10 Years Left for Drastic Carbon Cuts to Forestall Ocean Collapse

Oceans cover 70% of the world’s surface, but no corner of that vast area will be untouched by 2100 without a dramatic effort to reduce carbon pollution over the next 10 years. That’s the conclusion of a research study led by ecologist Camilo Mora of the University of Hawai’i in Honolulu. “Only an abrupt decline in consumption of oil, gas, and coal within the next 10 years will minimize the impacts on the oceans,” Leahy writes. “The study found that carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels are overheating the oceans, turning them acidic and reducing the amount of oxygen in seawater. This is happening too fast for most marine species to adapt, and ocean ecosystems around the world will collapse” without immediate, deep cuts in carbon pollution.