February's Personal Nature column by Dominique Browning.

In this month's Personal Nature column, author and writer Dominique Browning looks at the hidden threat of carbon dioxide pollution: ocean acidification.

Ocean Acidification: A Hidden Risk of Global Warming
By Dominique Browning

I love swimming in the ocean, but I also know plenty of people who wouldn't dream of it. There are too many unseen perils: the ominous tug of a current, razor-sharp oyster shells, sting rays buried in the sand and shadowy, slimy things brushing past. Even my fishermen friends, who depend on the ocean for their livelihoods, keep a respectful distance from the waves.

The ocean is awe-inspiring. We were born of it, and it gives us life by producing much of the oxygen we breathe and the water we drink. It is mysterious and vast. No wonder we speak of emptying oceans with teaspoons to describe impossible tasks.

Yet, unfathomably, we have accomplished the impossible. We have changed the basic chemistry of the oceans -- drop by drop -- in such a profound way that we may be destroying a web of life that we depend upon for our very existence. Those ocean creatures should be wary of us -- not the other way around.

The change we've introduced is called ocean acidification.

Please continue this month's column to learn more.

We hope you enjoy.

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