The Doctor’s Visit
[The Doctor visits the oyster reef upon Oyster and Oyster Mom’s request.]
Oyster Mom: (pleading in a concerned tone) “Doctor, do something! My son is only two years old and his shell is thinning.”
Doctor: “I am sorry. Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do. If he doesn’t work harder at biomineralization, his shell will only become thinner.”
Oyster: “I am trying my best to filter calcium and carbonate but can’t find enough carbonate to make the calcium carbonate for my shell.”
Doctor: “But, if you don’t build your shells quickly, you will become vulnerable to pollution, predators, and crashing waves.”
Oyster: “Humans have hair clinics to fix their thinning hair. Can’t I get treatments?”
Doctor: “Unfortunately, we have no clinics for shells. Calcium carbonates are harder to find than gold nowadays.”
Oyster: “Why?”
Doctor: “Well, it’s because of ocean acidification. Basically, human activities, such as deforestation, cement production, and fossil fuel usage, produce carbon dioxide, which causes climate change or dissolves into the ocean. When the latter happens, the carbon dioxide reacts with water and forms carbonic acid that disintegrates into bicarbonate and hydrogen ions. The increase in the hydrogen ions increases acidity, decreasing the pH levels. ”
Oyster: “Oh, I have heard of climate change before. Do you mean climate change and ocean acidification are related?”
Doctor: “Yes, CO2 contributes to both. Ocean acidification is the result of the ocean’s role in mitigating climate change. The ocean now absorbs a quarter of the CO2 humans produce, or approximately 22 million tons per day. (Le Quere et al, 2009) For the past 250 years, the acidity of ocean water has increased by 30%, absorbing 560 billion tons of CO2, which is the fastest change in the past 50 million years. (Littschwager, 2018)”
Oyster: “Wow. That’s a lot. Humans are so selfish and inconsiderate. They dump all their garbage into the ocean.”
Doctor: “Yes. In fact, the global average pH for the ocean was 8.16 during the Industrial Revolution, is 8.07 today, and is expected to drop to 8.01 by the end of the century. One pH unit change affects acidification tenfold. (Kennedy, 2021)”
Oyster Mother: “Excuse me, I know you’re brainy, but can you use that intelligence to help my son?”
Doctor: “I think it is important to first identify the cause. Ocean acidification, which changes the ocean chemistry, threatens many marine animals and particularly impacts calcifying animals like you, oysters. As carbonate ions bond with increased hydrogen in the ocean, fewer carbonate ions are available for calcification. At this rate, in 50 years, calcifying animals along the US west coast, the Bering Sea, and the western Arctic Ocean may not survive. (Walsh, 2014) Since marine animals are linked to one another, the downturn of one species will affect the entire ecosystem.”
Oyster: “So, are we… doomed?”
Doctor: “Well, humanity has found some ways to reduce CO2 emissions by harnessing wind and solar power. In fact, today, approximately 18.9 million American homes are powered by solar energy, and it is estimated that by 2050, solar energy will generate 16% of the world’s energy. Also, with each turbine providing power to about 2,500 homes per year, wind power reduces crude oil usage by 11,964 barrels per year. (2021, Townsend)”
Oyster: “Are renewable energies the only solutions to cut down CO2 emissions?”
Doctor: “No, there are also other potential solutions, including using biofuels that yield less CO2 and protecting forests. Governments are also imposing carbon tax to deter carbon emitters from producing greenhouse gasses. Scientists have even discovered ingenious ways to eliminate CO2. For example, the scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research found that spraying reflective sulfate aerosol particles into the atmosphere prevents atmospheric warming (Nunez, 2019), and other scientists have found that using a giant mirror to block sunlight is also effective in reducing atmospheric CO2.”
Oyster: “Are those solutions actually being implemented now?”
Doctor: “Yes. In 2015, the international community agreed to reduce greenhouse gas and to keep warming under 2 degrees Celsius in the Paris Agreement. Even after Trump pulled out of the Paris Agreement in 2016, at the UN climate change conference in December of 2018, the participating nations agreed to continue monitoring and reducing carbon emissions. Also, although rising nationalism caused polarization at the COP25 in December 2019 and the Covid outbreak hampered diplomatic efforts, more than 200 countries gathered in COP26 and agreed to end deforestation by 2030, eliminate coal use by 2030 or 2040, terminate gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles by 2040, and finally, reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Most importantly, it pledged to limit global temperature below 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels. (UNFCCC, 2021)”
Oyster: “So, the situation isn’t entirely bleak, is it?”
Doctor: “No. But, let’s keep our fingers crossed.”
[Doctor leaves the Oyster reef.]
Reflection
Some people incorrectly believe that nature has an unlimited power to recuperate itself and feel no guilt in benefiting themselves at the cost of harming nature. In fact, in my research, I found that approximately 40% of the world’s population is uninformed of climate change and that they are oblivious to mankind’s overarching impact on Earth and marine life. However, nature, contrary to their belief, is fragile and cannot tolerate any more abuse from human beings. I was inspired to tell a story from the perspective of oysters because they are among the first to be affected by anthropogenic carbon, as more acidic water makes it impossible for them to survive. Furthermore, the destruction of oyster reefs immediately leads to loss of habitat for marine animals and affects the ocean’s entire ecosystem. Just as it took hundreds of years and billions of tons of CO2 to cause ocean acidification, it will take a tremendous effort to undo the damage and to return the pH of the ocean water to pre-Industrial Revolution levels. Unfortunately, once the destruction of marine life occurs, however, it cannot be undone. In that sense, the fact that calcifying animals’ thinning is not as easily treatable as humans’ thinning of hair is not as humorous as portrayed in the essay. Rather, the effects of ocean acidification, which threatens marine life’s survival, is a much more grave issue. Human beings, as the only species on earth that has the ability to protect marine life, must act before it is too late. As for me, my first initiative is writing this piece on ocean acidification to raise awareness.
Works Cited
Bennett, Jennifer. “Ocean Acidification | Smithsonian Ocean.” Smithsonian Ocean, 30 April 2018, https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/invertebrates/ocean-acidification. Accessed 26 December 2021.
“Effects of Ocean Acidification on Marine Species & Ecosystems.” Oceana USA, https://usa.oceana.org/effects-ocean-acidification-marine-species-ecosystems/. Accessed 26 December 2021.
“4 Key Achievements of COP26.” UNFCCC, 24 November 2021, https://unfccc.int/news/4-key-achievements-of-cop26. Accessed 26 December 2021.
Johnson, Johanna, et al. “Pacific islands ocean acidification vulnerability assessment.” SPREP, 2015, https://www.sprep.org/attachments/Publications/CC/ocean-acidification.pdf. Accessed 26 December 2021.
Kennedy, Caitlyn. “Ocean Acidification, Today and in the Future.” NOAA Climate.gov, 3 November 2010, https://www.climate.gov/news-features/featured-images/ocean-acidification-today-and-future. Accessed 22 December 2021.
Le Quéré, Corinne, et al. “Trends in the sources and sinks of carbon dioxide.” Nature Geoscience, 2009, https://www.nature.com/articles/ngeo689. Accessed 22 December 2021.
Nunez, Christina. “Global warming solutions, facts and information.” National Geographic, 24 January 2019, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/global-warming-solutions. Accessed 26 December 2021.
“Ocean Acidification.” Climate Nexus, 3 May 2016, https://climatenexus.org/climate-issues/science/ocean-acidification/#mobile-site-navigation. Accessed 26 December 2021.
“Ocean acidification.” National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 1 April 2020, https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/ocean-coasts/ocean-acidification. Accessed 24 December 2021.
“The Paris Agreement.” UNFCCC, https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement. Accessed 24 December 2021.
Townsend, Brenda. “How much oil do wind turbines use.” HowtoCreate.com, 24 November 2021, https://howtocreate.com/answers/inquiry-how-much-oil-do-wind-turbines-use-93748/. Accessed 26 December 2021.
Walsh, John, et al. “Ocean Acidification | National Climate Assessment.” National Climate Assessment, 2014, https://nca2014.globalchange.gov/report/our-changing-climate/ocean-acidification. Accessed 24 December 2021.