Human activity pulling the plug on a vital carbon sink

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://newsroom.uts.edu.au/news/2011/11/human-activity-pulling-the-plug-on-a-vital-carbon-sink

Human activity pulling the plug on a vital carbon sink

16 Nov 2011

In summary:

• An analysis of Botany Bay sediments going back 6000 years shows that environments capable of capturing and storing carbon, like seagrasses, are being replaced by microalgae
• These human-induced changes are causing a 100-fold weakening in the ability of the sediments to store carbon and thus dampen impacts of climate change

Under better conditions coastal ecosystems might be the ace in the hole to mitigate climate change, but human activity is significantly weakening their ability to naturally dampen the impacts of rising CO2 levels according to a new study by Sydney environmental scientists.

In a report being published in http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2011.02582.x/abstract">Global Change Biology, a research team from the University of Technology, Sydney has recommended that a high priority be placed on protecting and conserving seagrass, salt marsh and mangrove ecosystems.

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[FirstLight]

1. greeeaaat....

i feel SO much better now... not

we'd better hurry up with our revolution, cuz we have a world to save!

[Laelth]

2. Anybody hoping tidal power will save us better look at this.

Eating up valuable and beautiful coastal areas with huge tidal power generators will further cripple this vital carbon sink.

-Laelth

[kristopher]

5. Except the problem isn't tidal generators, it is homes and businesses wanting to enjoy that beauty..

[Laelth]

8. Yes, at the moment.

Tidal power generators will exacerbate the problem.

-Laelth

[DCKit]

6. That depends on what sort of tidal generation they might build.

I think you're talking about impoundments - dams and turbines. That's not the only way to use the tides or wave energy.

[Laelth]

7. In order to generate significant power, a generating station has to be a huge industrial blight.

And it will wipe out a lot of wetlands.

-Laelth

[DCKit]

9. You know I love you, but you're wrong.

Any method that generates a little energy from wave forces 24/7 is going to trump the power of an impoundment based on tidal surges. Same difference between windmills and solar panels - chances are, when the sun isn't shining, the wind is blowing.

Average it out, and the "little" inputs actually average the load a lot better.

I'm coming up on eleven years of personal experience with wind and solar, so I have no sympathy for anyone who says "It just won't work".

[bananas]

10. And don't forget the ducks - quack quack quack quack. nt

[pscot]

3. It's all part of a seamless webb

of environmental vandalism.

[Gregorian]

4. Since 1992 we have increase the planet by 1000 cities of 1 million people each!

That is a billion people.

And no Prius or Solar power is going to replace the medical waste they will generate. Just one example of the mess we're in.

None of the things we are seeing are unrelated to population. And all of what we see is part of the use each one of us demands. Swamp marshes included.