Human impact on the ocean?

[Diver Dennis]

Good point highdesert. I may start a thread.

 

[sambolino44]

Until a whole lot of people start making changes in just about every aspect of their lives, the problem will continue to accelerate. We are so rich and spoiled we won't have to sacrifice so much that we'll be uncomfortable, but it will be hard to convince some of us.

I recently had a conversation with a woman at work about her humongous four-door, four-wheel drive pickup. I tried to put it into the context of needs vs. wants. She replied that she needs a truck like that to take care of her horses. She seemed to have no concept that, for someone like her, horses are a luxury.

As for me, I realize that if I really wanted to reduce my impact, I'd have to give up diving. So I'm part of the problem, too.

 

[LIVES4SHARKS]

Erm.... Photosynthesizing plants?

The majority of O2 is produced by algae from the ocean.
That is why the marine ecosystem is so detrimental and slight changes in the system can have devastating effects. We are seeing it already from the destruction of apex predators to the crab deaths seen in the gulf. The ever increasing jellyfish populations are a sure sign of a sick ocean. We just need to keep focused and pass the word, it's not just being GREEN, I say we think BLUE!

Letting the days go by/let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by/water flowing underground
Into the blue again/after the money's gone
Once in a lifetime/water flowing underground.
Carolyn:sharks:

 

[Oxy]

I didn't know jellyfish were an indication of unbalance, but we seem to have a large quantity washing up here in so cal.

 

[Guba]

I just finished wrapping up an ocean science unit in the classes I teach (jr high and high school). As usual, the hardest part was convincing some students that even though we live hundreds of miles inland, we all still have an impact upon the oceans. For example, those crab deaths mentioned earlier might be attributable to run-off on nutrients and fertilizers from the center of the country that have created a hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico (or other areas). Developing areas of wetlands also exacerbates the problem by destroying the natural filters of water headed for the oceans. Since many of my students work on local dairies, hog farms, chicken farms, and feedlots, they recoil at the notion that the effluents produced and allowed to hit the watershed have anything to do with the problem. Finally, it's sometimes a tough sell to convince them that the coral reefs and other marine environments are important enough to try to save (out of sight, out of mind mentality).
Regardless, I'll keep trying to "fight the good fight", just as I know the majority of us here on SB will. The solution to the problem is through education...of all of us...and a realization that we do and can have a powerful impact on the earth's oceans. The trick is to resolve to make it a POSITIVE impact instead of one that has been up to this point largely negative.

 

[BarryNL]

Wow, I didn't know that about Algae...learn something new every day.

Not only that, but they are one of the biggest sinks of CO₂. They don't produce oxygen from nothing! They break down CO₂ in the atmosphere to produce O₂ - the C they keep for their own purposes...

If we lost the algae the level of CO₂ would increase much more rapidly than even now.

 

[LIVES4SHARKS]

Some interesting articles and food for thought! As GUBA stated, education usually enlightens those around us to the reality of what's going on out there. It's up to all of us, as stewards of the oceans, to do what we can to influence changes.
First-ever Global Map Of Total Human Effects On Oceans
Jellyfish Invasion | Popular Science

Carolyn:sharks:

 

[Buoyant1]

What sucks is that WE'RE paying for our parent's and grandparent's (and further back) mistakes. Everyone thought that the Oceans were a big vast "wasteland" and starting dumping crap, then started dumping crap into rivers and streams, etc...The other part that bites is that a lot of countries are STILL working as if nothing is affecting anything!

Natural resources are depleting, we're paying the price, and the environment is getting screwed in the process....I just hope that my nieces and nephew that want to be scuba divers like "Uncle Benny" get to see half of the stuff I get to see!

(and to the OP, I saw the article about the Monk seal, and thought that it was pretty sad myself!)

 

[sambolino44]

... The solution to the problem is through education...of all of us...and a realization that we do and can have a powerful impact on the earth's oceans. The trick is to resolve to make it a POSITIVE impact instead of one that has been up to this point largely negative.

I heartily agree. Also true is the fact that we won't change anyone's mind with a negative message or argument. I don't know much about Arnold Schwarzenegger, or how his actions measure up to his rhetoric, but I have to admire his message about making a positive argument. He compared the struggle for environmental awareness to the way they changed the image of bodybuilding. Instead of a bunch of hairy, sweaty men in a dank gym, they were able to make it sexy, and then people came to the gyms. As long as we put the argument in terms of, "you can't have this", "you can't do that", we'll get nowhere. If we can turn it around to "look what we can achieve if we all pitch in" or something like that (this is why I'm not in marketing) we might get somewhere.

 

[Guba]

The message also has to become "mainstream". For example, for many years scientists lobbied long and hard to protect the earth's rainforests, but it was an uphill battle. Then, a couple of decades or so ago, the cause hit popular venues such as movies, TV, etc... Movies such as "The Emerald Forest" and "Medicine Man" (featuring none other than THE Sean Connery) hit the screens and populace with powerful messages for the need to conserve this irreplaceable resource. We also hit the young crowd with "Ferngully" (animated) with the same message. Almost overnight, consevancies found much less resistance in finding support, and tens of thousands of hectares of rainforest became protected--not a solution to the dilemma, but a huge improvement.

The same thing must be accomplished with the oceans. The cause must hit the popular nervous system with a burning stimulus to initiate change. Until there is an almost complete shift in our collective way of thinking, we cannot have a truly significant effect upon the use of the oceans. That is not to say we all shouldn't do our part where we can, but don't hide your opinions. As we said before, the solution is education. Without preaching or being heavy handed, do what you can to inform those around you about the oceans' plight. As with any great journey, we start with single steps.