Being an activist is a great part of who I am and the way I go about my life. Working as an activist for decreasing the amount of pollution in the ocean, it can help improve the quality of life of the humans and sea life in today's age and the future generations as well. "At least 14 million tons of plastic end up in the ocean ever year. and plastic makes up 80% of all marine debris found from surface waters to deep-sea sediments." (
Sorrentino, 2021, par. 2) According to
International Union for Conservation of Nature, the biggest impacts of plastic pollution in the oceans include ingestion, suffocation and entanglement of hundreds of marine species, as well as microplastics being found in tap water, beer, salt and are present in all samples collected in the world's oceans.
The Problem with Plastic - It's in disposable packages we throw away, consumer products that fill our stores and our clothes, and peel off microplastic fibers when washed. Studies show that there are 15-51 trillion plastics in the world's oceans today, from the equator to the poles and from the Arctic ice sheet to the ocean floor. Nowhere on earth is a square mile of sea level free of plastic pollution. The fossil fuel industry plans to increase plastic production by 40% over the next decade. We must act urgently to combat the pandemic of plastic pollution. Unfortunately, plastics are so durable that the EPA reports that "every bit of plastic ever made still exists." For example, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is large accumulation of debris in the North Pacific Ocean, this accumulation of garbage spans water from Japan to North America, being located between the U.S. states of Hawaii and California. This debris causes harm to marine life, sea turtles, albatrosses, seals and many more. For more information on the
Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
When it comes to looking for stakeholders in a Ocean Pollution Prevention Project, it comes down to looking for organizations that have similar goals as you. The importance of stakeholder engagement in ocean observation and in particular the realization of economic and societal benefits is discussed, introducing a number of overarching principles such as the convergence on common goals, effective communication, coproduction of information and knowledge and the need for innovation. The EOOS process requires openness and collaboration among the variety of ocean observing communities to help build a common strategic vision and a framework for Europe. It is believed that running a high resolution coupled model over the shallow water of the bay would improve forecasts further due to representing the diurnal cycle of sea surface temperature (SST). However, the report from Oxfam (2005) suggests that rather than perceiving women as `vulnerable victims` their specific perspectives and capacities should be used to develop the best way to responding to disasters and preventing such disasters in the future and this can be equally applied to their engagement with the development of ocean observing systems. The EOOS framework which is already stimulating partnerships in scientific and technological ocean observation foresight (e.g., Benedetti-Cecchi et al., 2018) demonstrates this value and shows that cross disciplinary stakeholder dialogue and partnerships are crucial to take stock of current and emerging developments to ensure the current and future observing system is fit for purpose. Some potential stakeholders could be fellow students and community members as well as organizations around the world who fight for the same mission, like Ocean Sciences Division, National Science Foundation and Interdisciplinary Centre for Marine and Environmental Research.
CALL TO ACTION: For further information on the harm that plastic pollution is causing the ocean as well as the rest of the world, please read the following article! This article also provides different organizations for us to donate to, even if you are unable to donate yourself, you can always share! Every little thing helps!
References
Bertolt
Jensen, N. (Photographer). (2021). Plastic Pollution and Juvenile Fish. [Image of photograph]. Indonesia. Retrieved from https://unsplash.com/photos/BJUoZu0mpt0
Mossholder,
T. (Photographer). (2020). Trash Patrol. [Photograph]. Avila Beach, California.
Great topic and thank you for speaking up for the oceanic wildlife! It's always so tragic when you see the pictures of birds stuck with plastic wrapped around their necks and other animals suffering. I'm going to start following your blog and will look at ways I can support this movement!
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