Caring for the Oceans
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Every second breath you take comes from the ocean
Take care of it.
Hello my dearest,
Today I come to you with a matter close to my heart, the ocean. For a girl who has been living 5 minutes walking distance to the sea almost all her life, the sea means a lot. And it was only recently that something that has been happening for decades reality hit me: we are (somewhat) killing it.
Did you know that there’s already around 100 million tons of plastic in the oceans around the world?
Or that each year more than 1 million marine animals are killed by plastic in the ocean?
Yup, neither did I, and it’s really worrying, cause it gets worse. More plastic waste gets into the ocean all the time. On average, one garbage truck per minute. Isn’t that crazy?
As I was paddle boarding a few mornings ago, I encountered a bottle of H&S Shampoo in the middle of the sea. There it was, in the middle of the sea. That just comes to show how much damage has been done and that we as a community need to do something about it.
We shouldn’t allow unclean waters in our local beaches. That is just not OK. We need better systems.
Oil spilling should be condemned. How things like this still happen is beyond me. But not all hope is lost.
Many organisations are committed to combat this massive problem. Ocean CleanUp is one of the most innovative, aiming to develop efficient tools to halt 80% of plastic from entering oceans (as garbage mostly come from rivers) as well as developing a passive cleanup method that will rapidly and cost-effectively clean up the plastic already in the ocean.
There are many others, some of them worth noting, not only because of their initiatives but also their education:
Parley For The Oceans has enabled us to learn more about the global problems around plastic pollution and ways in which we can help avoid it. The organisation has teamed up with big corporate to reuse plastic found in the ocean and give it another purpose. They host webinars and events and you can join your local facebook group to see how you can support them clean-up and take action locally
Surfrider Foundation is a non-profit organisation (US-focused) dedicated to protect water resources and prevent pollution, protect beaches and shorelines as well as to keep beaches free and accessible to all, contributing to the reduction of plastic pollution. There’s a whole network of volunteers that helps to respond to these threats as well as educational activities to raise awareness.
Balloons Blow opened my eyes to something I had never expected: the impact of balloons in the sea. Super fun to play with, specially for big occasions such as a birthday or a wedding, these ballons, even if biodegradable, will negatively impact the marine life. For starters, the ink on the balloon is toxic and takes maaaany years to dissolve and the string accompanying the balloons can strangle animals under the sea. We should avoid this from happening.
5 Gyres Institute is dedicated to reducing plastic pollution through science and education and have already successfully contributed to it with campaigns resulting in the ban of plastic in cosmetic products, for instance. They host webinars and events (mostly US) and their research has been published in several scientific journals
