Ocean Acidification

Ocean acidification is a recently confirmed up-and-coming problem that is linked to global climate change. Sometimes referred to as "the other carbon problem," ocean acidification results from the ocean acting as a chemical sink for CO2 in the atmosphere. When the CO2 dissolves into the water, it undergoes a chemical reaction and becomes carbonic acid, and this is argued to be detrimental for any and all organisms in the ocean that create shells or skeletons out of calcium carbonate. Similarly to the increase in carbon in the atmosphere over the past several decades, there has been an increase in carbon in the ocean as well, and the imminent problem acidification poses is the threat of collapsing food chains and ecosystems as corals and other base organisms fail to thrive in an altered environment.

The following articles are examined for their viewpoints on the issue of ocean acidification. Types of media included range from videos, to news articles, to fact sheets and brochures, and are evaluated for scientific balance and logical reasoning.

Monday, July 4, 2011

"Microdocs: The Acid Ocean"

A "microdocumentary" by Stanford University.

The underlying view and unstated assumption of the author is that humans are putting CO2 into the atmosphere. The author gives physical examples and demonstrations as evidence for his assertions. He also acknowledges the sceptical view that his claims do not "sound like a lot" but goes on to explain his reasoning in a logical fashion. The written portion of the article is cited, with both academic and popular sources - among these sources are highly esteemed scientific journals such as "Science" and "Nature." Neither the video nor the writing seem to address the concerns of the sceptical/denier community - but the article seems to be acting as a basic information provider rather than a debate.

I think that the viewpoint of this author is more or less balanced, as the sources of information are credible and the tone of the piece is not one of persuasion, but rather education. Ideas, reasons, evidence and conclusions are presented in a linear and connected manner so that logic can be followed. Language is not styled as opinion, but presents information and evidence first and conclusions afterward - there is no personal voice in the written section of the article, and there are no grand assertions or shocking predictions for the future.
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)