UPDATE: It's not just the heat, it's the acidity (Part III)

Carbon dioxide in water -- also known as "carbonic acid" -- attacking the very base of our food chain. Image via Wikipedia

Meanwhile, as Kurt Schrader pals around with Senator Exxon-Murkowski, those of us in his district can learn a bit more about why climate chaos is going to disrupt everything in Oregon's 5th Congressional District, starting with the base of the food chain in the oceans:

Thursday, April 22, 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Straub Environmental Lecture Series: Dr. Burke Hales
Oregon’s Coastal Carbon Cycle: The Good, the Bad, and the Acidic

Loucks Auditorium, Salem Public Library, 585 Liberty Street SE, Salem

Calcium carbonate is used by many marine organisms to build their shells and exoskeletons. However, changes in the ocean chemistry are changing the concentrations of crucial carbonate ions, making seawater more corrosive to these marine organisms. Upwelling off the Oregon coast is responsible for the rich fisheries and divers ecosystem found there – but also poises the system on the verge of hypoxia and dangerous levels of corrosiveness. Free and open to the public; no RSVP required. Call or email 503-391-4145 or fselc@fselc.org for more information.