WA Oyster Farms In Trouble - Can't Set Shells Thanks to Acidification, Dying As A Result
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Mr. Inslee argues that in the state of Microsoft and Boeing and where science and technology drive much of the economy, denying the science of climate change is a losing political stance. “This is a scientifically literate state,” Mr. Inslee said. Washington, he said, is positioned in a low-carbon economy to design and build new kinds of energy technology, like solar panels and software for the electric grid. “It can be a jobs generator, and my state wants to get in the game,” he said.
In his recent efforts he cites scientists who say that a global increase in carbon emissions from burning coal and oil has raised carbon dioxide levels in the oceans to unprecedented levels, translating to heavily acidic waters that are deadly to shellfish and other marine life. A major scientific report released in May, the National Climate Assessment, found that the United States’ northwestern waters are among the world’s most acidic. “We can attribute the problems in the oyster hatcheries to the increased carbon in the ocean,” said Terrie Klinger, a professor of marine affairs at the University of Washington.
Here in Washington’s Pacific inlets, oyster farmers are trying to adapt to the acidic waters by pumping their oyster hatcheries full of alkaline chemicals. But scientists say the acidity levels are only going to keep rising. “We have a nursery where we’ve set oysters continuously, but now they can’t develop a healthy shell,” said Paul Taylor, whose family has farmed oysters for five generations in Dabob Bay, a pine-fringed inlet. “Right now, it’s just hurting the babies, and in a controlled environment, we can manipulate the chemicals to get those through. But I don’t know at what levels of acidification the adults won’t grow. That unknown is very scary.”
Mr. Taylor, who said his 500-employee company is the largest shellfish supplier in the Pacific Northwest, said he knows the climate policies Mr. Inslee is pushing could increase his energy costs. “I’m a businessman.” he said. “I know this could raise the cost of fuel for my boats and electricity for my buildings. But if this problem gets worse, and our oysters can’t grow, then we just go away as a business.”
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http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/04/us/as-oysters-die-climate-policy-goes-on-stump.html?_r=0
