I'm not sure where to begin so I guess I'll start at the most dire. Our Oceans are being invaded by something us humans can do something to stop because we put it there: CO2. You know how if you drop a tooth in a glass of Coke it will eventually dissolve, well the current CO2 levels that we are globally throwing into the air are causing the ocean waters to turn acidic. This means that all the creatures made of Calcium Carbonate like coral and microscopic snail that are the start of the food chain are literally dissolving! The worst part is we passed dire a while ago and the levels monthly continue to rise:
NOAA Current Ocean CO2 Levels
What can you do:
Get involved with anti-poluting
Write your representatives and let them know you're concerns and that they need to act NOW.
Then there is the Plastic trash problem.
After WWII we decided plastics were a great thing and we've been happily using the stuff ever since. The problem is plastics have made their way into the oceans at such a horrendous rate that there are now Great Gyres of the stuff thousands and thousands of marine acres large. While the stuff just floating around might be an ugly symbol of humans' lack of caring and slovenliness this plastic problem is creating a Marine disaster all it's own. The Marine animals of every size are eating it and dying at alarming rates.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
What you can do:
Don't flush plastic
Don't buy disposable lighters
Use your own bags when going shopping (big, sturdy canvas totes work great!)
Don't inflate balloons with hellium - they float away and eventually burst, often over the ocean
If you see a piece of plastic, pick it up
Don't buy cheap plastic toys- choose metal or books
If you live near water, clear your yard of floatables
Get involved with anti-poluting
By estimates 100 Million sharks are killed every year! China and other countries kill up to 38 million for the fins alone, throwing the rest of the body back into the ocean to die on the bottom. Sharks are apex predetors and an esentual part of the food chain in the oceans. Most sharks are slow to mature and are slow breeders, many only breeding every 2-3 years and often having small litters. Some, like the Bull shark, only one pup at a time. At the rate sharks are being taken they simply can't sustain their numbers in the sea. Many are already endangered yet in parts of the world still killed. There is hope, shark sanctuaries are popping up around the globe like Palau, a small island nation with 237,000 sq miles of waters and reefs. But the fishing industries often defy these sanctuaries. These sanctuaries need our support to ward off these law breakers who want to deplete these creatures that have roamed the oceans for millions of years, before the dinosaurs roamed!
Sea Turtle Conservation:
All 7 species of marine turtles are listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA); 6 of those species fall under the jurisdiction of the NOAA Fisheries Office of Protected Resources. Majestic and long lived, sea turtles are prone to danger by eating plastics and loss of habitat. In parts of the world turtles are still harvested for food especially their eggs. Only one in a thousand eggs survive to maturity. Females return to the beach they were hatched themselves at about age 25. Learn more these wonderful creatures really need your help to survive us.
