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

"Analysis of Alarmism: Ocean Acidification"

Article/opinion piece.

The most outstanding underlying assumption by this author is that human induced global warming is a lie perpetuated by scientists to scare the public - the reason why scientists would want to scare the public is not given. The author is sceptical about whether the problem of ocean acidification exists, and is also distrustful of the validity and accuracy of computer models used by scientists. Several factual claims are made without primary evidence given to back up his conclusions, including that the International Panel of Climate Change, a respected global organization, is "wrong." The author also makes a very weak, ad hominem attack on a scientist that presents research contradicting the author's beliefs. The author provides two graphs that have no cited sources, and generally provides no evidence or solid reasoning throughout the article.

I do not think this author's viewpoint is balanced, especially as a proclaimed "Doctor of Science," his tone is far from scientifically neutral and it seems his own personal observations and biases act in the place of real evidence. The author's use of language is fairly emotional - presumably in order to elicit an emotional rather than logical reaction, using words like "ludicrous" and descriptions like "outrageous and incorrect" to convince readers of his opinion.
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