[Thematic Report] [Marine Life]by Jaewon Chang | 22-11-2019 23:01 |
|---|
|
Marine life is the underwater ecosystem of organisms. Living in the Philippines, I am exposed to a wide variety of marine species. Approximately 1 million square miles compose the country's seawater, along with the Coral Triangle, an area known for its highly diverse coral population. Around the world, there are major threats posed upon marine life. In this blog post, I will be exploring some of the major problems associated that threaten marine life and solutions to resolve these issues. First and foremost, the most important problem associated with marine life is the amount of plastic waste that we produce. Plastic waste has the record of taking between 10 to 1000 years to decompose. Taking this into context, plastic waste that is left on the oceans today may not decompose until the year 3019. However, there are alternatives to plastic such as paper. In the Philippines currently, many companies aware of the growing issue of plastic waste have begun to promote the usage of paper products. An example of this is the paper straw as an alternative to plastic straw. Products made from paper generally take up to 6 weeks to dissolve, a much shorter period in comparison to plastic waste. Another problem associated with marine life is the overexploitation of marine life, which has cut the diversity of organisms in Philippine waters. A specific case of overexploitation is chemical fishing. Chemical fishing is considered illegal in the Philippines, however many fishers still utilise this technique. Destructive methods including explosives and poison can pose a threat to the marine ecosystem, mainly in contaminating the water with unnecessary chemicals. Although the problems mentioned may seem like major problems we youth are unable of solving, we must acknowledge that every effort counts. Consider bringing your own bag or asking for a paper bag for packing supplies from a supermarket. There are many methods that youth can contribute. We must not consider this as an issue for others to solve, but instead an issue that we can take action on. Every action counts, and change begins within us youth.
|
