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Enjoying the ocean means taking care of it

by Brenda Yun (RSS feed) on Jan 14th 2009 at 3:30PM

A recent article in The Economist outlines how man is destroying the ocean. It reports, "Man has changed the landscape and the atmosphere. It would be odd if the seas, which he has for centuries used for food, for transport, for dumping rubbish and, more recently, for recreation, had not also been affected." Despite being an avid ocean-goer myself, I have to agree with this assessment. Furthermore, it should not be too surprising that as man continues to utilize the ocean's resources, whether it be for food, transportation, waste disposal, or recreation, the ecosystem below is changing.

The recent shark attacks in Australia and the shark sightings in Hawaii back in October clearly parallel this hard reality. While it's important to enjoy our waters, it's equally important to do our job as citizens in this world to protect them. That means doing small things like not touching the reef or getting in close contact with marine life. It also means choosing cleaner modes of water transport like sailing. It means being vigilant about where we throw our trash, and most of all it means we have to educate ourselves and understand the conditions of the sea.

With proper care and vigilance, the ocean can be a place our future generations can enjoy as we do. Otherwise, as The Economist article puts it, "The possibility of widespread catastrophe is simply too great."

Filed under: Activism, Learning, Scuba Diving, Surfing, Stories, United States, Australia, Ecotourism, News