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Ocean Acidification (Australia (Consequences (Fish can die off as a result…
Ocean Acidification
Australia
Cause
Global Warming
With rising temperatures in the air, the ocean becomes more acidic. These rising temperatures are often caused by excessive greenhouse gases being released into the air - which is a result of human impacts
The more CO2 there is in the ocean, the more acidic it becomes. The ocean absorbs a significant portion of the gases in the air, and if the ocean dies, we die.
Pollution could be another factor that affects ocean acidity. Though Australia is among the highest contributors to OC2 in the world, we also produce a lot of pollution. Oil spills, plastic and even sunscreen can effect ocean acidity.
Consequences
Fish can die off as a result of oceans being too acidic. This can result in a loss of the equilibrium, and the entire food web/food chain can collapse as a result of lack of food.
The Great Barrier Reef will be heavily effected by ocean acidification as a result of bleaching. If the coral reefs die, not only will the food web collapse (as mentioned before) but the tourism industry will be heavily impacted as well. It is one of Australia's biggest contributors to the GDP, and if this industry collapses, our economic state will be very unstable.
Our diet will be affected by the loss of fish. Fish is a big part of our markets and our diets. If the fish die, we as humans will be effected - and if we eat the fish that do survive, we could be ingesting dangerous chemicals and byproducts.
Solutions
Australia is a developed country, and does have enough money to develop some solutions. Instead of using fossil fuels and coal as our main source of energy, we can use solar panels. This will reduce our use of greenhouse gases - and the ocean will be less acidic.
Indonesia
Causes
The cause of ocean acidification for Indonesia is rising CO2 levels, mainly something that Indonesia can control as they are the 5th largest emitter of CO2 in the world.
Deforestation also causes ocean acidification, and Indonesia cut down Indonesia lost 840,000 hectares of forest in 2012, despite it only having 1/4 of the size of the Amazon rainforest
Consequences
Indonesia's fisheries are the mainstay to their economy, and as shells of sea life disintegrate after forty five days in toxic waters, this would result in a damage to Indonesia's economy
Tainted fish and sea life are unable to be consumed by other animals in the sea, or be consumed by humans. This again hurts the economy as much of what is fished will be inedible, but also the people living in Indonesia that rely on fish for food
Indonesia's tourism will be impacted as lots of people travel to Indonesia to snorkel/scuba dive, and have the oceans more acidic will halt tourism and the economy will drop
180 million people live on the coast line, and rely on the ocean for their livelihood and the ocean has an estimated worth of US$24 trillion, making it the 7th largest economy in the world.
Solutions
Indonesia has committed to their own solution to help the world with ocean acidification as they have committed to reduce their emissions by 26% by 2020
People in Indonesia are generally quite poor, so solar panels are not a viable option in relation to the wealth of the country
Australia and Indonesia have begun to partner to reduce ocean acidification levels. They need to continue to work together, with Australia being a very rich country and Indonesia not so, this shows camaraderie between countries to help everyone benefit. This is important as both Indonesia and Australia rely on the oceans for survival.
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