BY: ROB OLLIKAINEN, Peninsula Daily News
PORT ANGELES — It would take a global reduction in carbon dioxide emissions to reverse the effects of ocean acidification, members of the Clallam County Marine Resources Committee told county commissioners Monday.
But there are ways to help at the local and state level — pollution control, a reduction in stormwater runoff and investment in more water monitors — to protect shellfish and other species from potentially lethal changes in ocean chemistry, committee members Ed Bowlby and Andrew Shogren said.
“We have to tackle the global aspect, but when possible, when appropriate, to try to tackle it locally to mitigate this onslaught that we can’t do anything about,” Bowlby said.
“That’s a different aspect. That’s going to keep occurring.
“But we can start trying to minimize local contributions within the watershed, the stormwater runoffs, that can cause local ocean acidification.”