And they dare to call it Science

This has to be one of the most craptastic "reports" I have run into in a long long time. Pure political agenda and guaranteed to be 100% science-free. It's from December 2009 but I just ran into it now. From COP15:

Acid oceans: Global warming�s �evil twin�
The findings of a major study on the health of the world�s oceans have been released to coincide with the COP15 climate conference. The report, which was compiled by The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, highlights the direct link between manmade CO2 emissions and the rising acidity levels of the world�s seas.

The study found that around a quarter of all carbon dioxide produced from burning fossil fuels, deforestation and other human activities, has been absorbed by the oceans. Without this absorption the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere would be markedly higher and the effects of global warming more severe. Although this process may have bought some time, the report states, it has not been without a cost: rising levels of marine acidity.

At current rates, the report estimates ocean acidity will increase by 150 percent by 2050, a rate of acidification 100 times greater than anything that has occurred in the last 20 million years. This will leave little chance for adaptation by marine organisms and cause the widespread dying off of the world�s corals. In addition, shelled organisms will not be able to survive the increased acidity, which will likely lead to a wide scale collapse of the marine food chain.

What a mish-mash of cherry-picked bilge. Yes, the oceans do take up about 25% of the free CO2 in the atmosphere but have any of these blithering ninnys ever stood on the deck of an oceanographic ship and taken a sample and measured the free CO2 in the seawater? I doubt it very much. Yes, CO2 is taken up by the Ocean but in its role as plant food and food for single-cell organisms (like corals). Any free CO2 (which is the only form that would cause acidification) is rapidly mopped up by the hungry algae. From WikiPedia:

Photosynthesis is a process that converts carbon dioxide into organic compounds, especially sugars, using the energy from sunlight.

And this little tidbit:

The rate of energy capture by photosynthesis is immense, approximately 100 terawatts, which is about six times larger than the power consumption of human civilization.

Considering that the oceans cover 70% of the earths surface, that is a lot of CO2 capture. Finally, if you know anybody who keeps a salt water tank and raises corals, they will have something like this near their tank: This is a Calcium Reactor. It takes a mineral, bubbles CO2 through it and feeds the coral. Makes them grow really well. The coral "shell" is calcium carbonate -- note the 'carbon' -- it comes from the CO2 in the ocean water and is fixed by the coral polyp. CO2 is also used in fresh-water aquariums because, it is a plant food. Here is a screen-cap from this page (same vendor): Gotta love that line:

Perfect for calcium reactor and Freshwater Plant CO2 injection applications

Again, the idea that increased CO2 gas in our atmosphere can cause severe acidification in the ocean is abject bullshit and science of the shoddiest order. CO2 is plant food for both terrestrial, littoral and oceanic plant and bacteria.