Lethal Water Discussion Questions

Around 150 years ago, humans started releasing fossil fuels into the atmosphere during the industrial revolution. The ocean takes up a quarter of the gas that surrounds earth by absorbing the CO2 we put in our atmosphere. Scientist thought the ocean was a great resource for getting rid of these CO2 gases in the atmosphere; however, they didn’t know how much these gases where destroying our great ocean. NOVA’s documentary presents, Lethal Seas, a documentary of the destruction of our vast ocean, concentrating on the American northwest coast, Papua New Guinea among the volcanic islands of Milne Bay, and Aurora Australis. The documentary dresses the issue of rising acidity levels in the ocean and its effects. Understanding the problem is the first step. When the ocean takes in CO2, it dissolves into the ocean reacting with water. This process forms a weak acid called carbonic acid. This then breaks apart releasing hydrogen ions, increasing the acidity of the water. This

On the west coast, from Washington State down to California, the levels of acid are increasing and deceasing which gave sea urchins the ability to flourish. They flourish by turning on more of their genes to help create a skeleton. Other parts of the ocean are thriving such as the seagrass in the coral reef by taking the CO2 and converting it into sugars. I believe that the documentary was precise when proving how much fossil fuels are destroying the ocean life. My opinion on the video is that we need to find ways to prevent the wide spread of acidity that is increasing over time across our earth. The acidity doesn 't just effect the fish but it effects human beings. Just as the acidity hurt Mark and Sues business, it could hurt other business that are also involved with the oceanic wild