Divine Minds, This is a riveting review by Australian science writer Tim Flannery about how diverse species of jellyfish are collapsing world fisheries and taking over the ocean. On top of that, they are killing/eating the very organisms that absorb CO2 out of the atmosphere, the copepods, and to make matters worse, then excrete a poo and goo that contains bacteria which emits CO2 back into the atmosphere, hence accelerating both climate destabilization and marine acidification. The acidification alone is projected to collapse the major ocean species from top predators down to coral reefs. But so ironically, of course, jellyfish are unperturbed by acidification since their bodies are free of mineralized exoskeletons. This prevents jellyfish from any risk of the exoskeleton dissolving even as the ocean further acidifies. And there is so much more, like the opening scene about the Australian Irukandjis jellyfish, which are tiny relatives of the box jellies, a dozen known species that are peanut- to thumb-size, and cause the most hideous and agonizing prolonged dying process. It is well worth the 15 minute read. Mind-blogging stories and factoids that are hard to believe or fathom. My takeaway insight: imperative to immediately cap CO2 emissions and begin a 5% per year or faster steady decline. I might have to run for office to get this enacted, and I urge each of you to do likewise. happy reading, michael nybooks/articles/archives/2013/sep/26/jellyfish-theyre-taking-over/?pagination=false
Posted on: Mon, 30 Sep 2013 02:05:53 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015