Several months ago the NY Times reported on findings from marine biologists that the amount of organic matter descending to the ocean floor was markedly decreasing. Flora and fauna on the ocean floor often depend on this rain of organic matter (fish waste, pieces of higher dwelling flora and fauna, etc.); a marked decrease could lead to mass starvation of the bottom dwellers.Among the theories offered for the decrease in the organic rain were a combination of global warming, El Nino, ozone depletion, and over-fishing; for example the phytoplankton on the surface die off from too much UV exposure and warmer surface temperature, with a consequent effect on the rest of the food chain.
When creatures on the bottom of the sea begin to starve off because of human activity, it is past time to start worrying. Anyone here (let's not name names) who doubts that globalized corporate capitalism is a menace to the planet ought to consider what's happening on the bottom of the ocean.
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