Life Is Water
Life is water. Many humans enjoy recreational water activities each day, but how many of us really know what's going on beneath the surface? As it is, the ocean seems to be a vast place with unlimited resources. But is it? With such a high demand for resources coming from the sea, it seems that humans are taking faster than the ocean can give. In her TED Talk, Sylvia Earle discusses and warns about the impending dangers of drawing too many resources form the sea's preserves. In earlier days of ocean exploration, many thought of the ocean as the "Sea of Eden", but at the current rate, it seems that soon we may be facing a lost paradise.
Although the ocean covers a large area of the earth, many people have very little knowledge as to how the vast seas affect our day to day lives. Oceans hold thousands of different varieties of life, but these numbers are becoming smaller and smaller day by day due to human interruption of the natural cycle. Sylvia Earle explains that for every 1 pound of fish that goes to market, more than 10 to 100 pounds of fish is thrown back as by-catch. This gives you a glimpse into the industrial culture and how wasteful methods of production are disrupting oceanic ecosystems and biodiversities in the sea.
Humans are having a great affect on plant life in oceanic ecosystems as well. Excess carbon dioxide is changing ocean chemistry, making the ocean more acidic, and destroying coral reefs and oxygen producing plankton. Not only is this a bad sign for the ocean, but also for the planet and for us.
Even endangered species are not safe from human disruption. Blue Fin Tuna, an endangered saltwater species, is still being captured and eaten, despite it's unstable condition. Sure the ocean is vast, but it has limits. Humans can't keep drawing from the seas and expect for some endangered species to jump back from extinction, it just doesn't add up.
So how do humans gain a better understanding of the sea? After all, not every person and their cousin owns a fashionable deep-sea suit like the JIM model Sylvia Earle used on her expeditions. Without the proper knowledge, humans may never know how much the sea means to the balance of the earth. Without the elements we get from the sea, about 90% percent of life on earth would be in great danger. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to tell you that without our oceans the surface of earth would look very much like that of our neighboring planet, Mars. Life is water, but it seems that without the spread of information water's biggest form is on a rapid decline.
Although the ocean covers a large area of the earth, many people have very little knowledge as to how the vast seas affect our day to day lives. Oceans hold thousands of different varieties of life, but these numbers are becoming smaller and smaller day by day due to human interruption of the natural cycle. Sylvia Earle explains that for every 1 pound of fish that goes to market, more than 10 to 100 pounds of fish is thrown back as by-catch. This gives you a glimpse into the industrial culture and how wasteful methods of production are disrupting oceanic ecosystems and biodiversities in the sea.
Humans are having a great affect on plant life in oceanic ecosystems as well. Excess carbon dioxide is changing ocean chemistry, making the ocean more acidic, and destroying coral reefs and oxygen producing plankton. Not only is this a bad sign for the ocean, but also for the planet and for us.
Even endangered species are not safe from human disruption. Blue Fin Tuna, an endangered saltwater species, is still being captured and eaten, despite it's unstable condition. Sure the ocean is vast, but it has limits. Humans can't keep drawing from the seas and expect for some endangered species to jump back from extinction, it just doesn't add up.
So how do humans gain a better understanding of the sea? After all, not every person and their cousin owns a fashionable deep-sea suit like the JIM model Sylvia Earle used on her expeditions. Without the proper knowledge, humans may never know how much the sea means to the balance of the earth. Without the elements we get from the sea, about 90% percent of life on earth would be in great danger. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to tell you that without our oceans the surface of earth would look very much like that of our neighboring planet, Mars. Life is water, but it seems that without the spread of information water's biggest form is on a rapid decline.
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| Here's a picture of a happy dolphin. |
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