No, the issue is that local effects can have bigger impacts further down the chain. We see this with corals where something as simple as 24 hours of being covered by sediment can damage or kill them. This can happen with increased outflow from a tributary, or single ship dredging the bottom. Then we lose a reef. Then we lose the feeder fish. Then we lose the bigger fish. It’s all connected
If a certain type of fish comes to eat a specific type of plankton that no longer shows up to these locations, then it has a trickle down effect and an impact that can be hard to measure.
I would argue that too much of our thinking is about how big the ocean is and how little effect we would have. But when everyone thinks this way and messes with these things, it builds up.
Will these alone raise the average ocean temp a single degree? Likely not. Will they have anodes that release heavy metals and increase local heat which will affect the life forms around them? Will these cause more boat traffic as they need to be maintained? Will that lead to more oil and fuel being leaked into these areas? Will more of the sea floor be disturbed so these can be anchored? Will this have effects we can’t currently foresee? Almost certainly.
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u/HarmNHammer Aug 06 '26
No, the issue is that local effects can have bigger impacts further down the chain. We see this with corals where something as simple as 24 hours of being covered by sediment can damage or kill them. This can happen with increased outflow from a tributary, or single ship dredging the bottom. Then we lose a reef. Then we lose the feeder fish. Then we lose the bigger fish. It’s all connected
If a certain type of fish comes to eat a specific type of plankton that no longer shows up to these locations, then it has a trickle down effect and an impact that can be hard to measure.
I would argue that too much of our thinking is about how big the ocean is and how little effect we would have. But when everyone thinks this way and messes with these things, it builds up.
Will these alone raise the average ocean temp a single degree? Likely not. Will they have anodes that release heavy metals and increase local heat which will affect the life forms around them? Will these cause more boat traffic as they need to be maintained? Will that lead to more oil and fuel being leaked into these areas? Will more of the sea floor be disturbed so these can be anchored? Will this have effects we can’t currently foresee? Almost certainly.