Ocean acidification troubles U.S. lawmaker

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WASHINGTON, Sept. 25 (UPI) -- A U.S. lawmaker said fallout from ocean acidification won't go away unless there's widespread recognition of global climate change.

A study published by the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration and the University of Georgia said there is a higher level of atmospheric carbon emissions coupled with carbon dioxide released by decaying algal blooms is leading to higher levels of ocean acidification.

NOAA said ocean acidification is putting the seafood industry at risk because of effects on the ecosystem.

U.S. Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, called on his fellow lawmakers to take action to reduce carbon pollution.

"These problems won't go away if we continue to ignore climate change but the millions of jobs linked inextricably to the bounty of our seas surely will," he said in a statement.

The so-called Stop the War on Coal Act passed through the House of Representatives last week. The measure would block the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gases, though it's unlikely to pass through the Senate.

NOAA researchers found that processes leading to ocean acidification were accelerating at a rate that made resource management difficult.