Read here. Global warming alarmists have recently chosen to push the "ocean acidification" will harm marine life scare since the initial global warming scare has proven to be of such little significance. As has been documented in the recent past, study after study on ocean acidification finds empirical evidence pointing to its impact on marine life to one of very tiny to small. These studies are in significant contrast to the highly publicized, non-scientific claims made by Hollywood celebrities and anti-growth, green-fanatic organizations.
"The authors write that "echinoderms [ed: sea stars] are among the most abundant and ecologically successful groups of marine animals, and are one of the key marine groups most likely to be impacted by predicted climate change events," presumably because "the larvae and/or adults of many species from this phylum form skeletal rods, plates, test, teeth, and spines from an amorphous calcite crystal precursor, magnesium calcite, which is 30 times more soluble than normal calcite, "and this fact would normally be thought to make it much more difficult for them (relative to most other calcifying organisms) to produce calcification-dependent body parts....."The three researchers report that just the opposite of what is often predicted actually happened, as the echinoderm larvae and juveniles were "positively impacted by ocean acidification." More specifically, they found that "larvae and juveniles raised at low pH grow and develop faster, with no negative effect on survival or skeletogenesis within the time frame of the experiment (38 days)." In fact, they state that the sea stars' growth rates were "two times higher" in the acidified seawater; and they remark that "C. papposus seem to be not only more than simply resistant to ocean acidification, but are also performing better.""
