By Justine Formosa OLIS student
We are going through a pandemic, but so is the big blue ocean. It has been going through one since the 1960s, when our former generations started spewing out tons and tons of chemical, industrial and radioactive residue into it. Debris from heavy metals, some of which can cause damage to DNA, tissue regeneration and growth inhibition, has also been thrown out into the ocean in considerable quantities.
The ocean plays a fundamental part in the existence of all living creatures. It provides a great variety of species of fish and seafood for consumption, serves as a form of transportation, and produces many key ingredients in a good number of medications which help fight Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, arthritis and heart disease, to mention but a few. Another use of the ocean that is often overlooked is that it helps climate regulation by producing half of the world’s oxygen and absorbing fifty times more carbon dioxide than our atmosphere. Without our blue, we will have no chance of survival!
Definitely we need to make a change in our way of living to save our blue. This will be no piece of cake, however, with hard work and determination we are bound to see some improvements. By improving its condition, not only the ocean and all the majestic creatures living in it will benefit, but also us, human beings, will benefit in various ways. For instance, the fish we eat will not be feeding on microplastics anymore, therefore it will be safer for us to consume fish.
As the responsible individuals we are, we need to pull up our socks and seize the opportunity to help our blue. We can help in numerous ways by: choosing to buy sustainable seafood, wasting less water, reducing plastic use from our daily life, ….
This is our last chance!
thevoiceolis 