Do
Your Part to Keep Oceans Clean
Metro — Earth is a remarkable planet — one that is
roughly 70 percent ocean. Scientists know more about space than they do about
the ocean depths and the inhabitants of underwater ecosystems. What is known,
however, is that even though the oceans are vast, they are still affected by
human intervention and the trash people generate.
Marine life can be harmed by debris and trash in the world’s
oceans. Despite the best efforts to safeguard against ocean dumping and
discarded items ending up in the water, the realization is it does happen ...
regularly. Plastic refuse is one of the common nemeses of marine animals.
Many everyday items resemble food sources for animals and can be
eaten with dire results.
For example, the plastic pellets that are melted down to make
larger plastic items resemble the eggs of fish and are eaten by birds.
These small plastic particles have been found in the stomachs of
63 of the world’s approximately 250 species of seabirds.
Plastic sandwich bags look like jellyfish and can be swallowed by
sea turtles, getting caught in their throats or digestive systems.
Many curious animals, such as seals, get tangled up in netting or
plastic soda rings and suffocate.
But plastic isn’t the only offender. The Center for Marine
Conservation identifies other dirty items that cause problems in the oceans.
These include: cigarette butts, paper pieces, styrofoam, glass
pieces, and metal beverage cans.
Not only can all of these items harm marine life, they can also
wreak havoc on boat engines, propellers, and be dangerous to those who swim or
engage in other recreational activities in the water.
For these reasons and many others, for more than 20 years the
Ocean Conservancy has been helping communities, both here and abroad, to clean
up debris from the shore to benefit people and wildlife.
Over the past 21 years, a total of 6,600,000 million volunteers
have picked up almost 116,000,000 pounds of debris across 211,460 miles of
coastline.
That’s more debris than the combined weight of 258 Statues of
Liberty and more mileage than eight trips around the world.
Each year the Ocean Conservancy hosts an International Ocean
Cleanup, where volunteers from around the world donate their time to work in
their communities towards a shared global vision of cleaner, healthier oceans
and waterways, where people and wildlife are free from the dangers of marine
debris.
This year they are anticipating 500,000 volunteers will turn out
to collect debris and document what they find along shorelines and underwater
in 100 countries.
The 2007 event takes place on September 15.
But one day a year is not enough to protect the oceans. People
must do their part year-round to safeguard marine life and protect the
environment.
Here is what the Ocean Conservancy says you can do to help:
• Clean up your trash, even when not near the water.
It’s amazing that a vast majority of trash in our waterways comes
from land-based activities.
Even trash discarded miles inland can make it to the ocean,
carried by the rain and the winds.
• Retrieve your monofilament fishing line. Don’t leave fishing
line in the water and remove others’ when you find it, being careful not to tug
on snagged lines that could be caught on important habitat below the surface.
• Contain and properly clean spills when boating.
Use oil-absorbent rags or even diapers to clean spills. Ocean
Conservancy’s Good Mate program can provide you with plenty of tips for
reducing impact when on the water.
• Never pour oil, paint, antifreeze, or other household chemical
into an open sewer.
• Don’t use fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides that can wash
into open waters.
• Use lemon juice, vinegar, and baking soda for household
cleaning.
• Use cloth bags for groceries.
Take them with you when you shop to reduce the number of plastic
bags you use. In addition to being ugly, plastic bags can choke marine wildlife
when mistaken for food.
• Properly dispose of used batteries and electronics.
Use your local recycling center.
Electronics leach harmful chemicals into the environment. Once
there, these toxic pollutants can affect the environment for decades.
• Contact your elected representatives. Let them know you care
about the effects of marine debris and that you are watching what they do to
stop it.
Then, vote for
candidates who support marine debris prevention.