Ocean Policy Task Force report misses the target on ocean acidification

The White House Council on Environmental Quality today released the Final Recommendations of the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force, whose 24 senior-level officials spent the last year developing recommendations "to enhance our ability to maintain healthy, resilient, and sustainable ocean, coasts, and Great Lakes resources for the benefit of present and future generations." The report acknowledges ocean acidification as posing "serious threats" to ecosystems and coastal communities, and notes that ocean acidification is "expected to have significant and largely negative
impacts on the marine food web, ocean ecosystems as a whole and biological diversity in general." While the document is earning measured praise from environmental organizations, such as the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), as being a step in the right direction, a question remains: Does it go far enough? The drafters recommend efforts to "strengthen resiliency of coastal communities and marine and Great Lakes environments and their abilities to adapt to climate change impacts and ocean acidification." But as the CBD points out, the report depicts ocean acidification as something to be adapted to. There are no recommendations in the 96-page report for taking the necessary steps to avoid continued acidification. Clearly, more pressure is needed on lawmakers.