CARBON DIOXIDE AND OUR
OCEAN LEGACY
G
Carbon Dioxide: Our Role
The United States is the single largest contributor to
global warming, responsible for nearly one-quarter of all
human-made emissions. Every day the average American
adds about 118 pounds of carbon dioxide to the atmos-
phere, due largely to energy-consuming activities that
burn fossil fuels. On a yearly basis, the average Ameri-
can produces 22 tons of carbon dioxide, more than six
times as much as the average person living outside of the
United States. Together, Americans produced 6.5 billion
of the 27.7 billion tons of carbon dioxide generated in
2003, and these numbers are growing every year.3
Ocean acidification is a straightforward consequence of
increasing carbon dioxide emissions due to human activities,
and is predicted with a high degree of certainty.
By Richard A. Feely, Christopher L. Sabine, and Victoria J. Fabry
Ocean acidification and climate change
are both effects of excessive carbon
dumping into the atmosphere.
About the Authors
Drs. Richard Feely and
Christopher Sabine are
oceanographers at the
Pacific Marine Environ-
mental Laboratory of the
National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administra-
tion, where they special-
ize in the ocean carbon
cycle. Dr. Victoria Fabry
is a biologist at the
California State Univer-
sity San Marcos, with
expertise in the effects
of carbon dioxide on
marine life.1,2
Global warming is increasing ocean tempera-
tures and raising sea levels. New scientific
research shows that our oceans are beginning
to face yet another threat due to global warm-
ing-related emissions – their basic chemistry is
changing because of the uptake of carbon
dioxide released by human activities.
When carbon dioxide is absorbed by the
oceans it reacts with seawater to form carbonic
acid. Ocean acidification, as the phenomenon
is called, over time will create major negative
impacts on corals and other marine life, with
anticipated adverse consequences for fishing,
tourism, and related economies.
Ocean acidification and climate change are