Page 24 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - November 2013 Edition

The Bucketlist and the “Bucketeers of Life” The Bucket List and the “Bucketeers of Life” Continued From Page 21 The Wooden Bucketeers: The “Wooden Buckets” are carried by those who live their lives on a day to day basis. Some people take care of their buckets, maintaining the integrity of the bucket, being very cautious not to let their buck over flow or spill it’s contents. But they are also the people who simply do not understand that in time their bucket will rot and they will lose everything that their bucked once held - their very prized possessions, their dreams, their aspirations, their very essence. Bucketeers because their buckets show the signs acid, which decreases the overall pH of the The Glass Bucketeers: Next are those of constant wear and tear and of the many oceans. Since the Industrial Revolution, the who carry the “Glass Buckets,” … and I’ll bet repairs that they have made over the years ocean has become about 25 to 30 percent more you they sell them at Pier 1 Imports, Bombay or helping those with leaking wooden and acidic, scientists estimate. [Top 10 Surprising even IKEA. The people who carry the glass shattered glass buckets. Results of Global Warming] buckets are those who need everyone they meet To you, the brave and the few, he Acidification eats away at minerals used to know who they are, what they own, and who members of the Loyal Order Metal Bucketeers, by corals to build their skeletons and other have no problems in continuously adding to the I applaud and salute you. animals to build their shells. But Stumpp and contents of their glass bucket trying to show the You are the silent yet you are strong. her colleagues were concerned with another part world that their life is filled with material Always working behind the scenes. Always on of the life cycle. Many marine animals start possessions yet unaware that their glass bucket the ready to help another member of the Bucket their lives as larvae, which are very exposed to is very fragile and that it’s destruction would Brigade, even those who carry Wooden or Glass the ocean environment. In particular, the larvae result in them losing all that they have acquired Buckets. of the green sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus trying life and being a person they really are not. You are an inspiration to us all Ye Metal droebachiensis) have a digestive system that is Yes, people who live in glass houses, or carry Bucketeers of the world. bathed in ocean water. glass buckets in this case, shouldn’t throw So to you, Metal Bucketeers, I raise my Humans and other mammals have acidic stones. Bucket of Good Cheer and salute you. gastric juices with a pH measurement of around The Metal Bucketeers: Last but For The ‘X’ The ‘X’ Zone Radio/TV 2, similar to the acidity level of lemon juice. certainly not least, are the people who have the Show, I am, Rob McConnell [] Sea-urchin larvae, in contrast, have very basic, knowledge and the foresight to carry the tin, or alkaline, digestive juices — about 9.5 on the metal or aluminum buckets. These are the Pass the Tums: Global 14-point pH scale. Historically, ocean pH was people who understand that although their warming gives sea urchins about 8.16 on the pH scale, making it slightly bucket may not be as cosmetically appealing as less basic than urchin digestive juices. the wooden buckets, nor as light and transparent indigestion as the glass bucket yet oh so fragile, these Digestive problems Bucketeers my friends are the realists… the people who face life head-on and who are not Spiny green sea urchins face a new challenge Stumpp and her colleagues exposed sea-urchin afraid of the challenges, the thrill of victory and from climate change: As the oceans become larvae to slightly more acidic seawater, the agony of defeat because this is how they live more acidic, urchin larvae struggle to digest calibrated to be at a pH level of 7.7 and 7.4. On their life. their food, new research finds. the pH scale, 7 is neutral, so the seawater was The “Metal Bucketeers know what it is The study is the first to prove that ocean still slightly basic. like to constantly keep on being prepared for acidification can cause digestive problems for Because the larval digestive system is whatever and whomever may be just around the marine animals, though scientists have long exposed to the outside environment, the more corner. To some the Metal Bucketeers would been alarmed at the trend for other reasons. acidic water caused a decrease in gastric-juice appear to be oblivious as to what is happening Ocean acidification has threatened oyster farms, pH of about 0.3 to 0.5, the researchers report around them but it is quite the contrary. They slowed coral growth and caused common Oct. 20 online in the journal Nature Climate are always aware and are always strategizing marine snails to shrink, among other effects. Change. the move beyond the next move. It’s just who Earlier studies have focused on In the more acidic environment, the they are. calcification, or the process by which marine enzymes that digest food don't work as well. As They are the Girl Guides and the Boy animals draw minerals from the water to build a result, the researchers found, urchin larvae in Scouts of Bucketeering. shells and skeletons, study researcher Meike acidic water ate 11 percent to 33 percent more They are the members of the Bucket Stumpp, a former Ph.D. student at the than those in ideal water conditions. Brigades who are there to help carry the leaking GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean "If the organisms are unable to loads of a wooden bucket that is starting to Research and the University of Kiel in compensate for extra costs caused by ocean deteriorate and they are there to help pick up the Germany, said in a statement. acidification by eating more, they suffer broken pieces when a glass bucket is shattered "Other vital processes — such as negative consequences in the form of reduced with the once coveted contents the glass bucket digestion and gastric pH regulation — were growth and fertility, and in extreme cases, lie shattered in ruins. neglected," Stumpp said. Gastric pH is the level death," study researcher Sam Dupont, of the They carry wood filler, sand paper and of acidity in the digestive system. "We can now University of Gothenburg in Sweden, said in a super glue in their own metal buckets and they demonstrate that they deserve much more statement. are always there to help put back the pieces of attention," she said. Green sea urchins are a key species in the buckets and lives of other Bucketeers. kelp forests in temperate and subpolar oceans, They are the proud, they are the Warming climate, acidifying oceans so their health and survival is crucial for the determined, they are the brave. They are the entire ecosystem, the researchers wrote. More giving, they are the forgiving, they are the care As levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere studies of keystone species are needed, they givers. increase — driven by the burning of fossil fuels added — especially in the vulnerable larval You can always tell the Metal — the oceans act as a sponge, taking up some of stage. [] the extra carbon dioxide. The result is carbonic