Help Free the Ocean of Plastic

Plastic has become an essential component of packaging and many products. Plastic is durable, lightweight and inexpensive. It is so durable the EPA reports “every bit of plastic ever made still exists.” Only about 10% of plastics are recycled.

Billions of pounds of plastic can be found on the surface of the ocean and in the deepest canyons of the ocean floor. Approximately 80 percent of marine litter is land based. This litter from far inland  makes its way to the ocean through  storm drains, sewers, rivers etc.

Plastics don’t break down; they just break up. Over time, sun and heat slowly turn plastics into smaller and smaller pieces until they eventually become micro-plastics. Fish and seabirds ingest these micro-plastics causing them to starve to death. Alternatively, larger fish eat the smaller fish and the micro plastics show up in our food source.

Actions you can take to help reduce plastic pollution to our oceans. Do the easy stuff!

• Carry your own utensils for take out foods
• Switch to bar soap instead of liquid soap that is in plastic containers
• Use alternatives to plastic bin liners. Wash out the bin!
• Commit to reduce plastic use
• Support local and state plastic bag bans
• Urge your members of Congress to take action to keep the ocean free of plastics.
• Live a plastic free life. Find out how, here!
• Find an organization and join in the help to solve plastic pollution. There is an  extensive list of these organizations and actions you can take at Plastic Pollution Coalition.

Sustainable Fisheries

Sustainable fishing guarantees there will be populations of ocean and freshwater wildlife for the future. For thousands of years, people have fished to feed families and local communities.

Today fishers remove more than 77 billion kilograms (170 billion pounds) of wildlife from the sea each year. Continuing to fish at this rate scientist fear a collapse of the world’s fisheries. The good news is the number of overfished stocks in the United States is at an all-time low.

Actions you can take to help with sustainable fisheries:

• Buy local caught fish.
• Buy sustainably caught fish.
• If you buy Farmed Fish check to see if they use healthy sustainable practices.
• Eat small fish so the larger stocks can replenish over time.

You can check to see if your seafood choice is local and/or sustainable at either of these two websites:

• Best Seafood Choices Consumer Guides at Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch.
• NOAA’s Fishwatch.

Climate change is the most important ocean conservation issue of our time. Stopping ocean warming by mitigating carbon emissions is the best course of action to protect biodiversity in the ocean and the fisheries today. Warming oceans, ocean acidification and corral bleaching are increasing dramatically. Here are a few steps you can take to help reduce climate change.

• Advocate, campaign, and vote for policies and leaders that favor the ocean.
• Reduce your dietary impact by eating less meat and dairy products. Read more here.
• Ditch Plastic and use reusable items. Learn more at Plastic Pollution Coalition.
• Get your electricity from renewables.
• Fly less.
• Drive less.

Earth Day: April 22nd

Climate change represents the biggest challenge to the future of humanity and the life-support systems that make our world habitable. Climate Change gravely affects the ocean with warming waters, coral bleaching, ocean acidification, overfishing, and sea level rise. We can reverse these trends when we individually take action, and this can turn into a movement toward a healthier planet.

Participate on Earth Day

Go to Earth Day Official site to see what actions you can take.

Join Earth Day Livestream – April 22nd – Nature in the Race to Zero

We need to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century to keep the global temperature below 1,5°C. Join us to learn about some key solutions that will help us deliver the greenhouse gas reductions needed by 2030 to meet the Paris Agreement.

Coral Reefs

Coral reefs protect coastlines from storms and erosion. They harbor the highest biodiversity of any ecosystem globally and over half a billion people depend on reefs for food, income, and protection. Reefs are often called the “rainforests of the sea.”

Coral reefs are among the most threatened ecosystems on Earth, largely due to unprecedented global warming and climate changes, combined with growing local pressures. Many dangers to coral reefs occur directly on the water but many also come from activities that occur on land, even those far from the coast.

75 percent of Earth’s tropical reefs experienced bleaching-level heat stress between 2014 and 2017, and nearly 30 percent of reefs, reached mortality level. Many of our land based activities effect the coral reefs and the ocean.

Actions you can take to keep coral reefs healthy:

• Use coral safe sunscreen at the beach, lakes, rivers and swimming pools. Find harmful chemicals that are in sunscreen.
• Corals are already a gift. Don’t give them as presents. It takes corals decades or longer to create reef structures
• Volunteer in local beach, reef cleanups and protecting your local watershed
• Minimize use of fertilizers and use organic whenever possible.  It washes into waterways and eventually ends up in the ocean
• Recycle and dispose of trash properly.  Marine debris can be harmful to coral reefs. Recycle your trash at home and on the go (especially plastic), and remember the four R’s (refuse, reduce, reuse, and recycle)
• Conserve Water. The less water you use, the less runoff and wastewater that eventually find their ways back into the ocean
• Choose sustainable seafood. Learn how to make smart seafood choices
• Lighten your carbon footprint. Climate change is one of the leading threats to coral reef survival.