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[Lawrence London <lfljvenaura@gmail.com>]

BBC News - Health of oceans 'declining fast'
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-24369244

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The health of the world’s oceans is deteriorating even faster than had
previously been thought, a report says.

A review from the International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO),
warns that the oceans are facing multiple threats.

They are being heated by climate change, turned slowly less alkaline by
absorbing CO2, and suffering from overfishing and pollution.

The report warns that dead zones formed by fertiliser run-off are a
problem.

It says conditions are ripe for the sort of mass extinction event that has
afflicted the oceans in the past.

It says: “We have been taking the ocean for granted. It has been shielding
us from the worst effects of accelerating climate change by absorbing
excess CO2 from the atmosphere.

“Whilst terrestrial temperature increases may be experiencing a pause, the
ocean continues to warm regardless. For the most part, however, the public
and policymakers are failing to recognise - or choosing to ignore - the
severity of the situation.”

It says the cocktail of threats facing the ocean is more powerful than the
individual problems themselves.

Coral reefs, for instance, are suffering from the higher temperatures and
the effects of acidification whilst also being weakened by bad fishing
practices, pollution, siltation and toxic algal blooms.