One of the most hidden and potentially dangerous impacts of global warming is the impact on the oceans.  Life in the oceans can go on without terrestrial life, but without the oceans, life on land would be impossible.  Phytoplankton in the ocean are responsible for half of the planet’s oxygen. To survive, they depend on the pH of the ocean being the one they’ve adapted to.  Ocean pH has been about the same for more than 20 million years.

And we’re changing it — faster than the organisms in the ocean can adapt.

This is a key issue we talk about on our Coasts and Islands course, but is a hard topic to explain and teach about.  Here is a great  film out from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC.org) on ocean acidification and its impact on climate and life in the oceans.

ACID TEST, a film produced by NRDC, was made to raise awareness about the largely unknown problem of ocean acidification, which poses a fundamental challenge to life in the seas and the health of the entire planet. Like global warming, ocean acidification stems from the increase of carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere since the start of the Industrial Revolution.

Highly recommended!  You can jump to their webpage for more information and background, including in-depth discussions of the science.