Through the genius of Google Earth, this page will link you to a KMZ spread sheet file that is read by Google Earth.
What information is in the KMZ file?
Once the file is downloaded and opened by GE (Google Earth), location markers are dotted around the world. As you zoom to each one, a dialogue box opens with a description of where you are. Also included are quotes from leading scientists, journalists and authors about ocean acidification, over-fishing, marine animals, fossil fuels, pollution and even promising developments such as electric vehicles and alternative sources of energy. A lot of the comments are located right over power plants. It is interesting to keep double clicking, zooming in until you are looking down on some massive smoke stack, cooling tower or wind farm.
Is this information important?
Yes. Oceans cover about 70% of the globe. Our fossil fuel CO2 emissions are changing the chemistry of the oceans faster than marine organisms can adapt. In effect, humans are conducting a world wide experiment on ocean chemistry and life. It is a one-way experiment, though, because by the time we can measure the effects of our emissions it will probably be too late to change the results of our behavior. A number of marine scientists believe that we are already in a period of mass extinctions.
What can we do?
The only strategy is to not just decrease, but to STOP our CO2 emissions. A significant tax on carbon is the first step. There are a lot of technical advances, such as carbon capture and storage, concentrated solar energy and electric cars that are being developed, but they will not advance if it is cheaper to just burn fossil fuels. This is where it gets really exciting. Advancing to alternative sources of energy and increased conservation will likely stimulate an explosion of new ideas and developments. Ours is an important generation. We can choose either a path to extinction or open up to a renewable energy-sourced renaissance. If our politicians and captains of industry do not recognize the peril and take the lead in response to climate change and the ocean crisis, they are either willfully ignorant or they are lying to us.
Future generations and Mother Earth deserve better.
