You are currently browsing the category archive for the ‘World Oceans Day’ category.
Every year World Oceans Day falls on June 8th, and this year it falls on a time where the condition of our oceans has never been more precarious. Our oceans, which make up approximately 71% of our planet’s surface, are dying.
One needn’t look far to see the evidence: the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill continues on its relentless spread through the Gulf of Mexico and to the Atlantic. Every day, new photographs are being released of oil-covered wildlife, as well as globs of the black substance washing up on beaches and marshlands. BP continues its attempts at damage control by purchasing Google search terms, effectively controlling the flow of information. The United States government is now reopening offshore drilling in shallow waters, promising “strict regulation” to prevent further environmental damage. This promise may sound familiar, as it is the same platitude given to opponents of offshore drilling from the beginning, and here we are now with our hands stained black from the greatest marine disaster we have ever seen.
A pelican covered in oil from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.
Later this week, the United States Senate is also scheduled to vote on a bill to undermine the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to regulate pollution by stripping the Clean Air Act, a bill which is unsurprisingly sponsored by Alaskan Senator Murkowski (whose track record includes supporting drilling in ANWR, as well as shutting down proposals to examine the state of Alaskan wildlife) and supported by the big oil companies.
The United States is also on the verge of supporting a reversal of the moratorium on whaling, a proposal put forward by the International Whaling Commission in an attempt to legalize commercial whaling. They claim that legalizing the slaughter will be beneficial to whale populations, and that the current whaling ban lacks enforcement. Despite what they would have us believe, commercial whaling will not preserve whale populations. Illegal whaling is the practice of hunting whales and claiming it is for scientific research (when in reality these slaughtered whales wind up on the market). Giving and raising quotas for whaling does not save the whales, it merely makes an existing practice legal. The same number of whales, if not more, will be hunted down.
A mother minke whale and her calf hauled aboard a whaling ship in the protected waters of the Australian Whales Sanctuary. (Photo from the Brisbane Times.)
The danger is not only to the whales: but to people. Whales, which exist at the top of the food chain, have extremely high concentrations of mercury that has bioaccumulated in their edible tissues, making them toxic to humans.
Shark finning bans in some of the world’s last shark sanctuaries have also been reversed, and places like the Galapagos Islands where sharks used to thrive will see species practically wiped out entirely. The practice of shark finning is the capture of large numbers of sharks, slicing off their fins and throwing their still living bodies back into the sea, where they bleed out, are eaten, or drown due to air not being able to pass effectively through the gills.
A Scalloped Hammerheard Shark, recently finned and thrown back into the water still alive. (Photo from protect-the-sharks.org)
Protections for small cetaceans, such as dolphins and porpoises, are still non-existent.
At the present, World Oceans Day feels more like a day of mourning than a day of celebration.
Still, things are not hopeless. Every year more and more people engage in ecotourism, including SCUBA diving and snorkeling to see the natural world as it was meant to be experienced: healthy and beautiful. More people are seeing the horrors of whaling, shark finning, and irresponsible exploitation, and demanding that something be done before the damage become irreversible.
In celebration of the spirit of this cultural awakening, I would like to share some information on ways you can help to make a difference. The following links are all to organizations and their current action to save our world’s oceans, including petitions and letters to your political representatives to urge them to represent you and everyone else who wishes to see our ocean’s thrive. I encourage you to look at all of them and see what interests you: it may be easier to make a difference in this world than you imagined. It is time to see where we stand, and what we can do for ourselves and future generations.
With the National Wildlife Federation: Ask your senators to finish what they started, and pass a clean energy bill NOW.
At Oceana, an organization dedicated to preserving our oceans, sign the petition to end Offshore Drilling, and urge your senators to vote NO on undermining the EPA and the Clean Air Act.
Watch the documentaries Sharkwater and The Cove to learn about shark finning and the Japanese dolphin slaughter, and the damage it is doing to the oceans.
Join the Global Shark Initiative to learn about campaigns to save the ocean’s apex predators.
Visit The Shark Alliance , a coalition of non-governmental organizations for the conservation of sharks, to read up on the latest news in conservation efforts.
Acquaint yourself with current endangered species lists according to group (fish, mammals, reptiles, etc.).
Happy Oceans Day.
A pair of wild dolphins off the coast of South Carolina. (Photo taken by author.)
