Do you know what is happening to your ocean beyond the beach? Oceans cover about 70% of the Earth's surface. The Ocean's contain roughly 97% of Earth's water supply. The Ocean's of Earth are unique in our Solar System, no other planet has liquid water, life on earth originated in the seas and the Oceans continue to be home to an incredibly diverse web of life. A staggering 80% of all life on Earth is to be found hidden beneath the waves and the vast global ocean pulses around our world driving the natural forces which maintain life on our planet.
The ocean's of Earth serve many functions, especially affecting the weather and temperature. They moderate the Earth's temperature by absorbing incoming Solar radiation (stored as heat energy). The always moving ocean currents distribute this heat energy around the globe. This heats the land and air during winter and cools the land in summer.
The oceans provide vital sources of protein, energy, minerals and other products of use the world over and the rolling of the seas across the planet creates over half our oxygen, drives weather systems and natural flows of energy and nutrients around the world, transports water masses many times greater than all the rivers on land combined and keeps the Earth habitable. Without the global ocean there would be no life on Earth. It is gravely worrying, then, that we are damaging the oceans on a scale that is unimaginable to most people.
We now know that human activity can have serious impacts on the vital forces governing our planet. We have fundamentally changed the global climate and are just beginning to understand the consequences of that, but just as serious, are the impacts on our oceans, the actual state of our oceans is a far cry from the natural norm. We need to defend the oceans now more than ever, because the oceans need all the resilience they can muster in the face of climate change and the potentially disasterous impacts this is already beginning to produce in the marine world.
The key threats to the ocean are; Cigarettes and cigarette filters, food wrappers and containers, caps and lids, bags, beverage bottles, cups, plates, forks, knives and spoons, beverage bottles (glass & plastic), cigar tips, straws, stirrers and beverage cans. There are so many more, oil spill accidents, domestic sewage, industrial discharges, urban and industrial run off, sea dumping, I could go on and on, but I am sure you have read of them all. Plastic waste kills many marine animals when they mistake plastic for food, to humans, these are items of comfort, if not necessity, but to marine animals, they can be a floating mine field.
The Earth's oceans are all connected to one another. Until year 2000, there were four recognized oceans, the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Arctic. In 2000, the International Hydro graphic Organization delimited a new ocean, the Southern Ocean (it surrounds Antarctic and extends to 60 degrees latitude. There are also many seas (smaller branches of an Ocean); seas are often partly enclosed by land. The largest seas are the South China Sea, the Caribbean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.
Take a walk along any beach anywhere in the world and washed ashore will be many plastic bags, bottles and containers and many other harmful items that are a danger to marine animals. This is so true, I have walked our beach (Lake Michigan) and have seen this and plastic too far out in the water to reach. When people leave our beach they leave so much garbage (even though the Park provides garbage cans, right on the beach for use). The wind blows all the loose stuff toward the water, I try to retrieve as much as I can and I am sure you do also, I feel so helpless about this situation.
It is important that we address the issues that affect the Ocean, 90% of sea creatures live in the sunlight zone, which is the zone most affected by global warming and oil pollution. We must stop these problems because if we don't, we will hurt and maybe even kill our sea life. Don't pollute the Ocean, Seas, Lakes , Rivers and streams, help preserve our eco-system. The more we recycle the less waste and debris will end up in these beautiful waters. I am sorry, I can't help myself, I wanted to get all this in, it is so important, and there is so much literature on Google about this, this is where I retrieved my information, thanks for listening my friends.
The ocean's of Earth serve many functions, especially affecting the weather and temperature. They moderate the Earth's temperature by absorbing incoming Solar radiation (stored as heat energy). The always moving ocean currents distribute this heat energy around the globe. This heats the land and air during winter and cools the land in summer.
The oceans provide vital sources of protein, energy, minerals and other products of use the world over and the rolling of the seas across the planet creates over half our oxygen, drives weather systems and natural flows of energy and nutrients around the world, transports water masses many times greater than all the rivers on land combined and keeps the Earth habitable. Without the global ocean there would be no life on Earth. It is gravely worrying, then, that we are damaging the oceans on a scale that is unimaginable to most people.
We now know that human activity can have serious impacts on the vital forces governing our planet. We have fundamentally changed the global climate and are just beginning to understand the consequences of that, but just as serious, are the impacts on our oceans, the actual state of our oceans is a far cry from the natural norm. We need to defend the oceans now more than ever, because the oceans need all the resilience they can muster in the face of climate change and the potentially disasterous impacts this is already beginning to produce in the marine world.
The key threats to the ocean are; Cigarettes and cigarette filters, food wrappers and containers, caps and lids, bags, beverage bottles, cups, plates, forks, knives and spoons, beverage bottles (glass & plastic), cigar tips, straws, stirrers and beverage cans. There are so many more, oil spill accidents, domestic sewage, industrial discharges, urban and industrial run off, sea dumping, I could go on and on, but I am sure you have read of them all. Plastic waste kills many marine animals when they mistake plastic for food, to humans, these are items of comfort, if not necessity, but to marine animals, they can be a floating mine field.
The Earth's oceans are all connected to one another. Until year 2000, there were four recognized oceans, the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Arctic. In 2000, the International Hydro graphic Organization delimited a new ocean, the Southern Ocean (it surrounds Antarctic and extends to 60 degrees latitude. There are also many seas (smaller branches of an Ocean); seas are often partly enclosed by land. The largest seas are the South China Sea, the Caribbean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.
Take a walk along any beach anywhere in the world and washed ashore will be many plastic bags, bottles and containers and many other harmful items that are a danger to marine animals. This is so true, I have walked our beach (Lake Michigan) and have seen this and plastic too far out in the water to reach. When people leave our beach they leave so much garbage (even though the Park provides garbage cans, right on the beach for use). The wind blows all the loose stuff toward the water, I try to retrieve as much as I can and I am sure you do also, I feel so helpless about this situation.
It is important that we address the issues that affect the Ocean, 90% of sea creatures live in the sunlight zone, which is the zone most affected by global warming and oil pollution. We must stop these problems because if we don't, we will hurt and maybe even kill our sea life. Don't pollute the Ocean, Seas, Lakes , Rivers and streams, help preserve our eco-system. The more we recycle the less waste and debris will end up in these beautiful waters. I am sorry, I can't help myself, I wanted to get all this in, it is so important, and there is so much literature on Google about this, this is where I retrieved my information, thanks for listening my friends.
17 comments:
The next world war will be fought over water rights and I think the water will be in our Great Lakes. The oceans are in bad shape but I hope there are more thoughtful people on earth than nitwits mining the sea for everything and leaving nothing.
Im really thankful to you Margaret that you come up with such important themes for your posts that are a wake up call for one and all.
Its great to now that there are people like you who are such responsible citizens of this world!!
I hope all of us take a lesson from this post and work towards a better tomorrow,its important to act today.
Hello Margaret, what a very interesting post and on such a very important issue. Thanks for reminding us what is truly important to us all. Thanks for stopping by recently too. I have enjoyed catching up on your wonderful blog.
Very interesting article, but will people pay attention. We all seem to just keep using and taking and never thinking to far into the future.
How right you are Margaret. The public needs to wake up and pay more attention to the way we care for our planet. We won't be around forever, but this world might!
B.
It's a long row to hoe, trying to clean up the earth, but I guess we need to start, by each person being responsible for cleaning their own little corner of the world. One person at a time.
It was a very thought provoking post.
If we all did our little bit each day, the planet and the oceans would be clean immediately. People just don't realise what they're doing to our planet with their garbage and sometimes big business are the worst offenders, as in oil spills, toxic waste, etc. A very good thought provoking post, Margaret.
It is so sad how mankind is destroying our great earth. I see in our river that plastic is also a problem. A few times when I went for a walk down in the river bed I picked up dirty diapers and also plactic items. I am praying that we get enough rain this year to stop the drought here. Southern and Northern California argue over water rights. So. Cal. wants us to send our water down to them but how can we when we don't get enough. Last year So. Calif. got more rain then we did but there's no way they can send any up to us. But you are right we need to conserve our oceans and make them clean again.
You are so wise.
In many things I do as a contribution is to conserve things than unnecessarily using!
Garden Lizard
I know that just to write these lines here in the comment box, I'm using up much natural resources that provide electricity for the same!
I'm guilty.
Definition of a Respectable Human Being
Dear Margaret ~~ Great post as everyone has said.
You choose great subjects and are like Forrest Gump says, "Life is like a box of chocolates,; you never know what you are going to get."
I hope you have a very Happy Birthday tomorrow
Tuesday 24th November. Have a lovely day and a
nice celebration. These birthdays come around quickly don't they? The alternative isn't so good so we have to put up with getting older.
Take care, my friend, Love, Merle.
Hi Margaret, I just stopped by to say hello and wish you and your family a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Happy holidays!
xo
Dear Margaret~~ Thank you for your comments and I
am glad you enjoy my posts. I didn't know your son
was born with one ear, but thankfully his hearing is OK.
Glad you liked the Noah's Ark cartoon and the good old days. I hope you had a good birthday
and wish you a Happy Thanksgiving.
Take care, my friend, Love, Merle.
Hope you and yours have a very Happy Thanksgiving.
Hi again Margaret ~~ Thanks so much for your comments and I am glad you enjoyed the jokes.
November sure did fly by - it is hard to realize only days until Christmas. I hope your
Thanksgiving Day was really great. Take care,
my friend, Love, Merle.
Very nice and thoughtful post. I hope everybody thinks of cleaning their own surroundings and in that way the whole city will be found as neat and clean city. It depends on an individual whether he wants to keep tidy or untidy.
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