eKos: Acidifying Oceans Endanger Web of Life

by FishOutofWater

Oceans acidifying at the highest rate since the last great mass extinction 65 million years ago, threaten marine life, coral reefs and nutrition for over a billion people according to a report (PDF)just released by the UN. Fossil fuel burning, cement production, deforestation and land use changes have increased atmospheric CO2 from 280 to 390 PPMs. Increasing atmospheric CO2 has dissolved in the oceans, increasing the acidity (decreasing the pH) by 30%. Increasing acidity is destabilizing shells and corals, threatening the web of life in the ocean.

Recent studies of a Mediterranean vent in shallow waters revealed key ecosystem changes in high CO2 areas compared to normal CO2 areas. Certain algae and seagrasses were found to grow more efficiently closer to the vents where there was also a large reduction in biodiversity, notably a loss of calcifying organisms adjacent to the vents where the pH was lowest.

continued at Daily Kos....

Opposition to GE Salmon grows as time ticks down

by calalum

The FDA is set to approve genetically engineered (GE) salmon for human consumption. It would be the first time that a genetically engineered animal would be approved for people to eat, yet consumers are not rolling over on this one. Over 360,000 consumers, other federal agencies, and members of congress are all saying no to GE salmon and the FDA's flawed approval process. There is still time for the Obama administration to put the breaks on the FDA and demand a more comprehensive review, but the clock is ticking.

continued at Daily Kos....

Weekly Mulch: When Will Our Water Be Clean?

by The Media Consortium

by Sarah Laskow, Media Consortium Blogger

continued at Daily Kos....

Underwater Hawai'i - A Photo Diary

by Haole in Hawaii

This is another of these diaries meant as a respite from the stuggles of the day and as a reminder that we share this planet with a huge variety of incredible creatures.  Remember we are all related.

These photos were taken during four dives this past weekend on the north shore of Oahu in Pupukea Marine Life Conservation District. I hope you enjoy your visit.

Rain Over the Mokuluas

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26 square miles of toxic cloud

by mwmwm

and wait -- there's more!

22 miles long, 1.2 miles wide and 650 feet tall -- about 60 stories -- 3000 feet underwater!

That's no plume, that's a massive toxic cloud that shows no sign of abating. BP's dispersant legacy. Perhaps it's lucky that it's not showing signs of abating, since that would mean oil-eating microbes would be eating it with an oxygen chaser, and that layer is currently not showing severe oxygen-depletion. We wouldn't want a dead zone at 3000 feet.

But that toxic cloud is still a problem for a very important reason: the "Deep Scattering Layer," or DSL, which is the great, dense, daily dumbwaiter of thick marine life that moves up toward the surface, and then back down again, in a constant cycle.

Moving daily through this toxic cloud.

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One of the biggest fish kills in history of Endangered Species Act

by quaoar

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today issued a notice of violation and is seeking a $2.9 million fine from the city of Birmingham in Alabama for a 2008 incident in which city workers killed off more than half the population of a small endangered fish.

The fish kill resulted in the deaths of 11,760 watercress darters and injury to 8,900 other darters.

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“Greening” Fisheries Could Calm Troubled Waters

by BorderJumpers

Cross posted from Worldwatch Institute's Nourishing the Planet.

continued at Daily Kos....