Why the Ocean is Depending on us

The ocean is an incredible part of earth. There's so much no one knows about it, making it a ominous, and interesting place. We may not know everything about it, but there are a few things that couldn't be more obvious. Among those is the blunt fact that the ocean needs our help. Just as we are destroying our forests and land, we're destroying our oceans alike.

I recently watched a Ted Talk on dead zones. I learned that dead zones are areas in oceans effected by hypoxia. Hypoxia is a deficiency in oxygen. Nancy Rabalais explains in the Ted Talk how these occur. They're mostly from nitrogen that finds it's way into the water. The most common way nitrogen gets into the water is from fertilizers used for crops. These fertilizers run off into rivers where they're eventually deposited into the ocean and over time form these dead zones and currently there is three times the nitrogen in the Mississippi River than in the 1950's.

An article by environmental reporter, Tony Briscoe, states that there is around 400 coastal dead zones worldwide. In these dead zones there's an abundance of blue-green algae. This algae is toxic and thrives in these nitrogen rich areas, making it that much harder for life to go on.

By reducing our "nitrogen footprint" we can help these areas and hopefully begin restoration. Not using corn oil, eating less meant and using non-ethanol gasoline are steps you can take to help this process. Eating organic foods, with no preservatives and extra fertilizers that run into the rivers is also another way individuals can help.

While dead zones and "nitrogen pollution" are a major problem, we also have to focus on the other types of pollution in our oceans, like the tons of plastic. Another Ted Talk delivered by Andrew Forrest focuses on plastic and how we can solve this problem. He said something rather disturbing when he informed us that by 2025 there will be one ton of plastic for every 3 tons of fish. Plastic does not belong in oceans, never mind in such a great quantity.

Andrew Forrest is working on a way to stop the production of new plastic and instead push to make a shift to only producing plastic from recycled plastic. He's proposing his plans to major companies and hopes this will be the last effort needed to bring this change. In his Ted Talk Forrest mentions a website, #NoPlasticWaste. The website includes many facts and visuals and encourages people to help Andrew with this movement. One of the astonishing facts on their website is that there are 51 million microplastic particles in the ocean- 500 times more than the stars in our galaxy.

Image from #NoPlasticWaste

Reducing how much plastic you use and dispose of is a great way to help our oceans and sea life. Recycling and making sure you know where your plastic is going is another important step to ensure plastic doesn't end up in our ocean.

Pollution as well as climate change, the subject of my last weeks blog, are taking their toll in more ways than one. In a third Ted Talk delivered by Kristen Marhaver, she explained the damage coral reefs around the world are undergoing. She mentioned how The Great Barrier Reef lost 2/3 of its coral due to bleaching. When the temperature rises to high for these unique creatures, the stress is too great and the algae leaves the structure. What is left behind is a colorless skeleton that starves and dies.

In an article from The Washington Post , I read that if the Earth warms by 3.6 degrees fahrenheit,  99 percent of the coral could and most likely will die. The article also said we are almost there. We need to take actions to improve these conditions so these reefs can be rehabilitated.

All of these issues with our oceans are very serious  but if we handle them we can restore the amazing vast waters before it is too late. We must act before we reach the point of no return. I don't want to be the reason so many amazing creatures have to suffer, and you shouldn't want that either, so do your part in helping these seas return to their former glory.

Briscoe, Tony. "What Are Algae Blooms and Dead Zones?" Herald-Mail Media, 19 Nov. 2019,
www.heraldmailmedia.com/news/nation/what-are-algae-blooms-and-dead-zones/article_8335f80a-
789e-54cd-8c75-e37bc3b1b8ff.html.

Forrest, Andrew, performer. A Radical Plan to End Plastic Waste. Ted Talk, 2019.

Marhaver, Kristen, performer. Why I Still Have Hope for Coral Reefs. Ted Talk, 2017.

Mooney, Chris. "Scientists Are Weighing Radical Steps to save Coral." The Washington Post,
18 Nov. 2019, www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/climate-solutions/amp-stories/scientists-
save-coral-reefs-climate-change/.

Rabalais, Nancy, performer. The "Dead Zone" of the Gulf of Mexico. Ted Talk, 2017.

"A World Free of Plastic Waste. It's Possible. But We Need Your Help!" No Plastic Waste, noplasticwaste.org/.

The Environment Needs Us... Are we Going to Answer?

You're surrounded by bare rock and little trees, the wind blows your hair in every direction. You're on the top of a mountain. You look out at the rolling hills and beautiful landscape. You soak in so many shades of green. The sun glistens off the distant water, clear enough to be a mirror.

This is my average weekend, sounds amazing right? Nothing will ever change my love for nature and it's incomprehensible beauty. However, my understanding of how I could lose this amazing gift is starting to sink in.

I read in an ABC article that the Union of Concerned Scientists  says that 1,500 gigatons ( a unit of measurement for one billion tons) of carbon has been emitted since 1751. Over half of the carbon emitted has been emitted since 1988.

The numbers are concerning and it raises the question of what are we going to do about it? Are we going to sit around as we watch each other destroy our beautiful planet or are we going to be responsible and take care of the very thing that has been supporting our life since forever?

You may be wondering, what can one person do? How could I affect the planet? Honestly, if you were acting alone, you wouldn't make a dent, but that's the beautiful thing in this issue. People are starting to come together to take steps in the right direction, and you can join them on this march by doing your part.

Paper bags, metal straws, and biking to the store are actions that almost anyone can do. Limiting your household waste and carbon footprint is a big deal when it comes down to it. Next time you decide to just "pop down to the store for some ice cream" remember you're aiding in the warming of the earth every time you allow carbon to enter our atmosphere. The ABC article states that its estimated the Earth can only take another 100 - 150 gigatons of carbon before going past the point of no return.

In the article by ABC News, the author, Julia Jacobo makes the point that when enough people move in this direction, sooner or later important political figures will start to notice and help in the fight for our planet.

Jacobo also argues that knowing where our money is going is vital if we want to bring upon this change. She states that a mere 100 worldwide companies are responsible for 71% of greenhouse emissions worldwide since 1988. These include well known businesses like Shell, Coal India, and many other companies involved in the oil and coal industries. She also continues to talk about how certain banks, such as JPMorgan Chase, have spent billions of dollars in the fossil fuel industry.

Supporting banks or other companies similar won't help the planet in any matter. Knowing who you are spending your money on can help a great deal. If you support green companies devoted to bettering the planet, we can achieve this goal that much faster.

The planet is in dire need of us to take action and responsibility to help turn around the current path we're headed down, so it's time we do just that. Every person can make a difference if we put in the effort. What better cause is there to support?




Jacobo, Julia. "What You Can Do to Help Prevent Climate Change, According to
     Experts." Abc News, 28 Sept. 2019, abcnews.go.com/US/
     prevent-climate-change-experts/story?id=65721423.