The oceans and their future

FALLBROOK – Eve Simmons, noted environmentalist, blogger and activist, will be the speaker in the monthly informational series by the Fallbrook Climate Action Team. In a departure from the normal evening series, Simmons will speak Sunday, Aug. 21 at 1 p.m. in the Fallbrook Public Library, 124 S. Mission Road.

Simmons maintains a constant watch on challenges to the health of the oceans, and she will bring updates from the science community to the presentation. In addition to the abuse of the oceans by man, there are relentless processes imposed by global climate change. Her website and blog are at www.TheGreenFlash.org.

The oceans are exceptionally important to mankind. They are the principal source of food for about half of humanity. Even slight changes in the oceans’ chemistry creates disruptions in places dependent upon food from the oceans which in turn inevitably affects the rest of the world. The oceans are the great heat engine for the Earth.

Melting ice affects ocean temperature, salinity, currents, weather patterns, and sea level. The oceans are also the principal reservoir for CO2; the top ten feet of the oceans contain as much CO2 as the entire atmosphere. These processes will be addressed at the Aug. 21 presentation.

The list of abuses mankind inflicts on the seas is long and utterly devastating: acidification, bottom dredging, by-catch, sound pollution from both oil exploration, shipping and military operations; plastic pollution and other trash, ballast transport of non-native species, oil spills and offshore drilling, overfishing, worldwide poaching, eutrophification due to fertilizers, also drugs and other toxic chemicals flowing downstream, hotter seas meaning less oxygen in the oceans, a loss of biodiversity, needed upwelling and coral bleaching, massive sand removal, and radiation from Fukishima. Some sources for this information are www.SonicSea.org, "Racing Extinction” and TV series "VICE," which often airs environmental stories. Also for a more comprehensive look at what's happening on climate change, Josh Fox's new documentary on HBO "How to Let Go of the World and Love All the Things Climate Can't Change.”

Guests can also hear Nicole Capretz, author of the San Diego Climate Action Plan, who will speak at the climate action team meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 14.