Life Below Water
By Anna Levy
Water is one of the most important resources available in our world; not only does it make up 60% of the human body and 71% of Earth, it is also an essential resource for sustainable development. Oceans, seas, and other marine resources regulate our climate, temperature, and oxygen supply, and are therefore essential to the global systems that keep us alive. However, due to threats like climate change and pollution, the purity of our oceans is in danger. This is why the 14th Sustainable Development Goal of the United Nations is to “conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development” in the hopes of reducing marine pollution and protecting our oceans from further damage.
If you breathe oxygen or eat food, then the oceans are an essential resource for your existence. All people are connected to the ocean, regardless of whether or not they go to the beach, eat seafood, or live in a landlocked country. This is because the oceans give us more than half of the oxygen we breathe and provide approximately one-sixth of the animal protein we eat! Unfortunately, despite its overwhelming contributions to our world, less than 2% of the oceans is protected and no area is left untouched by the damaging influence of humanity. Because of human activities like marine-pollution and overfishing, habitat destruction is rampant throughout our oceans, including a 20% decline in coral reefs and an overall increase in “dead zones,” or areas with such low levels of oxygen that most marine species die or are forced to leave the area.
Although many of us don’t realize it, oceans are the biggest force combating climate change on Earth. The ocean has the unique ability to absorb and dissolve approximately half of the carbon dioxide produced by human activities. This statistic does not even include the influence of marine animals like phytoplankton, who absorb CO2 as part of their life cycle and release it to the bottom of the ocean when they die. While carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses are essential to raising the Earth’s temperature from levels below freezing, the overproduction of greenhouse gases caused by excess burning of fossil fuels has raised the average temperature of the planet and created a worldwide energy imbalance. The carbon dioxide regulation created by our oceans is essential to limiting the circulation of greenhouse gasses on land and preventing the Earth’s temperature from rising to an inhabitable level.
One strategy that humans can implement to limit human-inflicted damage to our oceans and its habitats is to conserve and sustainably use ocean-based resources. Thousands of jobs, from farmers to fisherman, rely on the ocean and its resources to promote business and meet consumer demands. The trouble arises when fishermen begin to overfish in concentrated areas, either by catching more fish than necessary or by catching unwanted species instead of those that they initially targeted. As a result of this overfishing, fishermen are forced to move to deeper areas further away from the surface, depleting more areas of the ocean and driving many species into extinction. In 1976, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) established an international system of laws on using marine resources addressing the importance of biodiversity in our oceans and protecting marine habitats. Today, the United Nations continues to promote action protecting marine resources and eliminating harmful subsidies that promote overfishing and exploitation of marine resources, but there are still many unattended areas that need protection.
Another action necessary to improving the health of our oceans is to reduce water
pollution in all of its forms. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, billions of pounds of trash and other pollutants enter the ocean each year only to wash back ashore on beaches or poison helpless marine animals. Pollutants can come in many different forms, whether it be an oil spill or runoff from a farm or a vehicle. While highly damaging events like oil spills and other large disasters occur infrequently, pollution from activities like operating vehicles or working in harvest areas continues to damage our marine ecosystems each day. This pollution can harm not only ocean life, but also human life. Contaminants like metal from underwater trash can make their way into our seafood, poisoning us with the very garbage that we discarded. Researchers are still investigating the potential risk of pollutants in seafood, but one thing is for sure: neither humans nor sea creatures are immune from the harmful effects of marine pollution.
While the ocean may seem like just water, it is actually a complex ecosystem that contains the deepest canyons, the tallest mountain ranges, and millions of species that have yet to be discovered by humankind. Although much of the ocean operates beyond our control and even beyond our knowledge, humans play a vital role in protecting its surface and keeping it healthy and thriving. By making smarter consumer choices and becoming aware of the companies that collect our trash and deliver our resources, we can each play a role in saving our world’s oceans.
Sources:
Ford M, Shea J. Why the Ocean Matters. National Geographic. 23 Oct, 2012. Available from: https://www.nationalgeographic.org/media/why-ocean-matters/
Lindsey R. (2020). NOAA. Climate Change: Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide. Climate.gov website: https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-atmospheric-carbon-dioxide
NOAA. Why should we care about the ocean? National Ocean Service website: https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/why-care-about-ocean.html#:~:text=The%20air%20we%20breathe%3A%20The,our%20climate%20and%20weather%20patterns.
NOAA. Ocean pollution. NOAA website: https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/ocean-coasts/ocean-pollution
United Nations: Sustainable Development Goals Fund. Goal 14: Life below water. Available from: https://www.sdgfund.org/goal-14-life-below-water