A Sea Change is a very important film about ocean acidification and will be airing this Saturday, September 26th on Discovery's Planet Green channel at 8pm EST. The first feature-length film to cover this relatively new but critically important topic, A Sea Change documents the growing worldwide impact on our oceans from CO2 emissions which alters the ocean's delicate balance of acidity - its pH level.
When disrupted, these altered levels impact the growth of a myriad of ocean flora and fauna; in essence, disrupting the very foundation of the marine ecosystem.
"Imagine a world without fish. It’s a frightening possibility, and it could come true. A Sea Change follows the journey of retired history teacher Sven Huseby on his quest to discover what is happening to the world’s oceans. After reading Elizabeth Kolbert’s “The Darkening Sea,” Sven becomes obsessed with the rising acidity of the oceans and what this “sea change” bodes for mankind. His quest takes him to Alaska, California, Washington, and Norway as he uncovers a worldwide crisis that most people are unaware of. Speaking with oceanographers, marine biologists, climatologists, and artists, Sven discovers that global warming is only half the story of the environmental catastrophe that awaits us. Excess carbon dioxide is dissolving in our oceans, changing sea water chemistry. The more acidic water makes it difficult for tiny creatures at the bottom of the food web to form their shells. The effects could work their way up to the fish 1 billion people depend upon for their source of protein.
A Sea Change is also a touching portrait of Sven’s relationship with his grandson Elias. As Sven keeps a correspondence with the little boy, he mulls over the world that he is leaving for future generations. A disturbing and essential companion piece to An Inconvenient Truth, A Sea Change brings home the indisputable fact that our lifestyle is changing the earth, despite our rhetoric or wishful thinking.
A Sea Change is the first documentary about ocean acidification, directed by Barbara Ettinger of Niijii Films. Chock full of scientific information, the feature-length film is also a beautiful paen to the ocean world and an intimate story of a Norwegian-American family whose heritage is bound up with the sea."
What is of great importance in watching this excellent documentary, is that you don't watch it alone. If you're a regular reader of this blog then you are most likely a concerned conservationist who is knowledgeable about ocean acidification, but while seeing the film might provide you with further enlightenment, it is important that you get others who are not familiar with the issue to watch with you.
Invite your friends, heat up the popcorn, and make it a House Party! The more people who are made aware and informed of this very real threat to the health of our oceans, the better position we will be in to seriously address it.
Ocean Acidification: a new piece of jargon in the ocean conservation vernacular but potentially a very big one. Many of you may already be aware of its implications; the increase in CO2 absorbed by the oceans producing everything from weakened shells to the overall destruction of corals, all due to an upset in the ocean's balance of calcium.
This is a relatively new discovery and many decision-makers are, for the most part, in the dark regarding the issue. Oceana.org is taking a step to correct that with an advertisement to run in Energy and Environment Daily, a publication read by many in the energy policy arena.
But it's been a tough year for non-profits and Oceana is in need of outside funding to cover the cost of running the ad. If you can make a contribution, click on this link to learn more.
"Congress needs to address ocean acidification now. The oceans have absorbed 500 billion tons of carbon dioxide since the Industrial Revolution and scientists predict a mass extinction of corals by the middle to end of this century - including a collapse of the world's largest barrier reef systems in Australia and Belize.
Help Protect Corals. Help put ocean acidification on Congress's agenda by supporting a new ad targeted at Congress.
More acidic oceans threaten the one-quarter of marine life that depends on coral reefs for food and shelter, as well as all animals that depend on carbonate to build their shells and skeletons, like corals, pteropods, and shellfish like oysters.
Help Oceana Advocacy Resources raise $5,000 by September 1 to run the new "This is Your Ocean on Acid" ad and to get this issue before Congress today.
The ad will run in Energy and Environment Daily, a news source read by thousands of the major players in energy policy in the U.S. and abroad, including congressional and federal agency leaders. We need to shift energy policy away from fossil fuels and mitigate the effects of ocean acidification now if we want coral reefs and other carbonate-dependent marine life to survive.
Did you know that the oceans are more acidic than they have been in 800,000 years and this change occurred one-hundred-times faster than ever before? There has been no time for marine life to adapt and if corals and shellfish disappear, it will have repercussions for sharks, sea turtles, marine mammals and many other animals that depend on them."
Also, whether you are well-versed or new to the issue of ocean acidification, check out the documentary A Sea Change, which has been playing in select theaters recently. Very enlightening and informative.
A while back, I posted info on ocean acidification. (Click here.) This is one of the great sleeper issues of the environmental movement and it could turn into a literal nightmare if ignored much longer. Ocean acidification - the raising of the ocean's pH level due to the absorption of CO2 emissions - can have profound effects on all marine life as it disrupts bone, shell, and reef development.
A new documentary has come out on the issue, A Sea Change, produced by Niijii Films. The film received exceptional response at the Washington D.C. Environmental Film festival and has been covered by C-Span:
Ocean acidification actually corrodes the very foundation of the marine ecology, which has a catastrophic impact on the entire food change. My congratulations to Niijii Films for taking on what is a critical issue to the long-term health of the oceans.
To learn more about the film and future screenings, visit their web site at www.aseachange.net.
A Sea Change is a very important film about ocean acidification and will be airing this Saturday, September 26th on Discovery's Planet Green channel at 8pm EST. The first feature-length film to cover this relatively new but critically important topic, A Sea Change documents the growing worldwide impact on our oceans from CO2 emissions which alters the ocean's delicate balance of acidity - its pH level.
