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A royal smackdown - Seattle Times v/s Cliff Mass

A few weeks ago, the Seattle Times did a huge puff-piece about how Carbon Dioxide (the gas of life) was harming the oceans. Now that the enviros can no longer pin it to global warming, they are casting about for other reasons to limit it and drive their Marxist narrative. It was a gorgeous spread with photos of good looking scientists working at the edge of creation trying to figure out what was happening. The "facts" that were presented were a different matter entirely. From Cliff Mass:

Coastal Ocean Acidification: Answering the Seattle Times
A few weeks ago, I blogged about the Seattle Times series on coastal ocean acidification, which dealt with supposedly �lethal,� �corrosive� coastal waters that were killing oyster larvae in some commercial hatcheries a few years ago.

The ST suggested that mankind�s emission of CO2 was having profound effects today on shellfish in Northwest waters. I argued that the ST story was exaggerating the current impacts of CO2 increases and neglected a key point: that the short periods of lowered ph (a measure of acid/base ) were predominantly caused by natural variability. The truth is that mankind's CO2 emission is actually a very minor player in the current problems at local oyster larvae hatcheries.

The response of the Seattle Times to my blog was rapid and pointed. They put up a page on their glossy �Sea Change� web portal saying that my blog �ignores the science� (see above for a sample) and refused to allow me to submit a response that would also be available on their site.

Unfortunately, none of their response to my blog dealt with the scientific questions I raised, rather their defense was that they had talked to the experts. I had a nice interchange with Danny Westneat, one of the few ST staffers with a science background (B.S. Chemistry). But he wasn't interested in talking scientific details either. Just process.

Over the past weeks I have done extensive additional research, including talking to UW specialists in coastal oceanography and ocean acidification, as well as several individuals in the local shellfish industry. I have received nearly 50 emails and comments and more than a dozen calls. Many, including academic researchers and industry insiders, told me I got the facts right. The additional information I have secured has solidified my conclusion that the ST article strayed from key facts and avoided mentioning information that did not fit well with their �story.� The true story is far more complex and nuanced than the ST article suggests.

In this blog, I will go substantially beyond my previous note, with more technical detail and scientific evidence. You judge for yourselves where the truth lies.

Cliff goes into some wonderful detail -- here is just one excerpt that sums up the level of research that went into this post:

To put it another way, the �lethal� waters described in the Seattle Times article are found here:

And NOT here:

That puts a different edge on the issue, doesn't it? As I will discuss later, the oyster larvae factories (located on Washington and Oregon coastal bays) no longer have a problem with oyster larvae death. The problem has been essentially solved. And let me say this again: the shellfish industry is using a non-native oyster species that can�t reproduce successfully here in the NW because our waters are too cold. That is why they have to artificially hatch the larvae in warmed waters in commercial plants.

It is fun too that he brings up Aragonite levels -- if someone wants to grow corals in an aquarium, they will use a Calcium Reactor to boost Aragonite levels. The sole input to the Calcium Reactor? Our dear old friend CO₂... Posted by DaveH at November 18, 2013 7:15 PM