Should oceans be classified as endangered?
The impact of humans’ industrial development has made drastic and irreversible changes to our planet’s ecosystem. After countless warnings and evidence provided by scientists and environmentalists, governments across the globe have finally taken into considerations what devastating consequences this global crisis can lead to. Main factors that contribute to this situation are pollution, deforestation, poor management of agriculture, obtaining and use of fossil fuels and many more. As the list goes on, most of these issues relate to life on land. When it comes to oceans, which cover approximately 70% of Earth’s surface, we think mostly of plastic contamination. But is it all that we should be concerned about?
Global warming not only has caused ice caps to melt, which directly increased the sea level around the world, but the increase in water temperature has contributed to the destruction of coral reefs. Coral bleaching is a term describing corals expelling the symbiotic algae from their tissues, caused by a change in living conditions. Hence, the disappearing diversity in species living in symbiosis with them.
Half of the oxygen on Earth is produced by oceans, which clearly implies how valuable and important they are in supporting a stable climate on the planet. They are a stable source of water, which can be carried by clouds for thousands of kilometres, providing all species with necessary minerals. This process, however, is disturbed by deforestation.
Another factor endangering oceans and its inhabitants is overfishing. Uncontrolled, and in some cases unregulated removal of species, at a rate that they cannot replenish, disturbs the balance numbers of cetaceans and fish. This is also a threat to fishing itself.
It doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom after all. There is still a chance for reviving naturally occurring shoaling, we can reduce and clean up trash pollution, create sustainable aquaculture, restrict destructive fishing and commercial whaling and stop oil drilling. While these are things we can do as a society, we can also make changes individually that will help our ocean and our planet. One idea would be to conserve water so it would reduce the wastewater that flows to the oceans, another would be reducing chemicals used in our household and reducing overall waste. When exploring nature, keeping in mind to respect natural habitat. Essentially, creating a safer environment for other species is creating a better world for ourselves.
"We know that when we protect our oceans
we’re protecting our future."
President Bill Clinton
Questions:
- Have you tried taking action in promoting environmental movement or volunteering in preserving the natural habitat? If so, what was your experience? If not, what is your opinion on actions taken by such organizations?
- Have you personally seen or experienced effects of sea and ocean pollution e.g. beaches covered in trash? What was your reaction to it?
Sources:
- https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/unprecedented-3-years-global-coral-bleaching-2014–2017
- David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet (2020, Netflix)
- Our planet (2019, Netflix)
Comments
No, I have never taken action in promoting environmental movement or volunteering. But I support people and organizations who do such things to reduce harm society brings to nature. I also do some little steps in my life to be more ecologically friendly. For example, I try not to use plastic bags and not overbuy products in the supermarket to produce less trash.
In the meantime, I have heard about microplastic which is one of the ingredients in everyday cosmetics such as soaps, shower gel and creams. It is not harmful to us, but it gathered in oceans polluted water. And that is why popular brands like Nivea have already launched production of cosmetics without microplastic.
Have you personally seen or experienced effects of sea and ocean pollution e.g. beaches covered in trash? What was your reaction to it?
Yes, I experienced the effects of sea pollution. My hometown is near the Black sea. And on the beaches, especially in the city, there is a lot of garbage. People throw food packages, bags and cigarette butts into the sand or water. It looks disgusting and awful. This year, the water in the sea very often did not meet sanitary standards. Once even a dead dolphin was thrown to the shore. I feel shame about such people behaviour.
2.I've confronted with beaches covered in trash or ocean full of pollution. I get the feeling that Polish's beaches are very dirty and devastated. I always clean the place where I am and in the case that somebody on my eyes litters, I always get his or her attention. It's disgusting to bring a heavy bag with some products, but leave light rubbishes!
I've never tried to take part in such an action, but I think it's really important, and I try to support organizations that are raising money for a good cause like this.
I'm also trying to help, by changing some of my habbits. I try to save water, and I try to use less plastic, but the second one became difficult when the corona virus has striked. We were told to use plastic gloves and bags to protect ourselves, we use a lot of single-use masks, and we just keep creating more and more trash, which makes me worry about our future.
2. Have you personally seen or experienced the effects of sea and ocean pollution e.g. beaches covered in trash? What was your reaction to it?
I haven't seen them by myself, but there is a lot of sad photos on the internet, that were really impactful for me. I always feel really depressed and worried when i see something like this, and it makes me want to act against the world like this.
I have never seen an extremely littered beach, but maybe it is because every beach I have been on was usually a touristic place so there were special workers taking care of it. What is interesting, if I saw any rubbish on the beach it was always in Poland, or Europe in general. When I was on the Venice Beach in Los Angeles, or in Malibu it was incredibly clean, even though the Venice Beach is famous for the huge amount of homeless people living there. Also the beach under the Golden Gate Bridge was really clean. It might be strange as they are very famous and touristic places, but I just feel like Americans have totally different cultures. Their towns might not be the cleanest, but whenever it comes to nature, beaches or their National Parks, you will never see even a single garbage.
2. Yes, as part of the Erasmus + project in Bulgaria, I participated in a beach cleaning action. There were 30 of us and we cleaned the (maybe small?) beach in less than 2 hours. It was very littered. After our actions, there were no litter on the beach.
With the release of his new documentary, Sir David Attenborough has created an account on Instagram to attract the attention of younger people and to present in the form most appealing to them, the environmental problems that our planet is facing. In his posts, he not only explains the issues, but he also talks about ways in which we can contribute to solving them and helping our planet. Have you heard about this? Or have you followed his account? Do you think this way of bringing the attention of younger generations will work?
I have never taken a part in these actions. And when it comes for my opinions well... I understand that preserving environtment is important and taking actions is necessary but when I see Greenpeace people at the center of Warsaw that literally are trying to trick you into subscriptions to "help". Lets say im not really fond of it. I even asked if i can just pay one time as I'd rather not subscribe - the anserw i got was "No, no. Subscribe now! You can help only by paying monthly, there is no other way!". Finding the right organisation that works on preserving environtment and not trying to trick people is real challange.
Have you personally seen or experienced effects of sea and ocean pollution e.g. beaches covered in trash? What was your reaction to it?
I haven't seen beaches covered in trash but when I was hiking I did. People are throwing away trash where they can as it's really heavy. The bag after food is way heavier than the one with so they had to get rid of it asap!
I try to support from time to time organizations that promote environmental protection, but didn't take part in any action myself. I think that oceans, seas, rivers and lakes should be protected since a lot of species live there and still humans tend to massively polute the waters or fish illegally.
2.
It is quite rare but unfortunatelly I've witnesed it. I was sad that such a beautiful scenery was destroyed by the actons of humans.
I'm sorry for your negative experience with this organization. Personally, I think that the choices we make in our everyday lives, that support the environment, are more important than supporting a specific institution. However, there are some that make an impactful difference and they need funds to do so. I've recently seen an organization that lets you virtually adopt an animal of endangered species and in return, you receive a certificate that confirms it. Would you be keen to try this form of supporting them?
Thank you for commenting! Can you tell us more about the place where you have witnessed the pollution? Was it near to the city or was it far from densely populated places?
your opinion on actions taken by such organizations?
Yes, I was protesting against catholic church taking into acquisition another part of Łysa Góra and part of Świętokrzyski National Park, for free as always. They wanted to build another monastery or other stuff while destroying nature at it's best. Also destroying sacred land of pagan faith.
Now about experience, many people laughed at me asking why I am not tied to some tree or better to hang myself on it. Yes, in a middle of Warsaw as we were gathering votes against this whole situation. Some people didn't care that another part of the forest will be destroyed without a reason to it, besides greed and hate. Only part of citizens that were walking by, maybe 30% at least paused for a minute to hear us and sign the petition.
These was only time I could participate, but my heart will be always with those who fight for our planet, because they are fighting for mankind as well.
2. Have you personally seen or experienced effects of sea and ocean pollution e.g. beaches covered in trash? What was your reaction to it?
Yes, the trash is everywhere. Not only in cities. In forest, on the beach in water. People just seem they don't care about plastic, glass and others. Especially the smokers I hate those. Not only it smells like garbage most of them threw it away without second thought on it. It should be penalised if you ask me.
Wow! Thank you so much for sharing! I admire your attitude. I’m still shocked to hear that so many people refuse to acknowledge the importance of nature preservation, but seeing that there are people who care like you brings me hope. Cigarette buds are in fact the most common piece of trash. Recently, some foreign professor has started a campaign in Warsaw to bring the attention on how many cigarette buds are lying on the ground around us. He marked each and every one of them with a chalk on the pavement. Do you think it might help to bring the attention to the problem?
Honestly, I have never participated in this type of action. However, the older I am, the more I understand their meaning. At the same time, it seems to me that it all depends on education. You need as many people as possible, constantly making people aware that you cannot litter. You cannot exploit the planet all the time without giving anything back. Further destruction of our planet could be catastrophic. By teaching children how to care for the environment, we make children begin to make their parents aware.
2.Have you personally seen or experienced effects of sea and ocean pollution e.g. beaches covered in trash? What was your reaction to it?
Of course, often when I am in coastal towns, I am furious when I see people littering or not collecting their rubbish. What bothers me most is that the locals don't care about it. Just go in and go around the seaports, you can see a lot of garbage floating on the water there. If the locals don't care about the sea, what example do they set for a tourist?
2. Personally, I haven't seen it "in real life". But I was shocked by videos of some environmental catastrophes that happened in the past year (oil spilling in the seas, etc.). It was painful to see and even more painful was that it was not talked about as much as it was needed to bring more attention.
I totally agree. If people had received a proper education on the subject in schools, they wouldn't be so indifferent to the situation right now. Many people just don't imagine the consequences of their actions. As for the coastal towns, I guess the locals, who make their living from tourism, don't want to 'discourage' the tourists from visiting, by constantly reminding them of cleaning up their mess. This is kind of a hard topic. If you were to find yourself in their situation, would you stand up for your beliefs, or in this case something as simple as littering, even if it could cost you losing your customers?
That's really interesting! Would you mind to share your poster? In recent years, as the topic of ecology has started 'trending', many companies to promote their products started greenwashing their brands. What it means is that they advertise the product with labels like eco-friendly, biodegradable or ethically sourced, where in fact it's none of the above. Another problematic thing is as you said buying too much of products that were meant to produce less waste or using them in a non-reusable way.
If you would like to learn more about the ways to reduce trash, I would recommend you to check out Lauren Singer's blog called Trash Is For Tossers (https://www.trashisfortossers.com), she gives examples on how to reduce waste, and what changes you could make in your daily life.
Actually I am developing a start up that main goal is to make our impact to the enviroment less significat by automating waste sorting process. However I was involved sometime ago into the action of cleaning border of Vistula river and it was quite cool experience.
2. Have you personally seen or experienced effects of sea and ocean pollution e.g. beaches covered in trash? What was your reaction to it?
Year by year is more common to see the impact of human not only in the oceans but every natural enviroment of our planet. It's horrible and makes me seek of what we are doing. There is a lot to do and a lot to learn but movements of big companies are looking promisly and I am really hopefull to the fact that continouslly more and more of individuals feels responsible for human impact on our enviroment and our future
No, I have never volunteered or promoted such movements. I think that such actions are important and I support them but I think that they are only slowing down the inevitable which can be stopped only by bigger corporations or government regulations. Personally, I try to be eco friendly mainly by reusing plastic bags (one-time plastic bag seems like huge waste to me), segregating trash or using less water if that can be done. I think that because coronavirus the pollution of Earth has sped up but no one seems to be aware (or care) about that. Main topic recently is only this virus and we do not talk about how we pollute Earth by mandatory masks (usually disposable) or plastic gloves. For me world pollutions seems like a much more important and threatening topic than coronavirus, sadly I do not feel that it can be resolved by a single unit that is why I try not to think about it.
Have you personally seen or experienced effects of sea and ocean pollution e.g. beaches covered in trash? What was your reaction to it?
Yes, I did and it was a sad experience to see beautiful beaches covered in thrash. Once my family and I encountered a man in Corsica who was killing jellyfishes in order for his little kid to be able to swim in the ocean… To our surprise he was a local and we could not do anything about it, it was many years ago when I was a kid but it was really angering and I remember it to this day.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts! I hope your startup succeeds 😊
Of course, government action supported by big corporations would be the most visible and effective. Unfortunately, the majority of people are not eager to change, and that's why fossil fuels and plastic products are still dominating the economy. Additionally, the outbreak of Covid-19 has ruined the hopes of many to become plastic-free and avoiding single-use products, but keeping yourself healthy is the bigger priority now and it should be that way. I hope that when we return to some sort of normality, we won't forget that caring about our environment is also important for our health. One of the most dangerous for us is air pollution. Sadly, it's not only visible in cities, but also in many small towns in Poland. Do you pay attention to pollution levels in your area? Or have you been wearing an anti-smog mask before the pandemic?
I never did, but I think it is very important that such organizations exist and work. The thing is that even if they are not always able to solve a specific problem, they draw attention to it, which is I think already helping a lot.
2. Have you personally seen or experienced effects of sea and ocean pollution e.g. beaches covered in trash? What was your reaction to it?
Yes. In my city an oil tanker sank off a year ago, and no one pulled it out of the water. However, some people still swim in the water. In addition, the fauna of the Black Sea suffers. I think it's awful.
Thank you for pointing out this issue. I wasn't aware of how much te the Black Sea was contaminated and polluted. I've researched this topic a little bit more and seems that the most pressing problem is plastic waste. I recommend you to read this article from EU neighbours (https://www.euneighbours.eu/en/east/eu-in-action/stories/black-sea-contaminated-plastic-how-can-we-reduce-damage). It describes the situation from Georgia, but the problem and the solution remain universal. Are there any organisations in your city that arrange sea cleanup?
I have never tried taking action in promoting environmental movement or volunteering in preserving the natural habitat. However, in my opinion, it is very important to notice this topic. Appropriate public awareness campaigns can encourage most of the inhabitants to take part in social events (for example, cleaning trash from the beaches). In my house, we try to save water, segregate garbage. We even have our own compost.
2. Have you personally seen or experienced the effects of sea and ocean pollution e.g. beaches covered in trash? What was your reaction to it?
Unfortunately, I have seen beaches covered in trash. It's a very unpleasant sight and makes you wonder what kind of world we live in. According to the sea and ocean pollution, the worst videos I have seen were related to the turtles. I attach a link to the image of a turtle that got stuck with plastic trash when it was small - on the image, the turtle is big and has a deformed shell (https://yaffa-cdn.s3.amazonaws.com/yaffadsp/images/dmImage/StandardImage/297603_263530197015646_100000760032711_666151_1968028046_n1.jpg). It's terrifying!!
I have seen before many polluted beaches but they didn't look terrible yet. I would like to get away from the oceans and pay attention to what is happening on land. Every day when I ride a bike I can see garbage bags scattered in the forests. I think it's a serious problem on a par with the waters. This garbage will decompose for hundreds or thousands of years. It's very possible that animals will poison themselves by trying to eat it. We still have a long way to go regarding the environment, both in water and on land.
Thank you for sharing!. The internet is filled with images with marine animals with injuries caused by pollution, it's heartbreaking every time I see it. Here is a short clip by Tech Insider that showcases how long different kinds of trash decomposes if it ever does: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iS4VDu98Qa8. It's discouraging to see that our legacy would mostly be.. well garbage, but it's important to keep being hopeful and making an effort to keep our planet healthy and thriving.
I agree, protecting forests and wildlife that lives within them, should also be our priority. As Karol mentioned in his comment, the most problematic issue in Poland is illegally selling or giving away the land that is a part of the national forests. Politicians use it as a trading asset, where it should be protected at all cost.
I’ve never taken action in promoting environmental movement or volunteering, but I support Greenpeace and some other smaller environmental organizations. I’ve also started to change my habits because I want to live more eco-friendly lifestyle. I am really glad that there are so many organizations which take care of our environment. These days people are more aware of the climate change and damage caused by humans.
Have you personally seen or experienced effects of sea and ocean pollution e.g. beaches covered in trash? What was your reaction to it?
I’ve seen some littered beaches and marine debris and it always makes me very sad. Bottles, fag ends and hygienic products – those are the most common examples of rubbish found on the beaches. Fortunately there are some volunteers who clean beaches and coastlines. However, people still need to be reminded how to keep environment clean.
I have never tried it because I'm not really into it. I would prefer to see this movement moving to politics, providing new laws and controlling all the stuff that has a negative impact on the environment. I think it will be more productive.
2.Have you personally seen or experienced effects of sea and ocean pollution e.g. beaches covered in trash? What was your reaction to it?
No, I only have seen some beaches with trash after the tourists, but not one from the ocean or sea. So maybe I just was in such areas which are not damaged now, but yeah, if to talk about the whole world - it's a big problem and we should do something with it, something better than trying to clean the beach every day.
Thank you for expressing your opinion on the topic! When becoming more environmentally conscious, we have to keep in mind we can't really change ourselves and our habits overnight. It's a long process, but with every step, we're making a better future for us and for the generations to come.
It's good to see that so many people are seeing the importance of change! Would you mind sharing in what areas have you introduced changes? I'd love to hear that!
I honestly admit that I have never taken part in any volunteer work to help the environment. However, I am more and more aware of how big the problem is to fight for our environment to simply survive. I don't give in such actions, but I try to do something about it myself. I have been completely giving up on plastic bottles for half a year now, I only drink water from my Dafi filter. Thanks to this I noticed how many bottles one person "produces" and throws away. What's more, I segregate the garbage and always pay attention to the person who is next to me. I think that in the future, when I have more time, I will take even more action to help the environment.
2. Have you personally seen or experienced effects of sea and ocean pollution e.g. beaches covered in trash? What was your reaction to it?
Unfortunately, but yes. I saw with my own eyes polluted water, beaches and even streets. Two years ago I was on vacation in Montenegro. The water was all murky from garbage, and while swimming, plastic bags were swimming next to me. At the bottom there were pieces of glass and caps, most probably from beer bottles. The streets were no better. When I was walking down the street, I could see garbage everywhere, it was just lying on the street. In the harbor you could see more floating garbage than fish. I remember one really sad moment, when starving cats ate the leftovers from the trash. This proves that people there did not care about cleanliness, but also about nature.
Thank you for commenting! Many organisations are actively trying to introduce changes through legal regulations. Unfortunately, the majority of politicians are avoiding this topic or they even try to deny the global pollution and dangers that it brings. This regards our country's government, but there are many smaller initiatives in towns and regions. Are there any environmentally friendly regulations in your area?
It's really uplifting to see changes taken by so many people! If you're looking for new ways to help the planet, one of the big steps would be reducing food waste.
In your free time, I encourage you to read this fascinating article on how cutting down on food waste would positively affect our environment: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200224-how-cutting-your-food-waste-can-help-the-climate
I haven't been a part of any action regarding environment, and my opinion about such actions is really mixed. It's mostly because I've heard of such actions only regarding Poland, and although I'm aware that the government and private companies care mostly about money, I'm also aware that most of the activists don't really know how to achieve what they are fighting for, and often they can do more harm than good, even though their intentions are righteus. In my opinion it's because most of them are not educated in the matter. That's why I don't want to be a part of this, and just take care of the environment on my own, like with waste segregation etc.
Have you personally seen or experienced effects of sea and ocean pollution e.g. beaches covered in trash? What was your reaction to it?
I haven't experienced it personally, but I've seen numerous pictures and movies about it, and I'm actually disguted, I hope that in near future it will become our priority to clean up the planet.
Most pollutions that are in the oceans comes from rivers. I have stayed in Lisbon for half a year and I watched Tag almost every day while walking to school. It shocked me how polluted it is. And I'm not talking of a smell and some colouring. There were bottles, cans and other trash in it. The river starts in Spain and has a long way to come to Lisbon, where it meets the ocean. I sometimes thought that it takes up trash from most of the lands it flaws through.
In some diving centers you can volunteer for cleaning this trash. I did it couple of times and really enjoyed the process. Apart of fun swimming underwater, you get the satisfaction of helping environment and leaving some small part of the ocean clean.
All my childhood I spent near the Black Sea. Every summer I was terrified by the amount of garbage on the beach. Plastic bottles, butts, plastic snacks packaging. I understood that all this stuff goes to the ocean. So I helped my parents to clean up the beach a little bit. We never left any garbage on the streets. My parents taught me to put rubbish only into trash cans to keep our sea clean. I know that now we have a gigantic island made of garbage floating into the ocean. First thing scientists found at the bottom of the Mariane Fissure is a plastic bag. Now is no more living creature on our planet without plastic in the body.
Now I always try to segregate my garbage. I always take my own reusable bag or backpack to shop. If I don't have any bags but I have to do some shopping, I always buy paper bags instead of plastic. It's a great solution, because then I use them to throw out paper waste.
2. Have you personally seen or experienced effects of sea and ocean pollution e.g. beaches covered in trash? What was your reaction to it?
In Odessa there is a stranded ship. It has been lying there for a year or two. I saw it last summer when I was visiting my family. It’s awful. Oil is leaking from the ship, and nearby on the beach were resting families with small kids and pets. I was angry and terrified, why did no one take it out of there?!
If you would like to explore this topic further, I would recommend for you to see the documentary that I have based my presentation on. Full episodes are now available on YouTube (https://youtu.be/r9PeYPHdpNo)
2.Yes. I completely agree with need to fight with trash in ocean. I would start this fight from source. Big penalties for everyone how rubbish.
So far, I haven't had occasion to participate in any kind of organized action towards preserving our environment, including oceans. However I follow the news in this matter because I see it as urgent and I hope that legislative processes will force us to act in a more responsible way. I think that environmental organizations can act very radical, often unnecesarily but I feel like this kind of strongly activistic attitude is the best way to tackle the problem.
While visiting Iceland, I have observed that there is siginificant amount of waste gathering in some places on shore. In Poland, there are numerous places where we can abserve much more waste.
No. I don't think that it should be my concern because I believe that a singular person can't affect enviroment at all. It should be government and big companies concern to prevent it.
Have you personally seen or experienced effects of sea and ocean pollution e.g. beaches covered in trash? What was your reaction to it?
No. Never. Even if so I think that it wouldn't cause any reaction from me.