Save the ocean from the climatic change

The ocean is the engine that drives our planet’s climate. It is our life support system, providing much of the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the resources we depend on for life every day. The ocean is essential for life.

Unfortunately, the ocean will be the first ecosystem to suffer widespread effects of global climate change. Increasing levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases pose major threats to our ocean as well as our atmosphere. Widespread effects brought on by higher air and water temperatures include loss of sea ice, sea level rise, extreme weather events, and harmful changes to marine fish and wildlife populations. Increased concentrations of carbon dioxide will lead to acidification of ocean water, threatening many ocean organisms, particularly corals and important species at the base of the ocean food web.

Action is needed immediately to reduce impacts on the ocean and wildlife, to strengthen the health of marine ecosystems, and to improve their capacities to adapt to change, much of which is already being felt. Recent scientific research has discovered that the rate of global warming is increasing faster than anyone had anticipated, outpacing even the best model projections of just a year ago. Where we once thought we had centuries to adapt, we are finding we may have only decades. And, where once we thought we had decades before we felt the harshest effects of climate change, we may have only years. The best hope for the continued existence of some species is an immediate reduction in CO2 emissions.

Several bills in Congress have been offered with the goal of reducing the emissions of harmful greenhouse gases. It is critical that such efforts include provisions to strengthen the resilience and adaptive capacity of marine ecosystems and wildlife. Such provisions should:

* Channel a portion of revenues from the auction of greenhouse gas emission allowances directly to ocean and wildlife efforts
* Require a national-level, comprehensive strategy for protecting ocean ecosystems and wildlife, and to improve resilience to the impacts of climate change
* Help ensure that all federal decisions regarding the ocean consider the effects of climate change
* Support state strategies to assess and address the impacts of climate change on wildlife, as well as coastal and ocean resources

Please take action today and urge your Senators to ensure that critical greenhouse gas reduction and ocean and wildlife adaptation measures are included in any climate change legislation.