rising
CO2 levels. You've been conned.
So-called
"ocean acidification" is not only a red herring, it is also a misnomer,
because the oceans are alkaline (caustic), everywhere. They are not
acidic, anywhere, and ocean chemistry ensures that the oceans can never
become acidic. Freshwater lakes and rivers are often slightly acidic,
and so is rain, but never oceans.
It
is estimated that, as a consequence of seventy years of CO2 emissions,
average ocean surface water pH has declined a measly and harmless 0.1
pH point. That estimate is from modeling, not measurements, because the
actual trend is too slight and too slow to measure with confidence, and
because the tiny change is dwarfed by natural seasonal & diurnal pH
variation, pH variation with depth, and even pH differences between
ocean basins.
What's
more, so-called ocean acidification is confined almost entirely to the
part of the ocean which is most caustic (alkaline): the surface layer.
That means so-called "ocean acidification" really just reduces the
extreme high end of ocean pH variation, slightly. (The oceans contain
about fifty times as much CO2 as the atmosphere, and less than
one-third of CO2 emissions have found their way into the oceans, so
manmade CO2 dissolved into the oceans have a negligible effect, except
on surface waters.)
What's
more, through >98% of the Earth's history, atmospheric CO2 levels
were far higher than they are now, and, in fact, far higher than we
could ever raise them, by burning recoverable fossil fuels. During the
lush Cretaceous, when complex life flourished, including aquatic life,
atmospheric CO2 concentrations are believed to have averaged nearly
four times the current level. During the equally lush Jurassic, CO2
levels were even higher. Yet the oceans were still alkaline, rather
than acidic, and there's no evidence that those much higher atmospheric
CO2 levels were harmful to aquatic life.
Rising
CO2 levels are not causing "desertification," either. In fact, they're
doing just the opposite: they're causing deserts to retreat.
Additional
CO2 enables plants to use water more efficiently, and thereby makes
them more drought resistant. It does so by improving stomatal
conductance relative to transpiration, which is especially helpful in
arid regions.
When
air passes through plant stomata (pores), two things happen: the plant
absorbs CO2, and the plant loses water through transpiration. When CO2
levels are higher, the ratio of CO2 absorbed to water lost improves,
which improves both plant growth and drought resistance. Plants also
commonly respond to elevated CO2 by reducing the density of the stomata
in their leaves, which reduces water loss.
As a result, arid regions, like the Sahel (southern Sahara), are greening dramatically.
“…non-climatic
effects of carbon dioxide as a sustainer of wildlife and crop plants
are enormously beneficial… possibly harmful climatic effects of carbon
dioxide have been greatly exaggerated, and …the benefits clearly
outweigh the possible damage.” - Freeman Dyson (who was, at the time, by near universal consensus, America's most distinguished living scientist)
The
field of climatology is extremely politicized, and much of what you
hear about it (from both sides!) is nonsense. If you want to understand
the climate issue, or any other highly politicized issue, you need
balanced information. So here is a list of high quality resources, to
learn more about climate change & related topics:
https://sealevel.info/learnmore.html
That list has:
● accurate introductory climatology information
● in-depth science from both skeptics & alarmists
● links to balanced debates between experts on both sides
● information about climate change impacts, including positive impacts
● links to several of the best blogs on both sides of the issue
I hope this uplifting news makes you happy.