Over fishing has decimated most fisheries and the oceans are now devoid of over 95% of its larger predatory fish, such as sharks, Blue fin tuna, and bill fish. Coral reefs are degrading almost everywhere they occur due to warming and acidifying (caused by more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere) seas, over fishing, and sediment- and toxin-laden runoff from the land. And the tons and tons of discarded plastic that ends up in the ocean kills and sickens marine life up and down the food chain. As this plastic breaks down the resulting micro pellets will continue to cause lasting harm in ecosystems.

What can be done? Humanity needs an international effort to regulate and enforce sustainable fisheries, as well as a system of coastal and offshore marine protected areas that protect at least a quarter of the ocean. Sources of ocean plastic, from plastic shopping bags and flip flops in river runoff to industrial pellets and toothbrushes dumped offshore, need to be cut off, and truly biodegradable plastics (not just ones that break into smaller pieces) need to be widely adopted.

To paraphrase the in habitat mission statement, the imperative of ? good design? today is not only about color, style or trends – but instead about thoughtfully considering the user, the experience, the social context and the impact of a designed !--object--, system, or interaction on the surrounding environment, and, increasingly, biosphere stewardship. It is related with my past world report about plastic bags.