01112010
Ocean acidification $15B NGO cash grab
By Eco Guy
10:43pm 1st November 2010
The NGO Partnership for Observation of the Global Oceans (POGO) is after $15B upfront, then $5B a year to improve our ability to measure ocean acidification on the basis of a 0.1 change in pH from 8.2 to 8.1. This is monumental waste of money and we explain why.
See here for the original article.
They seem to have forgotten basic logic, and the argument goes somewhat like this:
Either
They have measuring equipment in place today that can satisfactory measure pH and can therefore make this claim.
or
They don't.
Therefore
If they can make the claim about pH, why do they need billions now?
If they don't have measuring equipment today, how can they claim they have measured anything?
Basically, this is just a thinly disguised grab for cash for something that could be measured more accurately and cheaply by:
- updating the Argo buoys to record pH at the required accuracy, you could do this as part of the maintenance cycle;
- provide additional coverage in the areas where coverage is the least.
The other problem with all of this, is that it is not like there is a single 'correct' value for the pH of sea water, depending on the weather conditions and local environmental 'inputs' to the water column - the pH can vary significantly. This looks like another attempt to create an artificial 'global sea water pH value' out of thin air.
Please, forward this onto your local member and complain about this attempt to waste a large amount of money on a none problem. This money could be far better spent on doing so real scientific research that advances the state of art and we should be demanding that more.
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Either
They have measuring equipment in place today that can satisfactory measure pH and can therefore make this claim.
or
They don't.
Therefore
If they can make the claim about pH, why do they need billions now?
If they don't have measuring equipment today, how can they claim they have measured anything?
Basically, this is just a thinly disguised grab for cash for something that could be measured more accurately and cheaply by:
- updating the Argo buoys to record pH at the required accuracy, you could do this as part of the maintenance cycle;
- provide additional coverage in the areas where coverage is the least.
The other problem with all of this, is that it is not like there is a single 'correct' value for the pH of sea water, depending on the weather conditions and local environmental 'inputs' to the water column - the pH can vary significantly. This looks like another attempt to create an artificial 'global sea water pH value' out of thin air.Please, forward this onto your local member and complain about this attempt to waste a large amount of money on a none problem. This money could be far better spent on doing so real scientific research that advances the state of art and we should be demanding that more.