Not nonsense

http://www.whoi.edu/page.do?pid=7545&tid=282&cid=31286&ct=162

"“Acid rain isn’t just a problem of the land; it’s also affecting the ocean,” said Scott Doney, lead author of the study and a senior scientist in the Department of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). “That effect is most pronounced near the coasts, which are already some of the most heavily affected and vulnerable parts of the ocean due to pollution, over-fishing, and climate change.”

In addition to acidification, excess nitrogen inputs from the atmosphere promote increased growth of phytoplankton and other marine plants which, in turn, may cause more frequent harmful algal blooms and eutrophication (the creation of oxygen-depleted “dead zones”) in some parts of the ocean.

Doney collaborated on the project with Natalie Mahowald, Jean-Francois Lamarque, and Phil Rasch of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Richard Feely of the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, Fred Mackenzie of the University of Hawaii, and Ivan Lima of the WHOI Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry Department.

“Most studies have traditionally focused only on fossil fuel emissions and the role of carbon dioxide in ocean acidification, which is certainly the dominant issue,” Doney said. “But no one has really addressed the role of acid rain and nitrogen.”"

and...

"When nitrogen and sulfur compounds from the atmosphere are mixed into coastal waters, the researchers found, the change in water chemistry was as much as 10 to 50 percent of the total changes caused by acidification from carbon dioxide.

This rain of chemicals changes the chemistry of seawater, with the increase in acidic compounds lowering the pH of the water while reducing the capacity of the upper ocean to store carbon.

The most heavily affected areas tend to be downwind of power plants (particularly coal-fired plants) and predominantly on the eastern edges of North America, Europe, and south and east of Asia.

Seawater is slightly basic (pH usually between 7.5 and 8.4), but the ocean surface is already 0.1 pH units lower than it was before the Industrial Revolution. Previous research by Doney and others has suggested that the ocean will become another 0.3 to 0.4 pH units lower by the end of the century, which translates to a 100 to 150 percent increase in acidity."

I wrote a paper on this issue almost 20 years ago...

BTW - the polite reference to CO2 being the "big" culprit here has to do with the politics of Science and political appeasement... not truth.

the coral reefs ARE dissolving...

read up what happens when a reef tank becomes just slightly more acidic than it should...

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article735077.ece


"The shells of coral and other marine life dissolve in acid. The process is happening so fast that many such species, including coral, crabs, oysters and mussels, may become unable to build and repair their shells and will die out, say the researchers."

There are tons of references to shell fish losing the ability to form and maintain their shells... and in cases where they have one, the shell is considerably thinner...

http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/005883.html


Current evidence shows that acidity is destroying the shells of tiny organisms that help absorb enormous amounts of carbon pollution from the atmosphere.

The Guardian reports that growing acidity is already placing pressure on shellfish and other marine life in the Artic and Antarctic.

One thing is for certain... if people keep arguing about it and do nothing and continue going about their business ignoring it and making it worse... the whole planetary ecosystem will crash in a relative blink.

This one mentions the "nitrogen" from power plants...

http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/headline_universe/olpa/acid_coasts_7se...

and this...

http://www.answers.com/topic/fertilizer

High application rates of inorganic nitrogen fertilizers in order to maximize crop yields combined with the high solubilities of these fertilizers leads to increased leaching of nitrates into groundwater. Eventually, nitrate-enriched groundwater makes its way into lakes, bays and oceans where it accelerates the growth of algae, disrupts the normal functioning of water ecosystems and kills fish, a process known as eutrophication. Water may become cloudy and/or discolored (green, yellow, brown, or red). About half of all the lakes in the United States are eutrophic, while the number of oceanic dead zones near inhabited coastlines are increasing.

The use of ammonium nitrate in fertilizers is particularly damaging - plants absorb the ammonium ion preferentially to the nitrate ion - this means that the nitrate ions are not absorbed and therefore are free to be dissolved by rain leading to eutrophication. [20]

Instead of flatly denying or accusing ML of false statements in every single post he makes, you would do well to research a bit first.

grz-

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