Our daily emissions of CO2 are changing our Oceans

 Experts urge action to limit ocean acidification

 

Ocean acidification can no longer remain on the periphery of the international debates on climate change and the environment and should be addressed by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and other global environmental conventions, urges IUCN and the International Ocean Acidification Reference User Group (RUG) at the climate change summit in Durban.
In the run up to the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, which will take place in Rio de Janeiro in June next year (Rio+20), world experts from RUG call for decision makers to urgently address the critical issue of ocean acidification.
“The increasing amounts of carbon dioxide that we emit into the atmosphere every day are changing our oceans, steadily increasing their acidity, and dramatically affecting marine life,” says Professor Dan Laffoley Marine Vice Chair of IUCN’s World Commission on Protected Areas and Chair of RUG. “This may also have severe impacts on human life in the future. Only by reducing our CO2 emissions and enhancing the protection of oceans to strengthen their ability to recover, can we effectively address this issue. Policy makers in Durban, and in Rio in June next year, need to recognize this and take appropriate actions.”
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, particularly CO2, which is the main driver of climate change and the main cause of ocean acidification, is one of the goals of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. But the latest RUG publication calls for a broader strategy to reduce ocean acidification, alongside those tackling other threats to the marine environment such as overfishing and pollution.
According to the experts, although both climate change and ocean acidification are caused by excessive amounts of CO2 emissions, and so should be tackled together, not all approaches used to address the former will be effective in the fight against the latter.



Each year, ocean absorbs appx 25% of all the CO2 we emit 

 "For example, ‘geoengineering' solutions, such as reflecting solar radiation, which are often suggested to deal with climate change, will not address the progressive acidification of the ocean," says Dr John Baxter of the Scottish Natural Heritage and Deputy Chair of the RUG. "Both climate change and acidification need to be taken into account when designing solutions to these challenges."
Each year, the ocean absorbs approximately 25% of all the CO2 we emit. Its acidity has increased by 30% since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution and acidification will continue at an unprecedented rate in the coming decades. This can have a negative impact on marine organisms, especially the 'calcifying’ ones such as shellfish, molluscs, coral reefs and various types of zooplankton and phytoplankton. Increasing ocean acidity requires them to use more energy to build their shells, which has potentially severe ecological consequences. If the current acidification rate continues, it could lead to extinctions of some species and impact others that feed on them.
“Through its ability to absorb large amounts of CO2, the ocean plays a crucial role in moderating the rate and severity of climate change”, says Dr Carol Turley from the Plymouth Marine Laboratory and the Knowledge Exchange Coordinator for the UK Ocean Acidification Research Programme, one of the partners of the Reference User Group. “But in many ways our ocean is also a victim of its own success, as this capacity jeopardizes its future health, its biodiversity and its ability to continue to provide us with food and sustainable economic development. Ocean acidification requires urgent and effective action now, before it’s too late. The obvious action is to reduce CO2 emissions to the atmosphere."

To view the publication click following link : http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/oa_11_8pp_web.pdf

Source : http://www.iucn.org/news_homepage/?8697/The-acid-truth-about-our-oceans-experts-urge-action-to-limit-ocean-acidification

Clean Klang Campaign

Clean Klang campaign ( Gotong  Royong Perdana MPK ) :-

Date         :  3rd December 2011
Time         :  7 am – 12.00 noon.
Venue       :  Dataran Seni, Klang  ( opposite shaw centre point )


The MPK has allocated the area around Pasar Jawa. We are meeting at 7.00am in front of Centerpoint Supermarket.  We would like to extend an invitation to you and your family too.

If you need further details call Pres Richard H/p 012 – 2339 102.


Thank
VP George
RC Bukit Tinggi Klang

Photo's and VCD for sale - Cleaner Marina Day

Greetings from the Rotary Club of Bandar Bukit Tinggi, Klang. We must thank you for your participation in the Cleaner Marina Day held on the 15th October ’11. We had an overwhelming response from the general public.

The event was also widely publicized over the radio, TV and all the local newspapers. Many asked us for the photographs taken on the day. We have good news for you. You can buy a CD consisiting of 650 photographs taken during the Cleaner Marina Day. The CD is RM 25.00 per CD.

 A video recording is also available. The VCD runs for half an hour. It is very well taken by professionals. The cost is RM 25.00 per VCD.



The items are available...
RM25.00
Contact : Rtn Gopal  Mobile :017 8896095





Thank You for your support.
VP George

Why are this trees cut down ??

Location    :   Jalan Batu Unjur off Jalan Kim Chuan & Opposite Giant traffic light Bukit Tinggi

Date          :    3/11/2011

Species      :  Tecoma  ( 15 ) and Rain trees ( 5)

"It's awful that a public green space, an asset to the local community, has been destroyed mindlessly.

I would blame the local council ( Majlis Perbandaran Klang ) who are  lack of awareness and the important of preserving our trees. They must have tree maintenance plan instead of asking the contactors to chop down trees for extra bug. This must be stop immediately.

If you live in Australia,  New Zealand and other part of the world, then you will think twice before chopping down trees or even  trimming. They have Tree Trimming law and Trees removal law.

Do we have such laws here ??

Trees are important, valuable and necessary to our very existence. It's not too hard to believe that, without trees we humans would not exist on this beautiful planet.

We must know the important of trees :-

1. Trees Produces Oxygen

2. Trees Clean the Soil

3. Trees Control Noise Pollution

4.Trees slow storm water runoff

5. Trees are Carbon sinks

6. Trees Clean the air

7. Trees shade and cool

8. Trees acts as windbreaks
9. Tress fight soil Erosion

10. Trees increase property values

Expect more weather disasters

(AP) WASHINGTON - Freakish weather disasters — from the sudden October snowstorm in the Northeast U.S. to the record floods in Thailand — are striking more often. And global warming is likely to spawn more similar weather extremes at a huge cost, says a draft summary of an international climate report obtained by The Associated Press.





Thai residents carry their belongings along floods as they move to higher ground at Bangkok's Don Muang district, Thailand. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila, File)

 The final draft of the report from a panel of the world's top climate scientists paints a wild future for a world already weary of weather catastrophes costing billions of dollars. The report says costs will rise and perhaps some locations will become "increasingly marginal as places to live."

The report from the Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change will be issued in a few weeks, after a meeting in Uganda. It says there is at least a 2-in-3 probability that climate extremes have already worsened because of man-made greenhouse gases.

This marks a change in climate science from focusing on subtle changes in daily average temperatures to concentrating on the harder-to-analyze freak events that grab headlines, cause economic damage and kill people. The most recent bizarre weather extreme, the pre-Halloween snowstorm in the U.S., is typical of the damage climate scientists warn will occur — but it's not typical of the events they tie to global warming.

"The extremes are a really noticeable aspect of climate change," said Jerry Meehl, senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. "I think people realize that the extremes are where we are going to see a lot of the impacts of climate change."

The snow-bearing Nor'easter cannot be blamed on climate change and probably isn't the type of storm that will increase with global warming, four meteorologists and climate scientists said. They agree more study is needed. But experts on extreme storms have focused more closely on the increasing numbers of super-heavy rainstorms, not snow, NASA climate scientist Gavin Schmidt said.

CBS NEWS : http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-20128315/climate-experts-expect-more-weather-disasters/