Causes.com
| 6.30.22
UN Secretary-General Declares ‘Ocean Emergency’
Are you concerned about the state of the world’s oceans?
What’s the story
- United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres spoke at the opening of the UN ocean conference in Lisbon, Portugal, declaring a global “ocean emergency” and urging leaders to do more to protect the world’s oceans.
- Guterres said:
“Sadly, we have taken the ocean for granted and today we face what I would call an ocean emergency. We must turn the tide.”
- The UN Head pointed to goal 14 of the UN’s 17 sustainable development goals (SDG), which contains specific targets for reducing ocean pollution and acidification, increasing investment in marine tech and research, and other actions to conserve and sustainably use the world’s oceans. This goal has received the least amount of support of all SDGs.
Our oceans
- Global seas are sorely under-protected. While 64 percent of the ocean lies beyond the territorial limits of individual countries, only 1.2 percent is currently protected from overfishing, pollution, and other human-caused environmental damage.
- According to the World Meteorological Organization’s state of the global climate report, last year saw new record levels of sea-level rise, high temperatures, ocean acidification, and greenhouse gas concentration levels.
- Ocean pollution is also a major issue, with nearly 8 million tons of plastic entering the ocean every year. Plastic circulates the world through ocean currents, killing millions of animals every year, and spreading microplastics far and wide. Microplastics have been found in every corner of the world, including deep in arctic ice, and even in human blood and lungs.
- Guterres, citing a report from the Ellen Macarthur Foundation and the World Economic Forum, warned that plastic could outweigh all fish in the ocean by 2050.
What’s next?
- The conference ends July 1, and leaders will release a final draft non-binding declaration on protecting the world’s oceans. Learn more about the conference here.
- The global ocean treaty, which aims to protect 30 percent of the ocean by 2030, is expected to enter into a fifth round of negotiations between nations in August in New York.
A few ways to help
- Some ways to promote ocean health include waste management systems, reduction of single-use plastics, and a more streamlined recycling process to stop plastic waste at the source.
- Avoid using single-use plastic and eating seafood. Plastic pollution is the greatest threat to ocean health worldwide, and the easiest way to help is by avoiding single-use plastic items. These include water bottles, straws, cups, lids, utensils, bags, and more. Additionally, cutting back on seafood (and meat) consumption can help alleviate the pressure that fishing put on marine ecosystems.
- Help #TeamSeas fight ocean pollution by donating to their efforts to remove millions of pounds of plastic from the ocean, rivers, and beaches. You could also win a special-edition NFT. Learn more here.
What do you think?
Are you concerned about the state of the world’s oceans?
-Casey Dawson, Jamie Epstein
(Photo Credit: Getty Images / Rich Carey)
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Climate & Consumption
Health & Hunger
Politics & Policy
Safety & Security
The world is a finite place and we can no longer treat any part of the world as a place where we can just dump any refuse or waste products derived from human activities. The oceans are critical to the climate and thier warming is directly contributing to the extreme droughts, increased flooding, more severe weather extremes and unprecedented temperature extremes which are getting more severe year by year as the oceans continue to warm.
It has been scientifically preducted that marine life as we know it and a prominent food source for many populations will suffer a continuing mass extinction event culminating by 2300. That, and the increased acidification of the warming oceans is killing off the phytoplankton which processes at least 30% of the CO2 that is annually reclaimed, and which also provides the basis for the food chain that supports almost all marine life.
The oceans are also being polluted by oil spills, chemical dumps and general refuse which effects nutrition of ocean based foodstuffs and introduces micro plastic residue into almost everything that people eat to sustain themselves.
Big money interests are responsible for most of the damage to the oceans but human activities greatly contribute as well.
Our country, especially, needs to get more active in protecting the world, the oceans, and the climate; leading by example - if the world of nations has any chance to preserve human life as we now know it in the future. In thirty years or so our children, grandchildren and extended families will be facing extreme hardships and great geo-political tensions if we continue to deny what is assuredly coming.
We cannot permit big money interests driven to protect todays wealth and profits continue to prevent us from doing what must be done to protect our children's, our country's and our world's future.
The oceans produce 50% of earth’s oxygen, covers 70% of the earth’s surface, source of protein for 1B people, and 40M people are employed in ocean-based industries. 90% of fish populations and 50% of reefs have been destroyed. The theme for World Oceans Day
2022 is, Revitalization: Collective Action for the Ocean. This was the first hybrid celebration of the annual event, hosted in-person at the UN Headquarters in New York and broadcast live.
2021 was, The Oceans: Life and Livelihoods in support of Sustainable Development Goal 14, “Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources”, by 2030. The UN Environmental Programme is a virtual event that all may attend online. Oceanic Global is the official non-profit and production partner to the United Nations for World Oceans Day 2022 & 2021 events & celebrations and provides links to webinars.
There are many organizations working on ocean cleanup but unsure of responsibility since national control only exists 12 nautical miles from a country’s coastline making it an international responsibility that only international organizations could address.
A UN Conference in 2017 to support Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development was held in 2017 to organize voluntary commitments from countries (like the Dutch ministry that paid for a North Sea prototype), UN, intergovernmental organizations, NGOs, and academic and research organizations to contribute.
Closely associated with the UN is The Ocean Cleanup, a not-for-profit foundation, and fully built on third party financial support. It was founded in 2013 with the help of 2.2 million USD that was crowd-funded from more than 38,000 individuals from 160 countries over a period of 100 days, most support after that came from private philanthropists. It’s focused is on sustainability through the collection and removal process of plastic that is recycled into sustainable products and used for fuel for collection vessels. Another sustainable project the Interceptor technology to help prevent plastic garbage from entering the oceans via rivers.
Below is a list of organizations working on ocean cleanup:
1) Ocean Conservancy (1970)
2) Surfrider Foundation. Grassroots.
3) Oceana. Founded (2001)
4) Sea Sheppard Conservation Society (2005)
5) Take 3 (Australian)
6) Green Peace
7) The Gyres Institute
8) Ocean Preservation Society (2005)
9) The Environmental Defense Fund
10) RickO’Barry’s Dolphin Project (1982)
11) Pretoma (Costa Rica)
12) National Resources Defense Council
13) Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute
14) Blue Frontier Campaign
15) Bahamas Plastic Movement
16) Project Aware
17) Sea Legacy
18) Lonely Whale
19) Parley for the Oceans
20) The Ocean Cleanup
21) The Blu
22) The Ocean Blue Project
23) Seabin Project
https://www.marineinsight.com/environment/15-brave-organisations-fighting-save-oceans/
https://www.blueland.com/articles/organizations-cleaning-up-our-oceans
https://www.goodnet.org/articles/5-incredible-organizations-that-are-making-worlds-oceans-cleaner
https://theoceancleanup.com/
https://oceanconservancy.org/trash-free-seas/
https://oceanblueproject.org/
https://singularityhub.com/2018/05/20/5-organizations-using-cool-tech-solutions-and-research-to-clean-up-the-oceans/
https://oceanconference.un.org/commitments/?id=15227
https://oceanconference.un.org/commitments/resources
https://www.un.org/en/observances/oceans-day
https://oceanic.global/projects/united-nations-world-oceans-day-2022/
https://www.unep.org/events/un-day/world-oceans-day-2021 https://oceanic.global/projects/united-nations-world-oceans-day-2021/
https://www.causes.com/comments/1475318
https://www.causes.com/comments/1475312
Everyone needs to be concerned! This is not conspiracy theories or a hoax! It is real and it's slowly choking off sea life. You are also taking in this crap when you eat seafood. What goes around comes around. This is a crisis and if nothing is done, there will not be any oceans safe to swim in or seafood to eat. Wake the f up!
And another thing that truly pisses me off, is the fact that only 3% to 4% of the plastic we clean off and put out for recycling actually gets recycled! W! T! F!
In America, to recover our oceans, we must purge our local, state, and federal governments of the insane, the idiots, the liars, and (mainly) the supporters of petrochemicals and other companies that contribute to the problem on a large scale.
We call on manufacturers to find ways to minimize using harmful materials.
We also need to examine what we should be doing in small ways.
nice to see the un step up and provide world leadership where the us can't.
The ocean is just one of many issues our world is facing regarding pollution and climate catastrophe.
Soon, there will be NO waterways anywhere ... no oceans, lake, rivers or streams. Is this what we really want?? There is NO PLANET B !!! We have to STOP being lazy and clean up after ourselves and help each other to do the same. It's killing off all of the marine life and the habitat for so many wildlife and humans, too!!!
Did we learn nothing from the people of Easter Island? They decimated the land and ocean on which they lived and disappeared from history. Our skies, land and water are vast, but they are not limitless. If we continue to pollute and overfish we will end of like the people of Easter Island. WE are part of the earth. If we destroy the earth, WE disappear.
The supreme courts thinks different.
Absolutely!
The following link was an eye-opener for me. I knew a few lakes and rivers were polluted, but not that bad.
https://www.dshs.texas.gov/seafood/advisories-bans.aspx
Most rivers flow to oceans/gulfs/bays and larger lakes. So they get polluted from these sources as well.
Once my wife and I rented a sailboat from a coastal city near Los Angels to sail to St Catalina Island. On the way, we did spot one long trail of debris coming from the south and that was many years ago.
Undoubtedly, oceans are much worse as the latest news indicates.
Also, we once had a few acres of riverfront. The Blanco River was fed by springs from the aquifer - very clear and cold. Unfortunately, the river now is full of algae mostly from the runoffs. It's happening even living out in the boondocks.
By the way, in 2015, we lost our house and everything to the tsunami-like flood. And the cause of the flood? It has been attributed to climate change. Climate change happened because of pollution.
So most certainly, it is an emergency worldwide!
Lets clean up the floating plastic and nylon nets and ropes. Put plastic to constituent oul processing plants at sea and start shrinking these huge floating mats.
Technology should be able to help pull cold deep Ocean water up to surface to mix and cool surface water. Convection pumps of some sort strategically placed to benefit reefs.
Lets get NOAA working on solutions.
Water is life. By not protecting our water we ensure the destruction of all life not just us. Climate change is warming the atmosphere and melting the ice caps.
There are times I think the earth would be much better without humans in it, and looking at the state of our oceans is one of them. It is our very lifestyle that is responsible. The instant gratification, all disposable and shirking the responsibility of actions kind of western lifestyle that the US promotes the world over. I just don't see anyone willing to do what it will take to stop the destruction. Individuals can't do it. It would take a systems level change. People aren't willing to give up the comforts they know and industry is unwilling to give up profit. It's very sad.
CAUSES ASKS: "Are you concerned about the state of the world’s oceans?" ME: Heating up, acidification, over-fishing, acres and acres of garbage upon garbage, levels rising ... what is there NOT to be concerned about?
At this rate we'll all be killed in a decade.
Allowing all this damage to our oceans affects our environment in every way posssible by upsetting the BALANCE of nature. We were created to TAKE CARE of this planet NOT to abuse its offerings. When will governing bodies and big money come to terms with the importance of protecting this balance instead of thinking they can have it all and have it yesterday. Our only salvation will come from the future generations who, hopefully, have some sort of common sense and wisdom to be willing to make the sacrifices needed for life to continue on. I can only hope to live long enough to see the beginnings of such a world.
Please please protect our oceans! The plastic problem is horrible.
The ocean, the land, the air, it is all in peril due to greed of big business and the stupidity of primarily the Republican party.
We are ALLOWING the destruction of our life sustaining ENVIRONMENT!
Please DO what is required to sustain the planet's health.
I never go to the beach without trash bags. I spend more time picking up garbage than enjoying the beach. People have become inconsiderate animals. I grew up spending summers on the beach, it was never like this. If we don't care about others, if we don't care about the planet, it's at our peril. We need the planet. It doesn't need us.
Humankind has been using their nations streams, lakes, rivers, seas and oceans as a sewer for as long as we have been on this earth. Occasionally we get a hint that there is a problem. All our collective efforts to stem our ultimate demise are probably too little too late.
It's simiple - anyone who isn't concerned hasn't been paying attention. This is NOT up for discussion. What IS up: how to help reverse or at least stay the disaster.