The plan addresses ocean acidification—like climate change, a consequence of rising atmospheric CO2 levels—in the context of other threats such as polluted runoff, warming temperatures, and rising seas. It promotes local solutions that are likely to provide multiple benefits—from improving water quality to promoting healthy seagrass, marsh, and kelp forest habitats. The plan, one of the first released by a member of the International Alliance to Combat Ocean Acidification, identifies six key strategies, and outlines five-year goals and actions for each. “We hope this plan can serve as a model for other jurisdictions that are looking to address ocean acidification and global ocean change through concrete and targeted local, regional, multidisciplinary and scalable activities,” says the Council’s Jennifer Phillips. CHT

Pearls in the ocean of information that our reporters didn’t want you to miss
 

In response to the critical threat that changing ocean chemistry poses to both ecosystems and economies, the California Ocean Protection Council adopted the state’s first Ocean Acidification Action Plan on October 25. The plan addresses ocean acidification—like climate change, a consequence of rising atmospheric CO2 levels—in the context of other threats such as polluted runoff, warming temperatures, and rising seas. It promotes local solutions that are likely to provide multiple benefits—from improving water quality to promoting healthy seagrass, marsh, and kelp forest habitats. The plan, one of the first released by a member of the International Alliance to Combat Ocean Acidification, identifies six key strategies, and outlines five-year goals and actions for each. “We hope this plan can serve as a model for other jurisdictions that are looking to address ocean acidification and global ocean change through concrete and targeted local, regional, multidisciplinary and scalable activities,” says the Council’s Jennifer Phillips. CHT

About the author

Cariad Hayes Thronson covers legal and political issues for Estuary News. She has served on the staffs of several national publications, including The American Lawyer. She is a long-time contributor to Estuary News, and some years ago served as its assistant editor. She lives in San Mateo with her husband and two children.

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