All posts filed under: Ocean Lover

Trashing Paradise: Let’s Clean Up The Beach

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Photo Credit: Silence Like Thunder Paradise is the last place you would expect to see trash.  Unfortunately, even paradise can’t escape trash.  Caribbean islands  find trash washing up on their shores and litter scattered across the sea floor all the time.  It is not a postcard picture at all when tourists and locals come across trash scattered along the beach.  It is an ugly reality that exists.  Why is this happening? To start, littering and lack of recycling.  The ocean is not a trash can, yet we seem to treat it like one. It is a nasty habit that has gone on way too long all over the world.  Our oceans, marine life and wildlife are suffering from this dirty habit. Marine life and our ocean’s ecosystem feel the impact the most.  Marine debris is a huge problem.  Trash in the sea causes the ocean to become unhealthy.  An unhealthy ocean is bad for everyone, including the planet.  We need a healthy ocean because the ocean produces half of the oxygen that we breathe and it also provides …

Marine Parks A Haven For Marine Life And Coral Reefs

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  Photo Credit: Courtney Platt Why We Need Marine Parks The ocean spans across 71% of the Earth’s surface.  Only 4% of the world’s oceans are protected.  Climate change continues to disrupt the balance of the ocean, threatening the health of the ocean.  The health of the ocean impacts marine life, the planet and (you guessed it) humans.  The ocean acts as a life support system for marine life which expands to human beings, as 50-70% of our oxygen comes from the ocean.  This works out to be more than all of the world’s rainforests combined.  It is imperative that our ocean’s are protected and kept clean.  One of the best ways we can help protect the ocean is by increasing the number of and the size of marine parks.  Increasing and expanding marine parks on a global scale benefits not only the planet but everyone. Photo Credit: Courtney Platt In recent news, there has been talk about the possibility of expanding marine parks in the Cayman Islands.  This is a positive thing!  Personally, I am …

Coral Reefs In Hot Water

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Photo Credit: World Wildlife Fund Australia   Brace yourself, for the third time a worldwide coral bleaching event is taking place.  A ripple effect has been set in motion.  Climate Change is causing the temperature of the ocean to rise and coral reefs are heating up and stressing out.  As a result, coral reefs are turning white.  Essentially, the coral bleaching is causing the coral’s white skeleton to be exposed.  The distressed coral reefs will have a negative impact on the eco-system and oceanic wildlife that depend on them. When corals are stressed by changes in conditions such as temperature, light, or nutrients, they expel the symbiotic algae living in their tissues, causing them to turn completely white. – NOAA Coral reefs are a life support system of the ocean.  They play a crucial role in keeping the balance of the ocean in check.  Coral reefs are a fragile eco-system and oceanic wildlife depend on them for their survival.  Reportedly, “This bleaching event could kill over 12,000 square kilometers (about 4,600 square miles) of reefs by the end …

Selling Out The Coral Reefs

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Only after the last tree has been cut down, only after the last river has been poisoned, 
only after the last fish has been caught, only then will you find that money can not be eaten. 
- Cree Indian Prophecy A profound quote. It is haunting and heavy with truth. A cautionary warning, foreshadowing what is to come if we don’t recognize the devastating implications of man’s destruction of the environment. There is an urgency for us to stop and take a look around at the state of peril our environment is in. We need to examine the way we are living. Is it really worth compromising the intrinsic value of the land and sea for profit, greed, convenience and to serve man’s ego?  Man has infinite wants with finite natural resources. Sustainable living is key to reversing and repairing the damage already inflicted upon the planet and it is fundamental for generations to come. This planet was neither designed nor created so that man could exploit, destroy and exhaust all the natural resources in …

Coral Reefs: The Ocean’s Treasure

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(Photo Credit: Swim For The Reef) Why do we need to protect coral reefs? Simply put, coral reefs are some of the most diverse and extremely valuable ecosystems on the Earth.  We cannot afford to lose coral reefs.  Coral reefs have an intrinsic value to both the environment and mankind. Did you know? Coral reefs support more species per unit area than any other marine environment, including about 4,000 species of fish, 800 species of hard corals and hundreds of other species. – National Ocean Service Education Coral Reefs: The Treasure of the Sea The ocean is full of wonder and enchantment.  Coral reefs are the treasure of the sea. Divers and snorkelers from all around the world flock to countries that have the privilege of being blessed with magnificent coral reefs.  For instance, Australia’s very own Great Barrier Reef.  One of the largest reefs in the world.  On the other side of the hemisphere, the caribbean has an incredible diving and snorkeling experience to offer.  Specifically, the Cayman Islands, are well known for their …

The Ocean Is Not A Trash Can

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(Photo Credit: CBS News) Spolier Alert: The ocean is not a trash can. Did you know? There’s six times more plastic than phytoplankton in all oceans, and according to the UN Environmental Programme a minimum of 46,000 floating pieces of plastic for every square kilometer of Earth’s oceans in their entirety. -Huffington Post Unfortunately, the ocean is increasingly becoming a common dumping ground for trash.  Plastic and other trash keeps making its way into the ocean and wreaking havoc on marine life.  In particular, plastic is a major concern. When marine life ingest what is known as micro-plastics they can die as a result.  Additionally, plastic poses other threats to marine life, such as causing animals to become entangled or strangled by nets and plastic 6-pack soda rings. Sadly, marine life are becoming victims of man’s carelessness of polluting the ocean.  Ocean pollution not only harms and endangers marine life but it also disrupts the balance of the health of the ocean.   (Photo Credit: One Green Planet) The Dangers of Plastic and Other Trash Floating …