CO₂ and Ocean Acidification

Going to require some high-school chemistry but it is an excellent read and completely debunks the Ocean Acidification scam that the global warming people are trying to bring forward now that their precious warming has been dead in the water for the last seventeen years. From Steve Burnett writing at Watts Up With That:

Ocean acidi what?
I have followed Wattsupwiththat for a long time, only posting occasionally if I feel an article or presentation is biased, or if there seems to be some sort of data misrepresentation. I choose to follow watts simply because there is less bias and far more numerical analysis of papers than most other climate news sources. I would certainly consider myself a climate sceptic, but my scepticism is part of everyday analysis for me, I simply don�t believe someone unless they show me the evidence.

It is evidence that is lacking for me on the warmist side of the argument; we simply don�t have a temperature record which is accurate, or long enough to infer some sort of anthropogenic effect. Proxies offer a decent long term view but are poor analogs for climatological variations in the past 200 years or so. Anyone who has worked with computer models should know, they are more likely to display what you want them to display and should always be taken with a grain of salt. Luckily I don�t have to make those arguments; there are plenty of other commentators with better credentials to make those arguments for me. I am but a lowly chemical engineering graduate, who has found neither a job nor academic position in this economy.

Within the past few weeks, a post went up which seemed more interested in ridiculing the author than refuting the claims. I was shocked, and I waited, at first it was a few days, then I let a week pass. All of those people who were more credentialed than I were silent. Certainly there was a comment on Henry�s law but nothing going into the necessary depth for refutation of the claims for doom surrounding ocean acidification. Unfortunately it�s a refutation that we need. Ocean acidification is the carbon controllers pinch hitter, the ace up their sleeve, or other analogous win card.

It�s easy to refute global warming and associated doom based on the contradictory evidence. In the case of ocean acidification its associated doom mechanism is much more difficult. To tackle ocean acidification you need to understand chemistry; pH, alkalinity, buffers, strong vs. weak acids. But you also need to grasp the math; Henry�s law, pH. and equilibrium constants. That�s why most of the time ocean acidification comes up as the last line of defense for carbon controllers, you might not understand it, but neither do they.

Before I begin I would like to acknowledge a couple of points:

Very well presented. Again, some high-school chemistry is needed to follow the formulae but Steve writes well and you can get the gist without having to slog through the math. Basic line -- there is no Ocean Acidification. Never was, never will be. Some problems in fresh water but not with salt.