The latest in a continual stream of bad scientific news about climate is a shocker: within 10 years, the Arctic sea will be so corrosive that it will dissolve the shells of mollusks, mussels, and other shellfish, causing major disruption to the Arctic food web -- including herring, salmon, and baleen whales.
Oh, my tricksy title made you think you'd find recipes? You can find those too -- enjoy while you can!
Grilled Alaskan King Salmon with Lime-Butter Sauce:
Lime-Butter sauce:
1 large garlic clove, chopped fine
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 C (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
Mix all together. While waiting for grill to heat up, sprinkle:
4 pieces Alaskan king salmon, about 1/4 lb each
with lime zest and a dash of olive oil. Grill salmon just until done and pour lime-butter sauce over salmon just before serving.
Grilled corn on the cob makes a great side dish.
(Adapted from Gourmet magazine; photo credit Gourmet.)
Ocean Geochemistry 101: Some* of the excess carbon dioxide emitted by our fossil fuels ends up in the ocean. (I use the word "some" because I've seen estimates between 25% and 50% in this rapidly evolving field of study.) The September 2009 United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) Compendium, updating the 2007 Nobel Prize-winning IPCC report, explains in more detail (p.6 of 8 pg pdf):
- Up to one half of the carbon dioxide (CO2) released by burning fossil fuels over the past 200 years has been absorbed by the world’s oceans
- Absorbed CO2 in seawater (H2O) forms carbonic acid (H2CO3), lowering the water’s pH level and making it more acidic
- This raises the hydrogen ion concentration in the water, and limits organisms’ access to carbonate ions, which are needed to form hard outer shells.
At a Barcelona conference on oceans, a researcher documented how it's worse than he thought:
"We knew the Arctic would be particularly badly affected when we started our studies but I did not anticipate the extent of the problem," said Gattuso.
His research suggests that 10% of the Arctic Ocean will be corrosively acidic by 2018; 50% by 2050; and 100% of the Arctic ocean by 2100. "Over the whole planet, there will be a threefold increase in the average acidity of the oceans, which is unprecedented during the past 20 million years. That level of acidification will cause immense damage to the ecosystem and the food chain, particularly in the Arctic," he added.
A small plankton-eating mollusk, Limacina helicina, will be particularly affected. That mollusk is eaten by herring, salmon, and baleen whales, so its collapse could trigger collapse of the sea creatures that feed upon it.
For those who prefer a video presentation, a trailer from the NRDC video Acid Test starring Sigourney Weaver:
(h/t to Unenergy -- the diary Drawing A Line in the Black Sand is highly recommended)
Rosemary Roasted Alaskan King Salmon:
In large baking pan, arrange 1/2 onion, sliced thin, and 1 large bunch fresh rosemary, evenly. Coat bottom of pan with olive oil thinly. Place a large piece of king salmon (1/4 to 1/3 lb per person) atop the rosemary and onion slices, skin side down. Sprinkle salmon with 1 Tbsp olive oil, salt, pepper, and rosemary sprigs to taste, and garnish with paper-thin slices of lemon. Roast at 350 degrees about 15-20 minutes.
A 2 lb piece of salmon in a 13 x 9 baking dish will make a very impressive holiday dinner for 8.
The author of an entirely separate study, still being written, is briefing Capitol Hill: "We've observing changes that are happening much faster than the climate models have predicted." The climate models predicted the loss of Arctic summer sea ice -- but the models predicted that it would take decades to occur. Instead, the changes have taken place 30 years ahead of time.
Steamed Alaskan King Salmon with Watercress Sauce
Sauce:
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 C. shallots, chopped fine, or shallot chives
Most of 1 bunch watercress, leaves only; reserve a few leaves for garnish
1/3 C. whipping cream
Saute shallots in butter 3-5 minutes. Add watercress and saute just until wilted, about 3 minutes. Add cream and bring to boil. Remove from heat and puree sauce in food processor. Add salt and lots of pepper to taste.
Meanwhile, steam 4 salmon filets, skin side down, 10 minutes, then top with sauce and garnish with reserved watercress leaves.
This is my family's better-than-corned-beef St. Patrick's Day dinner, and thus best served with potatoes. Note: the original Bon Appetit recipe called for steaming the salmon, but I bake the salmon in the oven along with potatoes.
Meanwhile, fisherfolk all along Alaska's Yukon River are hurting because commercial runs of king salmon have dried up entirely. (The Alaskan state constitution requires that salmon be fished sustainably.) They're fishing for less valuable chum salmon but barely covering their expenses. People who used to have summer camps for fishing and winter camps for hunting are in such dire straits that governor Sean Parnell is seeking federal disaster relief aid. Managers of the salmon run aren't sure why commercial salmon along the Yukon has dried up, but suspect ocean conditions. Officials with state and federal fish and wildlife services likewise suspect variations in ocean conditions, either natural or climate change.
None of the above means the utter and immediate extinction of salmon; the fish just got some good news in Olympic National Park, along the Elwha River and along the Klamath River (6 pg pdf). However, things don't look good for Arctic fish in the long run. Further, ocean acidification is still being studied by climate scientists, and as I understand matters, will have impacts far beyond the limited Arctic region.
I am a selfish environmentalist. I want to save polar bears, walrus, and other critters threatened by climate change. But I'm equally concerned about people: people in Alaska who catch salmon for a living, people outside of Alaska who eat salmon for dinner, and the rest of the human race. In the medium-to-long run, if we can't stop carbon pollution from fossil fuels, the Arctic waters will become too corrosive to support a food chain. The Kerry-Boxer bill is the United States' best chance to bring carbon pollution down to a manageable level by 2020. I hope that Alaskan Senators Mark Begich (D-AK) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) understand the impact their vote will have on their state's future.