IF WE DON’T CHANGE US, THE PLANET WILL BE CHANGED FOREVER
“The ocean is full of waste because humans have disposed of it carelessly”
-Professor Andrew Holmes
I believe we are touching the last untouchable resorts of this beautiful Planet. This river of distraction, caused by greed of human race, has turned the whole reality into the last chapter of tragedy. The pain is shared everywhere and felt by everybody but nobody is doing something to stop it, nobody is enough brave to question the loyalty to the lunacy.
The ecological image of this world is terrible. The people keep killing the nature and wildlife without any regret and even if they show some kind of concern for the future of Planet, it is usually wrapped into different interests and marketing goals. There is no honest intension among global leaders to revise the current ecological policy and to implement new standards of protection and preventive actions. The world is dying and we are applauding.
The last shocking news come from the water field. The blue heart of the Earth is polluted and it seems we still believe that ocean water is the cleanest water ever and that marine biodiversity is not really endangered. The purpose of the ocean, as the largest ecosystem on our sphere, is to regulate the changes and the variability in climate system, to empower the global economy, nutrition and underwater population. Unfortunately, due to the unlimited growth of human population, the pressure on the limited natural resources has brought the issue of pollution on the main table of the ocean science. The ocean is dying and we are not aware of it. Some of us do not live nearby oceans; others have never been concerned about oceans. Rare have nightmares about the future of this sad, once used to be blue and green planet.
The World Ocean day is considered to be on June 8, each year. This means that on this day, the global population think blue and move in the rhythm of waves, but only because they have been told so. The big brother has delivered the message and the global action of awareness is approved. Now, we can all pretend to understand why the 80% of ocean population is in the struggle for existence, without a real chance to survive. If we forget about pollution that we have caused by our industrial terror, then we can recall the memories on annual ceremonies that worship sacrifice of animals in the name of some Gods. For me as an agnostic, that is a sign of humankind regression and celebration of underground Gods, absence of common sense and failure of homo sapiens.
According to latest reports, the pollution in oceans is getting the red alert:” About eight million tonnes of plastic waste are dumped into the world’s oceans every year, the equivalent of one garbage truck of plastic being tipped into the sea every minute of every day. More than half comes from five Asian countries: China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. They are among the fastest growing economies in Asia, where much of the world’s plastic is produced, consumed and discarded – most of it improperly in countries where waste management is at best patchy.” This problem will have a big impact on the marine life in the near future. The scariest picture was the whale that has been found dead only because he has consumed the plastic trash from humans. The problem is that new growing economies in Asia have no regulated residual waste system and that ends up with the lots of rubbish collection delivered in seas and oceans. The plastic industry is booming and there is no big philosophy about its horrible influence on the ocean biodiversity and its prosperity: „At the current rate of dumping, the total amount of plastic trash in the world’s oceans is expected to double to 250 million tonnes by 2025, according to Ocean Conservancy.That means there could be more plastic than fish in the world’s seas by 2050 if the nothing is done to turn the tide.”
The G7 summit this year has been held in Charlevoix, Canada and the main topic was security and environmental policy. The most powerful states, leading by the USA, Canada, the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Japan. The global players agreed to put efforts on solving the disputable questions in international politics and to give contribution in addressing the burning issues of the global ocean pollution and saving of water resources and marine biology.
The scientists are warning that the ocean is losing its oxygen. The global warming and pollution have caused the increase of the water temperature and reducing the level of oxygen, which is crucial for prosperity of underwater life. In those conditions, the bloom of algae will affect the decline of other important microorganism and water creatures. Based on the research of the German oceanographer Sunke Schmidtko, the Earth oceans had lost about 2% of their oxygen since 1960 and only due to the exploiting activity of people. This fact will determine the destiny of many species on the sphere, deciding about the dark portray of mass extinction.
I believe that the current waves in international ecological policy cannot really save the beauty of ocean waves. It must be a real devotion to the common goal of blue agenda of protection. It is not enough to promise that something will be done and then keep doing things against nature and wildlife. We are supposed to be the most intelligent race and to take care of other living forms, at least not to harm them. Nevertheless, we replaced our guardian role by executor role, opening the inferno itself.
The new developing countries have to take responsibility for their aggravating economies and to accept the measures for sustainable development. This will include more rational access to the natural and water resources and to the importance of animal world. Without oceans and marine biodiversity, we will be damned as the race that has never learnt how to behave responsible.
The marvelous oceans and their residents are not there to serve us but to serve the whole Earth. The only way out from this ecological hell is to accept that we are not the masters of the colony and that we have no rights to destroy what has never been ours. The final reply of the Earth could be deadly for all.
SARAH MAX RESEARCH 
Sarah’s imperative and relative article reminded me that the history or culture of humans contaminating the oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, etc., of the planet is protracted: archaeological evidence of trade between peoples has been dated to circa 17,000 BCE (i.e. obsidian and flint trading, in The Stone Age). This created negative consequences from run-off of waste water and effluence from production sites into rivers; which connected with oceans, etc.
The Neolithic Age (10,200 BCE – 2000 BCE) enhanced this process of humans polluting the main bodies of water of the surface of planet Earth. A significant and far-reaching shift in human subsistence and lifestyle was to be brought about in areas where crop farming and cultivation were first developed: the previous reliance on an essentially nomadic hunter-gatherer was at first supplemented, and then increasingly replaced by a reliance upon the foods produced from cultivated lands. These developments are believed to have greatly encouraged the growth of settlements, since it may be supposed that the increased need to spend more time and labour in tending crop fields required more localised dwellings.
This trend would continue into The Bronze Age; eventually, giving rise to permanently- settled farming towns, and later cities and states whose larger populations could be sustained by the increased productivity from cultivated lands. In turn, this created more waste water pollution for the oceans, etc.
Circa 10,000 BCE, the population of the world may have been about 10 million. It is estimated that around 50–60 million people lived in the combined eastern and western Roman Empire, in the 4th century CE. All of this translates into increased waste water pollution of oceans, etc. Specific ancient trades like tanning leather products resulted in extensive chemical pollution of rivers and seas, etc.
Some ancient Roman physicians commented about the connection of waste water and disease, but it would not be until centuries later that a few political leaders began to understand the connection between environmental damage and sustainability: in the 7th century CE, Caliph Abu Bakr (c. 537-634) commanded his invading armies not to damage forests, as he comprehended the connection of trees to watersheds and as resources.
During the Mediaeval periods, several Arab-Muslim medical treatises mention environmentalism, and contain references to air pollution, water pollution, soil contamination, waste mismanagement and environmental damage impact assessments on certain citadels (i.e. heavily populated locations). The Iberian citadel of Cordoba (i.e. under Moorish rule) had refuse containers and waste disposal systems.
In 1388, the English Parliament passed an Act forbidding the throwing of filth and garbage into ditches, rivers and waterways. The city of Cambridge passed the first urban sanitary laws of England.
In 1820, the estimated total human population of the world was about 1 billion. The negative consequences of The Industrial Revolution significantly increased oceanic pollution.
Across the planet, people are trying to reverse the damage done to the oceans, but the main obstacle is the noxious ignorance of powerful commercial and political leaders; such as major corporations and present fossil-fuel orientated US-Foreign Policy.
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Thank you, Sarah, for this educational and critical article about our oceans and seas !
“Humans” have been dumping all sorts of sewer, plastics, and pollutants into our oceans and seas for so long and too long !
It may already be too late to reverse the damage done because of “human” limitless greed and selfishness !
“Humans” have been treating this planet with the biggest disregard for its inhabitants, be they animals, or humans, or yet plants ! The consequences will be cataclysmic to say the least, but “humans” will have deserved it !
I feel so sorry for all Animals including Marine life of course, for all the pain and suffering they go through and for ultimately losing their lives because of “humans” !
It is time everyone started thinking about all living creatures and about our environment and planet. Maybe, just maybe, there is still a glimmer of hope !
What a well-written and well-presented article, Sarah !
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