All that carbon that we, as a society, are pumping out is starting to really add up. There is troubling new evidence that ecosystems in oceanic carbon sinks are taking a severe hit. The ocean is a major repository for carbon in the environment. Human societies produce massive quantities of carbon! I can imagine that the ocean sucks up excess atmospheric carbon almost like sponge. Anyway, it absorbs a lot of carbon. But not without consequence.

Recent studies have shown the arrival of this increasingly acidic ocean water has been much sooner than had previously been expected. There's lots of information about this available on the Internet.

I am going to point you to this story from National Public Radio, as it pertains specifically to conditions near to Washington State. The audio segment can be found at the link:

Mussels Lose Out As Carbon Dioxide Changes Ocean
by Richard Harris

Morning Edition, November 25, 2008 · All the carbon dioxide pouring into the atmosphere is making the oceans more acidic — and those effects appear to be striking very close to home.

Scientists have been fretting about what ocean acid will do to coral reefs and certain species of plankton. And a new study now documents a startling and rapid change in ocean acid on an island just off the coast of Washington state.
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It's also not clear what we can do about it. Marine scientist Jane Lubchenco at Oregon State University says that even if the world abruptly shifts away from fossil fuels — and stops emitting billions of tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year — the oceans will continue to soak up carbon dioxide from the air and become more acidic.
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