September 14, 2016 — When we swim in the sea there is no visible footprint left behind so it easy to believe we make no mark. But all of us leave a carbon footprint in the ocean. Every time we use fossil fuels to drive our cars, charge our phones and heat and light our homes, we add heat and carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere, more than 1.5 trillion tons of it since the Industrial Revolution. The last time so much CO2 was pumped into the air was 250 million years ago, when volcanic eruptions almost wiped out life on Earth. Humanity has survived the current environmental assault so far because of the oceans, which have absorbed about a third of the CO2 and much of the heat. The price we pay for that favor is rising sea levels, ocean acidification, and the destruction of fisheries throughout the world.

We are all at risk, but most especially for a fishing town like Gloucester. Coastal erosion from rising seas threaten not just our homes, but fragile wetlands, the nursery of many marine species. Other dangers from CO2 are not so visible but even more catastrophic. When the CO2 we’ve released into the air falls into the ocean it turns the water acidic, which weakens phytoplankton, the bedrock of the ocean’s food chain. No fish, no fishing industry. Reduced calcification from a lower pH also makes it difficult for shellfish to build their shells. No shells, no clams, no lobsters. Many marine animals can only live at a specific temperature, and as the water warms those populations decline or migrate. Again, no fish, no industry, and for people around the globe who rely on fish as their major source of protein, no food. The World Wildlife Fund believes that climate change is one of the main reasons for the decline of marine species in the last 30 years. Yet fisheries managers are not mandated to address the impact of non-fishing activities such as climate change, oil spills and water pollution. Instead, they focus on catch quotas.

Fishermen shouldn’t have to shoulder alone the consequences of a problem that all of us are responsible for creating. Since we cannot wait for nations to act, it is up to local communities to lower their carbon footprint. Unlike volcanoes, we can control the amount of CO2 we pump into the atmosphere, but to do that we need to restrict our use of fossil fuels. As a community, we already have wind turbines thanks to Gloucester’s Clean Energy Commission. Future options could include offshore wind farms, tidal energy systems and solar parking lots but there is plenty that individuals can do as well. Request a free energy audit from the Mass Save Program (masssave.com), which comes with help in replacing old appliances and insulating homes. Walk more, bike more, then lobby for bike lanes and better public transportation. Buy an electric or hybrid vehicle and take advantage of federal tax credits; install some solar panels and get Massachusetts incentives and rebates. Consider the carbon footprint of groceries. Eating seasonally and locally helps reduce the amount of fuel needed to get food to the table. Even using less plastic can help lower one’s carbon footprint, because plastic is a petroleum product. And in a coastal community like Gloucester, balloons and single-use bags often blow into the ocean where they can become death traps for whales, sea turtles and dolphins, all of whom mistake floating plastic for a dinner of jellyfish. We’re doing enough damage to them as it is with the CO2.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times