Back in Action

   Hi guys! Sorry I've been MIA for so long (college struggles), but I wanted to say I'm writing from
Hawaii! It's beautiful here as usual, but I wanted to tell everyone a short story that's been the one dead weight on my heart since I've arrived here. I've been snorkeling and diving a couple times in the last week, and is it just me or is there an increasing amount of dead coral?! I was amazed (and not in any good way mind you) at the amount of white flakiness that covered the ocean floor and shocked to see the disappearing amount of vivid and vibrant color. If I've been devastated by the lack of coral, can you imagine the local ecosystems?
    I think it's hard for Hawaii to face the destruction, too, because although the tourists bring capital and money for the benefit of the distraught Hawaiian population, they continue to disrespect the ocean (not on purpose, it's not their fault that people don't know). In honor of the beginning of spring, I urge you to take some time, if you live near an ocean, or even if you're just interested in marine life, to pick up a book and learn. The ocean is a vast body and as much as water is a huge part of our life, for some reason it continues as an enigma. So please, take some time to start to understand it, so we can better preserve its magic for the future.

(Eel hiding among dead coral)

Ban Ki Moon's Wise Words

   Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki Moon, on conversation, global warming, and protecting our beloved environment: "We need to change course now. There can be no Plan B because there is no Planet B."

   TAKE ACTION NOW!! Tips to keeping oceans healthy:

      - Trash (the obvious one, I know, but it needs to be said): bring trash bags to the beach and have them nearby as a reminder to always put trash in them

     - Don't eat or drink in the ocean!! I know it makes for a relaxing time, but it definitely doesn't help the fish have a better day

     - Don't kick up sand or kick the coral with your snorkeling fins

     

Caution: Not For Human Use

    Yes, they are beautiful and yes, they are colorful and yes, they are fascinating.

   But let's be real, coral will always be better as a home to marine organisms than as a lifeless decoration on your shelf. So please don't touch the coral, remove it, or attempt to cut it, no matter how much you think the coral pieces will go with your interior designing visions.

Coral Reefs - Almost Extinct

    Coral Reefs are as lively and active as anything else in marine environments. They are the mother to all marine ecosystems, providing shelter and food to thousands of organisms every day. So why is it that they continue to suffer? 
    According to the Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2004, 70% of the worlds' coral reefs are threatened or destroyed, 20% of those are damaged beyond repair, and within the Caribbean alone, many coral reefs have lost 80% of coral species.
    

Human Effects on the Ocean

Plastic debris causes the deaths of more than a million seabirds every year, as well as more than 100,000 marine mammals. 

Wanna learn more? 

Check out http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/ioc-oceans/priority-areas/rio-20-ocean/blueprint-for-the-future-we-want/marine-pollution/facts-and-figures-on-marine-pollution/ 

Take Action Now!

     The leaders of super powers like the United States, China, and Brazil have yet to make the sweeping industrial and cultural reforms necessary to slow the release of greenhouse gases that are currently destroying marine ecosystems around the world, so that's where we step in. We need to not only push our domestic governments to change their policies, but we need to encourage our peers to make environmental-friendly lifestyle choices.

  The biggest victims of the greenhouse gases are the coral reefs, polluted by inefficient boat motors and fishing techniques. At the same  time, though, beach-goers need to treat the reefs with the utmost respect. As beautiful as coral reefs are, they are also delicate and vulnerable. Any touch by humans leads to the death of the thousands of microscopic organisms that compose coral. Please be careful! We wouldn't want to lose this, now would we? 

Ocean Pollution

Did you know that an estimated 3.5 million tons of trash reside in the "World's Largest Landfill" (a.k.a The Pacific Ocean)? And that, according to the University of California San Diego Scripps Institution of Oceanography, fish ingest an estimated 12,000 to 24,000 tons of plastic per year in the Pacific Ocean? Not only that, but  20% of the trash that enters the Landfill comes from beachgoers that allow their trash to float out to sea. Unbelievable, right?