OurChangingOceans:TheDeadZoneofftheOregon

andWashingtonCoastsCreatinganEnvironmentaland

EconomicDisaster

byChristopherColella

1

ExecutiveSummary

Everysummersince2002,anareawithlowlevelsofdissolvedoxygen,calleda“dead

zone”,hasformedoffofthecoastsofOregonandWashington.Deadzoneshavesolittle

oxygenthattheycannolongersupportmostmarinelife.Deadzonesarecommonoccurrences

inplaceswithlargeamountsofindustrialoragriculturalrunoff,butOregonandWashingtondo

nothavesignificantamountsofpollutionintheaffectedareas.Thereasonforthisdeadzoneis

climatechange.Asglobaltemperaturesrise,windpatternschangeandthiscausesupwelling

alongthewestcoastofNorthAmerica.Theupwellingcausesalgaebloomsthatcauseahypoxic

zoneintheregionthatisdeadlytomarinelife.Oceanacidificationalsocontributestothe

problemsassociatedwiththedeadzonebylimitingtheabilityofcertainorganismsto

repopulateafterlossessufferedbecauseofhypoxia.Thedeadzoneisadangertoour

environmentbecauseitdestroysmarinehabitatandcausesmassivelossestomarinelife,

particularlytolowerlevelsofthefoodchainthatmanyotherspeciesaredependentonfor

food.ThedeadzonewillalsonegativelyaffecttheeconomiesofbothWashingtonandOregon,

whicharehighlydependentoncommercialandrecreationalfishing,wildlifeviewing,andother

maritimeactivities.Theseindustrieswilltakesignificantdamageifthedeadzonepersistsor

worsens.CurrentlyworkisbeingdoneatOregonStateUniversitytounderstandhowwecan

bettercombatthedeadzoneandaddresstheproblemsassociatedwithit;Washingtonhas

doneverylittletoresearchoraddressthedeadzone.Whatmustbedoneinordertocorrect

thedeadzone,oratleastkeepitfromgettingworse,istoslowandstopclimatechange,which

isthecauseofthedeadzone,bylimitinggreenhousegasemissionstosafelevelsandinvesting

inthefutureofourplanet.

2

Introduction

Everysummerforthepastfourteenyears,a“deadzone”,alsocalleda“hypoxiczone”

hasformedoffthecoastofOregon.“Hypoxia”meansalackofoxygenandisdefinedasbeing

lessthan3-5milligramsofdissolvedoxygenperliterofwater(dependingonwhattheusual

levelsofoxygenareinthegivenarea),andcanbecome“anoxia”(“nooxygen”)ifthereisless

than0.5milligramsofdissolvedoxygenperliter.Deadzonesareareasofoceanwaterwithso

littledissolvedoxygenthattheycannotsupportmostmarinelife,causingmassivelossesof

marinelifeandhavingmajorimpactsonthemarineecosystemofthePacificNorthwest.This

paperwilllookintothecausesofthisdeadzoneandothersaroundtheworld.Itwillalso

investigatewhattheimpactofthedeadzonehasbeenandwillbeinthefuture,both

environmentallyandeconomically.Finally,Iwilllookatwhatisbeingdoneandwhatcanbe

doneaboutthedeadzoneatthepolicylevel.Thiseventisunprecedentedandisadisasterfor

bothWashingtonandOregon,andeventuallymayhavedevastatingenvironmentaland

economiceffectsonaglobalscale.

ABriefOverviewofOtherDeadZonesintheWorld

MostDeadzonesarecausedbyagriculturaland,sometimes,industrialrunoff.Ofthe

hundredsofdeadzonesintheworld,mostofthemarecausedbyfertilizersandother

pollutantspumpingthroughriversandstreamsandemptyingintolakesandoceans.Nutrients

inthisrunoffcauselargebloomsofalgaethatreachtoohighofapopulationfortheecosystem

tosustain.Afterconsumingallofthenutrients,thealgaedie,sinktothebottom,andbeginto

decompose.Thedecompositionprocessconsumesoxygenfromthewaterand,withmillionsof

decomposingalgaecontributing,leavesthewaterunlivableformarinelife.Fish,crabs,and

otherfasteranimalswillbeabletoswim,crawl,orpropelthemselvesawaytomoreoxygen-

richwaters,butsloweranimalsoronesthatarestationary,suchasseaslugs,barnacles,orsea

anemones,will,atbest,sufferseverestress,oratworst,die.Theseanimalsthataresloweror

3

immobilegenerallymakeuplowerlevelsofthefoodchainandthereforetheirdeathwillcause

seriousdamagetofoodwebsandthemarineenvironmentiftheydieordonotbreedasthey

normallydo.Thesedeadzonesarecommoninareasoftheworldwhereagricultural,

residential,andindustrialrunoffendsup,suchastheGulfofMexico,ChesapeakeBay,andthe

BalticSea.

TheCausesoftheDeadZoneofftheOregonandWashingtonCoasts

ItisstrangethatoneofthesedeadzoneswouldoccuroffthecoastsofOregonand

Washingtonbecausethisareadoesnothavesignificantpollutioninourwater,atleastwhen

comparedtootherareaswheredeadzonesarecommon.Inadditiontothis,thecauseofthe

deadzonehasnotalwaysbeenclear,eventoscientists.FishermanJimEmorysaidaboutthe

deadzone,“there’sallkindsofcyclesintheocean,”passingthisoff,notasaproblem,butan

opportunity,seeingashowcrabcatcheshavereachedrecordamountsinrecentyears(Yardley,

2006).BillWechter,acrabbersaid“theysayit’sglobalwarmingandit’s[formerpresident

George]Bush’sfault,anditjustgoesonandon”(Yardley,2006).Butitisnotjustfisherman

whohaddoubtsabouttheconnectionofhumansandthedeadzone.JaneLubchenco,amarine

ecologistatOregonStateUniversitystatedin2006that“wecan’tsaywithabsolutecertainty

thatthishasneverhappenedbefore”meaningthatshewasnotonehundredpercentsurethat

thisdeadzonehasbeencausedbyhumans(Yardley,2006).Theconditionsthathavecaused

thishypoxiczonearecertainlyveryuncommoncircumstances,buttheycanberelatedbackto

humans,despitenotseemingtobethecauseatfirst.Ifwedivedeeperintotheissueathand,a

differentpicturebeginstoform.

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Althoughthelinkbetweenhumansandthedeadzonecanseemtobeabitblurry,upon

furtherinvestigationwefindthathuman-causedclimatechangeisclearlytoblameforit.We

canseehowthedeadzonehasbeen

causedbyclimatechangebydelvingdeeper

intothisissue.Thedeadzonehasbeen

observedandfollowedeverysummersince

2002,andhasnotbeenseeninhistorical

databeforethen.Thedeadzone,asfaras

weknow,hasnothappenedinrecent

historywhilehumanshaveoccupiedthe

PacificNorthwest.Anothermarine

ecologistfromOregonStateUniversity,FrancisChan,saidthat“peoplesay‘ohthere’salways

beendeadzones,’butwhenIlookattheentiredatawehave,Ijustdon’tseethenumbersin

thehistoricalrecord”(Yardley,2006).Thewayitworksisthatanthropogenic(human-caused)

climatechangehascausedchangesinthewarmingofthelandandseas,whichleadstomore

unpredictabilityinweatherpatterns,notablywinds.Whenwindpatternschange,high

northerlywindspushwaterthatisclosertothesurfaceoutintothedeeperocean.Waterfrom

deeperintheoceanthatisrichinnutrientsbutlowerinoxygenwillflowtowardstheshoreto

fillinthespaceleftbythewaterblownawaybythewinds.Thisprocessiscalled“upwelling”

andisdeadlytoecosystemsnotproperlysuitedforit.Thealgaewillthenbloominthenutrient-

richwater,justlikeinanyothersoon-to-bedeadzone.

TwocommonspeciesofalgaethatbloomoffofthecoastarePseudo-nitzchiaspp.and

Alexandriumcatenella,whichproduceneurotoxinsdomoicacidandsaxitoxinrespectively,

makingthemincreasinglyhazardoustomarinelifeandevenhumanhealth(WashingtonDF&W,

n.d.).Theonlyothertimesgeologicaldatashowssimilarconditionswereduringthetwo

warmingperiodsthatendedthelasticeage.Bothtimesexperiencedmarinedie-offsandwere

causedbyrisingglobaltemperatures,soitisasafeassumptionthatrisingglobaltemperatures

arecausingthisdeadzone,andthatweshouldexpectharmtomarinelife.JaneLubchenco,

whopreviouslyhadsaidthatshewasnotsureabouttheclimatechangelink,saidthatsheis

Source:WikimediaCommons

5

almostcompletelysureitiscausedbyclimatechange,addingthat“low-oxygenzonesoffthe

northwestcoastappeartobethenewnormal”(Weiss,2008).Eventhoughhumansdonot

appeardirectlyresponsibleforthedeadzonelikeinmanyothercases,suchastheGulfof

MexicoorChesapeakeBay,wearedirectlyresponsibleforthewarmingoftheatmospherethat

iscausingashiftinworldwideweatherpatterns.Despitesomeuncertaintyatfirst,theclear

causeofthedeadzoneishuman-causedclimatechange.Scientistsarenowinagreementof

thatfact,howeverscientistsarenotcertainofwhatsortoflong-lastingeffectswillbeleft

behind.

OtherChangesintheOceanChemistryoftheNortheastPacificOcean

Inordertofigureoutwhatsortoflong-termrepercussionsthedeadzonewillhave,we

needtofirstexamineothercontributingfactorstothechangingoceanchemistryinthePacific

Northwest.Thefirstofthesecontributorsisanunusualpatchofwarmwaterdubbed“the

Blob.”Discoveredin2014,theBlobisabout1-4ºCwarmerthannormaltemperatureseawater

shouldbeinthisareaundernormal

conditions(Universityof

Washington,2015).TheBlobis

quitelargeandextends

approximatelyathousandmilesin

eachdirectionandisthree-hundred

feetdeep.Itdoesnotappeartobe

causedbyclimatechange,insteadit

seemstobecausedbythePacific

DecadalOscillation,butitdoes

provideuswithafairlyaccuratesampleofwhatweexpectoftheoceaninresponsetoclimate

change.NickBond,aclimatescientistattheUW-basedJointInstitutefortheStudyofthe

AtmosphereandOcean,saidthat“thisisatasteofwhattheoceanwillbelikeinfuture

decades.”TwootherBlobshavesincebeendiscoveredinsouthernCaliforniaandMexicoandin

Source:NOAA

6

theBeringSea,whichcouldspelldisasterfortheseareas.These“blobs”ofwarmwater

interruptfoodwebsinthePacificOceanandarecausingdamagetomarineecosystems.The

warmerwatersarelessnutrient-richandthereforearenotanoptimalenvironmentforalgae

andplanktonthatareatthebottomofthefoodchain.Thiscouldmeanhopefortheareas

sufferingfromthedeadzones.Unfortunately,thishopeisshort-livedbecausetheBlobdoes

notextenddeepenoughtowarmthedeepwaterthatispushedtowardsthecoastinthe

upwellingprocess.Intheend,therearetwoextremesituations,oneinwhichalgaecannot

grow,andonewheretoomuchalgaegrows,andasaresultmarinelifeeitherdiesbecauseofa

lackofdissolvedoxygeninthewaterorbecausefoodchaindisruption,orevenbothofthem.

TheBlobhasplentyofnastyeffectsonmarineecosystemsandismerelyaglimpseofwhatisto

comeforus,butitisfarfromtheonlyothercontributortoourchangingoceans.

Oceanacidificationalsohasaneffectonthedeadzoneandthemarineenvironmentof

thePacificNorthwest.Oceanacidificationiswhathappenswhencarbondioxideinthe

atmospheredissolvesinwaterandbecomescarbonicacid,loweringthepHoftheocean.This

contributestoproblemscausedbyhypoxia.Oceanacidificationisthreateningbecausehigh

numbersofmarineorganismshavehighlycalcifiedshellsthatcannotformifthewateristoo

acidic.Examplesoftheseorganismswouldbeclams,crabs,barnacles,andcertainzooplankton.

Oneoftheterribleeffectsofoceanacidificationcanbeseenalready:since2004,Pacificoysters

havenotgrowninthewild(Kennedy,2009).Itisverydisturbingtoimaginethatthemost

commonlygrownoysterintheworldandamajorpartoftheeconomyofWashingtonstate

cannotgrowanymoreinthewild.Whathappenedtotheoystersmaysoonhappentoagreat

numberofmarinespeciesofftheWashingtoncoastandallaroundtheworld.Ocean

acidificationpreventscalcifiedorganismssuchasbarnacles,clams,andsnailsfromforming

strongenoughshellstoreachmaturity.Thisisnotonlyharmfultothespeciesandecosystem

7

immediately,butitslowsandpreventstheregrowthoftheecosystemafterahypoxicevent.As

yearsgoonandthehypoxiczonepersists,onlylastingforlongerandlongertimeperiodseach

yearasweathergetsmoreextreme,organismsthatrequireahigherpHtomakeitinto

adulthoodwillbeappearinglessandlessduetoaninabilitytoreproduceandmaturefast

enoughbeforethenexthypoxic

event,furtherupsettingthebalance

oftheecosystem.Oceanacidification

canalsoincreasethetoxicityof

certainharmfulalgalblooms(HABs)

thatproducedangerouschemicalsin

additiontoconsumingoxygen.HABs,

whichhavebeenrecordedoffthe

coastsofOregonandWashington,

cancontainalgaethatproduce

dangerouschemicalssuchashydrogensulfideandvariousneurotoxins,increasingrisksposed

bythehypoxiaexistingintheseareas.Oceanacidificationwillcontinuetohavedevastating

effectsonourenvironment,bothonitsownandinconjunctionwithotherclimatechange-

relatedeventssuchasdeadzonesandwarmspotsinthesea.

TheEnvironmentalImpactofDeadZonesinthePacificNorthwest

Butcertainlythiscannotposeanimmediatethreattous,right?Climatechangeis

supposedtobeaslowprocessthatoccursoverthenextfewcenturies,isitnot?Well,sadly,we

areexperiencingthebeginningsofwhatclimatechangelookslike,andwearedefinitelygoing

tocontinueseeingtheeffectsofahypoxicnortheastPacific.Annualdeathofspeciesthatare

stationaryorslower-movingsuchasclamsorseacucumbersthatcannotescapethehypoxic

zoneintimeisoneoftheserepercussionsthatwillbecomethenewnormal.Somemarinelife,

suchasfishorlobster,arefastenoughthattheycanescapethehypoxiczonealmostassoonas

theyrealizetheyarenotgettingenoughoxygen,andwhenoxygenreturnstonormal,theywill

8

returntoafeastofdeadclamsforthemtoeat.Thisiswhycrabpopulationshaveactually

explodedrecently,butitcannotlast.Manyothercreatures,arenotsoluckyintheirabilityto

movequickly,ifatall.Ontopofthat,thereisalsotheimpactoffishmovingaroundtonewand

differentareasinordertoescapethedeadzone.Withfishswimmingawayfromthehypoxic

zonetonewareastheyriskupsettingthecarefulbalanceofthisnewecosystem.Mostfishwill

simplybemoreabundantinanareawheretheyalreadywerebefore,hopefullyreaching

equilibriumwiththatenvironmentinafewyears.Butsomefishwillfindterritorythathasnot

beenvisitedbytheirspeciesregularlyandcouldbeharmfultothelocalplantsandanimals,

outcompetingnativeanimalsandleadingtoecosystemcollapseintheseareasoutsideofthe

deadzone.Thisrequiresthatthefishmoveontootherplaces,repeatingthiscycle.Although

theseshort-termeffectsmayseemmild,theycancauseseriousharmtothemarine

environmentofthePacificNorthwest.Theseshort-termeffectsofthedeadzonearethings

thatwewillbeseeingannuallyeveryyearforthenextfewdecades,anddependingonwhatwe

dotocontrolclimatechange,maybewhatwearestuckwithinthefuture,ormaybewhatwe

wishwecouldhavebeenstuckwith.

Thegoodnewsisthataslongasthedeadzonedoesnotgetworse,thenthelong-term

effectswillbeminimal.Thebadnewsisthatifclimatechangecontinuesgettingworse,sowill

thedeadzone.Ifshelledcreaturescannotproperlybreedandreachmaturityintime,theywill

slowlybegindyingoffandeventuallywillnotbeabletoreturnthenextyeartoreplacethe

onesthatwerelostinthedeadzone.This

windowofopportunityisseverelycutshort

asthedeadzonegetsworseovertheyears.

Ifthehypoxiczonecontinuestogrowand

expandinsizeandduration,thentherewill

belesstimetorebuildareasundermore

difficultconditions.Thenextlogicalstepis

thattheentirefoodchainsuffersduetothe

lossesatthelowerlevelsandwebegin

seeingthedisappearanceofanimalshigherupthefoodchain.Largerfishandanimalsthat

9

wouldnormallyescapethedeadzonearesuddenlynolongerfoundinourcoastalwaters

becausetheystarvedtodeathortheypermanentlymigratedawaytowheretherewasfood.

Thisleavesourcoastsdevoidofmostmarinelifethatiscurrentlythere;barrenundersea

wastelands.Theselong-termchangesofthedeadzonewillcauseenvironmentaldamagethat

leavesuswithouttheresourcesthatweoncehad,buttheenvironmentisnottheonlything

thatwillsuffer.TheeconomiesofbothWashingtonandOregonarehighlydependentonthe

marinelifeourcoastsofferandwilltakeamajorhitduetothehypoxiczone.

TheEconomicImpactofDeadZonesinthePacificNorthwest

Theeffectthatthehypoxiczonewillhaveonthe

environmentwillbemirroredinadevastatingeconomic

impactonWashingtonstate.Thevacancyleftinthe

economybythedevastationofmarineandfishing

marketsmaynotbefilledbyaneweconomicmarket,

whichcanandwillseverelydamagetheeconomic

capabilitiesofthestate.Seattle’smaritimeindustrywill

takeseverehitsduetolossesinfishingcatches,

recreation,andwildlifeviewing,hitsfromwhichitmay

notbeabletorecover.Seattle’smaritimeindustry

supportsmorethantwenty-twothousandjobsand

contributes$2.1billiontothelocaleconomyeveryyear

(Kennedy,2009).Ifthisindustryweretobedamaged

becauseofmassivedie-offsoffishoffofthe

Washingtoncoast,ourstate’seconomicactivitywould

bedamagedpossiblybeyondrepair.Asmentioned

earlier,thePacificOysterhasnotsuccessfully

reproducedinthewildsince2004,leadingtomore

toweredfarminginsteadofgrowingitinthewild.Theshellfishindustryofthewestcoast,

Source:WikimediaCommons

10

especiallyWashington,isabsolutelyhuge;WillapaBayprovidesonesixthoftheUnitedStates’

oysters,andwillbeseverelydamagedbyHABs,hypoxia,andacidification(Kennedy,2009).The

shellfishindustryofthewestcoastbringsinapproximately$111millioneveryyear(Kennedy,

2009).DamagingthesekeyindustriesinWashingtonwillcausesignificantharmtoourlocal

economy,andwillrippleouttohavealargereffectonthenationaleconomyaswell.

Washingtonstatereliesheavilyontheoceanforeconomicbenefit.Oureconomywillbe

severelydamagedifthehypoxiczoneisnotmanagedproperly.AlthoughWashingtonwilltake

hugehitsifthedeadzonegetsoutofcontrol,westillhaveplentyofotherindustriestohelp

keepoureconomyfromtankinginthenearfutureduetoenvironmentaldisaster.However,our

neighborsdownsouthinOregondonothaveasmuchofasafetynetasusandmaynotbeable

torecoveraseasily.

Theeconomicimpactofthedeadzoneon

Oregonwillbemuchworsethanitisin

WashingtonbecauseOregonhasfewerindustries

otherthanfishingandrelatedmaritimeactivities.

TheOregonStatelegislaturedeterminedin2010

thatrecreationalfishingandwildlifeviewing,

alongwithanyrelatedexpensescontribute$873

milliontotheOregoneconomy,andwouldbe

lostifthedeadzonepersists(TheOregonState

Legislature,2010).Anysortofreductioninfish

populationswillleadtonegativeeffectsonthe

economyfromwhichitmaynotbeabletorecover.Thisisbecausethefoodwebsofthe

CaliforniaCurrentsupportfisheriesofgreateconomicimportancetothewestcoast.The

CaliforniaCurrentrunsalongthewestcoastandsupportsmost,ifnotall,ofourmajorfisheries

alongthewestcoast.Othercurrentsaroundtheworldalsosupportmajorfisheries,suchasthe

HumboldtCurrentinPeruandtheBenguelaCurrentinSouthAfrica.TheBenguelaCurrenthas

seensimilardeadzonestotheoneweareexperiencinghere.Adisruptionofthefoodwebsand

ofthemarinehealthoffthecoastofOregonwouldcauseintenseeconomicturmoilforthe

Source:NOAA

11

state,evenworsethaninWashingtonandCalifornia.So,withalltheseeminglyinevitable

environmentalandeconomicturmoilwearegoingtoface,isanyonedoinganythingaboutthis?

Isthereanythingthatcanbedoneaboutit?

PossibleSolutionstotheDeadZone

WiththewaythecurrentaffectsthestatesofWashingtonandOregon,youcanexpect

bothstatestobeworkinghardtoresearchandfindsolutionstomitigatetheproblems

associatedwiththehypoxiczone.Oregonhascontinuedtoresearchthedeadzoneandhas

madeitapriorityoftheirstatelegislaturetoexamineexactlyhowthiswouldaffectthe

economyandenvironmentinthestate,andhopes

tofindasolutiontotheproblem.Significant

researchhasbeendoneatOregonState

Universityonthesubject,includingdesigning

underwaterglidersthatsavemoneyandwork

betterthantraditionaltechniques.Washington,

ontheotherhand,hasdoneverylittleto

recognizethedeadzoneortrytofindsolutionsto

it.ThiscouldbebecauseOregonisalreadydoingeverythingintheirpower,andtheideaisthat

oncetheyknowhowtosolveitwecanjustdowhattheydo,ormaybewearetoopessimistic

aboutitanddonotthinkthereisanythingwecando.Somestudieshavebeendoneatthe

UniversityofWashington,butotherthanbeingoffhandedlymentionedinreports,andstudy

doneintheearly-2000s,thereisnotmuchthatcouldbefoundaboutthesubject.Oregonis

doingmuchmoretotrytocorrectthedeadzoneandseehowwecanworkarounditthan

Washington,butWashingtonmaybedoingtherightthingbydoingnothingaboutitbecause

thereisnoapparentsolutiontotheproblem.However,justbecausethereisnoapparent

solutiontothisproblem,doesthatmeanthatthereisnosolutionatall?

PossiblesolutionstothedeadzoneproblemoffthecoastofthePacificNorthwestrange

fromdifficulttonearlyimpossibleatthestatelevel,butthereareactionsthatcanbetakento

Source:NationalScienceFoundation

12

helpmitigateproblems.Becausethedeadzoneiscausedbyclimatechange,wecouldlimit

statewide,orbetteryetworldwide,emissionsofgreenhousegases,whichwouldhopefully

preventfurtherdamagetotheecosystem.Oneofthecausesofthedeadzoneisclimate

change,thebiggestdriverofthatbeinggreenhousegasemissions,sotheonlywaytotruly

preventfuturespreadofthedeadzoneandtopossiblyeliminateitwouldbetosignificantly

reduceemissions.Ouroptiontoadaptisthatwemustandaresearchingfornewfishingspots.

Thisisalreadyhappening,seeinginrecentyearshaveseenrecordcatchesofcrabsandother

fishaswemoveintopreviouslyuntappedareas.However,everyyear,duetothemanyfactors

involvedintheoceanenvironment,thesechangeandbecomemoresparse,andwecannotrely

simplyonadaptation.Onthedownside,thereisnotmuchwecando,butwecanstilldoit;we

needtobothadapttothechangesanddoourbesttopreventfurtherchange.Itisentirely

possiblethatifthisissuepersists,therewillnotbeanynewfishingspotstomoveto.Inalotof

situationsinvolvingclimatechange,weareeithertoldthatweneedtoeitherpreventchanges

orlearntoadapt,howeverwehavepassedatippingpoint,andwewillneedtodoourbestto

preventfurtherchangesandadaptinordertofindnewwaystomakeupfortheeconomic

lossesofachangingplanet.

Conclusion

HypoxiczonesarebecomingacommonoccurrenceinthePacificNorthwestandinthe

entireworld,andthezoneswillhavedevastatingeffectsonourplanet,oureconomy,andour

societyifsomethingisnotdoneaboutthem.Ourdecisionsregardingwhattodoaboutthis

deadzoneandotherslikeitnowwillhavelastingeffectsforthenextfewgenerations.Wehave

seenhypoxiceventshappeninthepastthroughourstudyingoflayersintheEarth’scrustand

oficeandsedimentcores,anditalmostneverendswell.Whilethegreaterissuesofclimate

changemayseemdauntingornotworthit,weareexperiencingfirsthandtheproblemsthat

comeinthefutureandweneedtogetpeopleawareandinvolved.Becausethisisaglobal

issue,andwearenottheonlyoneswhoarefacingthistypeofdeadzone;globalclimateaction

13

isnotonlynecessaryforthesurvivalofourpeopleandourplanet,contrarytopopularbeliefit

isnecessaryforthesurvivalofoureconomy,weneedaction,andweneeditnow.

14

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