5 Simple Ways You Can Help Protect Our Oceans
As I sit on a beautiful hotel terrace in Beverly Hills, drenched in early morning sun and awaiting what is sure to be an immaculate breakfast, I ponder the blue carpet walk of the long-anticipated Disney premiere of Oceans in Hollywood. Walking alongside some very notable people, as well as some of the foremost ocean champions, was a thrill for sure and the event itself gained much needed attention for our water planet.
That said, I couldn’t help but feel that there was a slight disconnect with the reporters and onlookers. It seemed the overall message of ocean reverie the film carries was overshadowed by the public’s desire to get a glimpse of the silver screen elite. Don’t get me wrong, it was a well-planned and wonderfully executed event. I believe the problem simply comes from the public’s disconnect with our oceans. More specifically, there still seems to be a general lack of concern about our one and only life support system, our planet.
Confusion over the complicated facts surrounding topics such as climate change, over-consumption of natural resources, and pollution has muddled the urgent message that we are in serious trouble. Only when the path is clear and concise can we envision what needs to be done to ensure that our progeny will inherit a healthy planet.
With that said, if we act quickly as a global society, we stand a good chance of steering away from the bow of disaster. When faced with difficult challenges, human beings have the amazing capacity to perform miracles. It is time for us all to roll up our sleeves and do what needs to be done—in all aspects of our lives—regardless of the perceived cost or inconvenience. If we do not, the cost of indifference and inaction will be far greater.
The good news is that there are many examples of little actions we can each take in our everyday lives that cumulatively make a big difference. Like rain, individual drops united can fill an ocean.
Although we’ve already marked the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, action can—and should—be taken every day. What better benchmark to celebrate the earth and the inheritance for our children than to make a commitment to change our bad habits? It is time for us to stop living on the planet and start living with the planet.
Here are five easy things you can do:
1) Be proactive about what bothers and affects you: start a community effort and work towards change.
2) Use social media to get the word out: Facebook, Twitter, and the like make spreading knowledge easier than ever.
3) Get the local school to start a green garden program or an ocean campaign.
4) Find alternatives to the toxic chemicals you dump down the sink or on the lawn; not only are there great natural products on the market, it is easy to make your own using simple, non-toxic household items.
5) Encourage friends, family, neighbors, the local community, and the local government to become better stewards of our one and only life support system—the earth!
10 Comments
I live on the shores of Lake Erie and there is very little respect for that Lake. It is heavily polluted and has been for a very long time. It has come to the point that pollution in the lake seems natural to people. It is so sad to see.
” many examples of little actions we can each take in our everyday lives that cumulatively make a big difference. Like rain, individual drops united can fill an ocean.” what a beautiful phrase, and great tips, thanks!
Does anyone have any ideas or websites that they could share with us for how to make your own non-toxic cleaning recipes? I know just plain vinegar and water is great, but didn’t know if anyone else had some good ideas! Thanks!
Thanks for the well written informative post! It’s so refreshing to read something from someone that actually knows what they’re talking about. Keep up the great work!
I just learned about how our choice of diet has an effect on our oceans as well (e-cornell plant-based nutrition course). Dr. Bruce Monger lectured on this. My eyes were opened. Then I learned that our ocean is 3/4 of our planet! What?! Thank you for all you do. Retweeting this article. God Bless You all here.
Wonderful to hear from Fabien. But I have to admit that after watching ‘Oceans’ the only elite that I wanted to see up close were the Narwhals … goodness! … I’ve never seen them before! I felt blessed to witness the work of all who put that movie together … but it was the ocean life itself that has my attention. Bless!
Another way we can protect our oceans is to learn to live life with much less plastic than we do. Ocean plastic pollution is the price we pay for lifestyles based consumption and convenience. I’ve been learning to live with almost no new plastic since 2007 and documenting the effort, as well as the problems with plastic, at http://fakeplasticfish.com.
I find it absolutely atrocious the blatant disregard that humans have for the World’s oceans and water bodies. It’s strange to me how something so precious as our water supply is neglected and abused. We should be doing all we can, collaboratively and individually to help preserve the resources that keep us alive.
I think the strength of the Green and Sustainable community is definitely in the way we are motivated to constantly improve our efforts and constantly educate ourselves and others about what’s going on in the world and what we can do.
I stumbled across a site while blog surfing the other day that I would like to recommend to you all. http://www.greeneutopia.com
The site has tons of valuable information on Green issues and trends that I found absolutely enlightening. There online store was pretty useful to and had a line of Green and sustainable products that seem to be effective and affordable! I hope this resource helps you the way it helped me!
http://www.greeneutopia.com
God Bless,
Sabrina
I author a blog called itsmyocean.org that is dedicated to instilling a personal sense of ownership in the ocean.
By ownership I don’t me that you have a right to “take your fair share”, but rather ownership in the sense of what you might feel for your own house – a sense that you should protect it and keep it in good condition because it keeps you warm and safe – and so very much more!
Have a look and make some comments.
Bruce
Great tips! Such important info!
May 5, 2010