Bathwater oceans spell disaster for the global food chain

Walking along a crystal clear coastline and splashing in water that’s warm as a bath has definite appeal, but the implications for sustaining life as we know it are dire. Warm water has less capacity to absorb oxygen, which also is a necessary fuel for many kinds of bacteria that play a critical role in breaking down organic material. It makes the green movement and alternative energy sources that much more important.

The concern is centered on a computer simulation that points toward our proximity to a tipping point where our actions in the next 50 years could have long-term effects that would last 2,000 years or more. Our climate is going to get warmer, at this point it’s a matter of how much.

There are already portions of ocean that are considered low-oxygen and they’re close to the equator. Typically they exist near the mouth of a river as it flows into the ocean. The warmer river water drives away fish and other sea life because it isn’t breathable, then eventually as it cools, more oxygen filters in and it becomes life-bearing.

In addition to expanding horizontally, low-oxygen zones are expanding vertically by encroaching farther toward the surface and deeper into the ocean. That’s especially obvious looking at the Atlantic as an example. Its low-oxygen zone has thickened from 370 meters in 1960 to 690 meters in 2006, according to Scientific American.

So what can we do? This is where alternative energy and the green movement start to look like a way of life instead of a phase for treehuggers. Eliminating our heavy use of fossil fuels and expulsion of carbon into the atmosphere is the first step, but right now some companies like Pepsi are more focused on creating the perception of green rather than actually making positive change.

With immediate focus on reducing humankind’s carbon footprint worldwide we can minimize the impact of global warming, according to Wired. But with a “business as usual” approach, the world our children live in will look significantly different.