Download how protecting trees preserves oceans

Carbon Neutral Surfing Events Forest protection is vital in keeping the Earth’s oceans healthy. Trees directly benefit oceans, lakes and streams by preventing water pollution, breaking rainfall and allowing water to flow down tree trunks and into the Earth below the trees. This prevents storm water from carrying pollutants to nearby bodies of water. Forests also act as water filters, collecting and storing water and recharging the ground water supply, preventing flooding and the transport of chemicals into streams. In addition to the direct benefits that trees provide oceans, protecting primary forests has a significant impact on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Forest protection mechanisms like REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) protect the world’s most highly threatened forests while reducing global emissions, in turn lessening the impact that climate change has on oceans. Without forests, the threats to oceans would become insurmountable. FOREST PROTECTION = HEALTHIER OCEANS The more carbon (CO2) people pump into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels, the more oceans will absorb. Forests help lessen the devastating impacts of CO2 in oceans by sequestering CO2. If we do not adequately protect our world’s threatened forests, oceans will disproportionally soak up more and more CO2 until global warming heats oceans enough to slow down ocean circulation. Water trapped at the surface would become saturated, at which point oceans would slow their CO2 uptake. If oceans start to take up less CO2 because of climate change, more is left in the atmosphere where it can contribute to additional warming (NASA Earth Observatory 2008). OCEAN ACIDIFICATION & CO2 SEQUESTRATION Protecting the world’s threatened forests helps mitigate ocean acidification by reducing levels of CO2 in the atmosphere. Ocean acidification is occurring because oceans are absorbing increasing amounts of CO2, leading to lower pH and greater acidity. Over the last 250 years, the atmospheric concentration of CO2 has increased immensely due to the burning of fossil fuels and land use change (e.g., conversion of forests). This is causing a sea change and threatening the fundamental chemical balance of oceans and affecting and all ocean life (NOAA Ocean Acidification Program 2011). INCREASED WATER LEVELS Over the past century, GHG emissions have caused the Earth's surface temperature to rise with oceans absorbing about 80% of this additional heat. This has resulted in thermal expansion in ocean waters and melting of glaciers and polar ice caps, causing rising sea levels. This trend puts thousands of coastal cities at risk of destructive erosion; flooding of wetlands; contamination of aquifers and agricultural soils; lost biodiversity habitat; bigger, more powerful storm surges; and even risk of being completely claimed by the ocean (National Geographic 2014). Protecting native forests lessens the effects of these damaging consequences by allowing large CO2-­‐absorbing trees to remain standing, thus slowing global warming. DECREASED WAVE HEIGHTS Researchers have concluded that annual average wave heights will be smaller than current averages over a larger percentage of the globe compared to where they will be bigger by the end of this century, severely impacting the global surf community (Nature Climate Change 2013). THREATS TO CORAL REEFS The World Resources Institute suggests that by 2030, over 90% of coral reefs will be threatened. If action isn't taken soon, nearly all reefs will be threatened by 2050. These threats include overfishing, coastal development, pollution, and climate change. If coral reefs are lost, 500 million people's livelihoods worldwide would be threatened as coastal communities lose protection from storms, a source of food security and tourism (Huffington Post 2011).