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If the ocean dies, we die

Jun 08, 2021 Letters

Dear Editor,

Today 8th June is World Oceans Day. Life on earth originated in the ocean. The IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate says that, “The Ocean is essential for all aspects of human well-being and livelihood.” Our lives depend on a healthy ocean.
But the ocean is dying. Greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels are making the earth hotter. The ocean has absorbed much of that heat. It is also absorbing the carbon dioxide. The ocean is becoming hotter, more acid and less oxygenated. Corals are dying. Shellfish struggle to make their shells. Marine life is finding it harder to breathe. We will too. The ocean produces 50% of the planet’s oxygen.
The World Economic Forum says there are 5 trillion pieces of plastic pollution in the oceans. Plastic traps, chokes, poisons and exterminates marine life. It pollutes coral reefs. Eventually the plastic breaks down into micro particles and marine life eats it and dies. Plastic is a by-product of the fossil fuel sector.
Ballast water takes bacteria, microbes, small invertebrates, eggs, cysts, larvae etc. from their natural marine environment and dumps them as alien invasive species into other marine ecosystems where they have a devastating impact. Oil tankers transport vast quantities of ballast water.
When mangroves are smashed down, fish, shrimp and other marine species lose their nurseries and the chance to reproduce. You can put up a seawall but the fish have nowhere to grow future generations. The earth is the only home our species has ever had. Our home is 70% ocean. If the ocean dies, we die. We have a choice. Happy World Oceans Day.
Yours truly,
Melinda Janki

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