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Politics : Politics of Energy -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Hawkmoon who wrote (9027)	6/5/2009 8:45:18 AM
From: RetiredNow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 86356

And AGAIN, if the oceans are so acidic, then why are phytoplankton (diatoms) blooming like crazy when you fertilize them with a bit of iron powder and silica? Well, let's see. Fe^0 + CO2 + H2O => FeCO3 + H2. So the oceans are more acidic because of the higher CO2 content that is overwhelming the sink capacity of phytoplankton and other marine sinks. Adding iron kicks off a process by which the iron interacts with the CO2 and water to create FeCO3 and hydrogen. The positive ions kicked out by the process is useful for marine photosynthesis, which allows for increased phytoplankton blooms. There's your answer. The fact remains that increased CO2 is acidifying the oceans which leads to reduced phytoplankton. Iron is a solution, but there is no way it is a feasible global solution to widespread ocean acidification. Maybe a solution for local communities, but not to really make a dent in increased CO2 content in the atmosphere. Besides, instead of attacking the symptom, we should be attacking the root cause, which is man made CO2 emissions from burning coal and oil.