Intrinsically we have a connection to the ocean. As our bodies are mostly made of water, our blood plasma is 98% identical to the ocean water. We literally are interconnected with the ocean. Cool right? So, no wonder when we look at the ocean, we feel that connection, a bond to its presence, a sense of peace and oneness, and an openness to life.
And beyond that connection we have, the ocean provides us with more than 50% of the oxygen we breathe and stores 50 times more carbon that our atmosphere. It literally takes care of us and the planet.
Now it’s time for us to take care of the ocean;
· Every year, 8 million metric tons of plastic ends up in our oceans, polluting our waters and harming marine life.
· Greenhouse gas emissions continue to go unchecked and warming ocean waters continue to rise and become more de-oxygenated, in which, we will see an unprecedented extinction rate of marine life.
· Only 2% of the ocean is deemed marine protected areas, which is similar to a national park. Scientists have found we need at least 30% of the ocean to be protected to ensure ecologically important marine life and coral reef systems can continue to thrive and maintain the health of the ocean.
There are many ways we can help the ocean continue to take care of us;
· Help with beach clean-ups and collect trash that pollutes our waters by using the Clean Swell app by Ocean Conservancy;
https://oceanconservancy.org/trash-free-seas/international-coastal-cleanup/cleanswell/
BTW, you can do a clean-up anywhere and report it on the app as Ocean Conservaancy will use the data for research.
· When you purchase a product from 4ocean, one pound of trash is removed from the ocean, rivers, and coastlines;
https://www.4ocean.com
· Reducing our plastic consumption and minding our carbon footprint will also reduce our impact on the ocean.
We have the power to change the future health of the ocean. It all starts with awareness and choice.
Photos courtesy of Shifaaz Shamoon & Tim Marshall on Unsplash
