Climate change doubling effects

In addition to climate change, the increased atmospheric concentration of C02 is likely to have wide-spread ecological effects in various environments, since C02 is a physiologically active gas, in plants as well as animals. The acidic nature of C02 will also lead to changes in the chemistry of the ocean s surface, which is in equilibrium with the atmosphere. Once the shift in the oceanic chemical balance becomes significant, it will affect ecosystems. It has been shown, for example, that doubling C02 concentration in the atmosphere will reduce the rate of calcium carbonate deposition in coral reefs by 30-40% (Langdon et al., 2000). 

Edmonds and Reilly conclude (p.275) "Because it is so far in the future, affecting our children s lives more directly than our own, the CO2 question has an unreal aura about it. It lacks the impact of an oil embargo. Yet the question is real and while the work we present here indicates that major man-made climate changes may not be waiting just beyond the turn of the century, we do find that CO2 concentrations will almost certainly double within 100 years the magnitude of the temperature and climate change in response to projected increases in atmospheric CO2 and the associated effects on human societies remain uncertain."... 

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