When you take a step back to think about our (humanities) relationship with the oceans, you quickly realize how crucial the oceans are to our survival. After all, all life originated from the depths of the ocean about 4 billion years ago. The oceans cover more than 70% of Earth’s surface area, drive our weather patterns, produce over half of the air we breathe, store more than half of the carbon we emit, and provide approximately 1 billion people in developing countries their main source pf protein. Eight out of the ten most populous cities are coastal and over one-third of the total human population, nearly 2.4 billion people, lives within 100 km (60 miles) of an oceanic coast. Around 100 million tons of fish are caught annually by 3 million marine fishing vessels, making more than 10% of the world's population totally dependent on fisheries for their livelihood (Source: Science Mission Directorate, NASA and United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization).
That’s today. Think about what the future is going to look like - rising sea levels, huge storm surges, mass coastal flooding, faltering crop yields, food shortages, inland flooding, catastrophic wildfires, ferocious hurricanes and storms, scares water supplies, no polar ice caps, raging wildfires, widespread droughts, extreme heatwaves, disease and poverty. The scientific community almost unilaterally agree the maximum temperature increase the Earth can tolerate is 2ºC (or 3.6ºF). That’s the point when billions of people begin to fight for their survival. Up until 2015, this seemed a viable goal (or hope) for most people. Unfortunately, recent analysis now show this to be 'very unlikely' with a 95% chance the average global temperature increase will be over 2ºC (3.6ºF). The simple fact is we (humanity) failed to cut carbon by the requisite amount.
Our oceans are set to continue to warm and left unchecked, the impacts of warming will become increasingly catastrophic year on year. It’s already started. That far distant date is not far and distant any longer. People talked about 2100 being the point we reach 2ºC. You probably thought you didn’t need to worry about it, not going to affect you, your loved ones and your family? As a YALE economist point out recently, the current US Administration seems to think the economy will suffer little damage from climate change. Well, that date is wrong. The year 2036 is rapidly becoming the new projection. That is less than 20 years from now. Think about it.
The solution is not just about cutting carbon emissions. Yes, cutting carbon emission is probably the most crucial point, and we are failing miserable at that, but there is a much bigger picture. And the oceans are at the center of it. The sad truth is that the unprecedented unnatural extinction rates of many marine species continues to accelerate mainly due to our increasingly reckless behavior and activities. It is now unequivocal that species loss is accelerating both on land and sea, and a report issued last year found that the populations of the world's oceans have been cut in half in the past 45 years.
Honestly, we can't do much to quickly reverse the current trends of ocean warming or ocean acidification, and both of these are real threats that need to be urgently addressed. But we can and must change treaties on how we fish and hunt. Fish populations have the potential to recover much more quickly than the climate and ocean. You and I can vote for the people who will make this happen, who believe in climate change and have the passion to do something about it. Who will take responsibility. In the US, according to Motherboard many members (232 out of 435) of the House of Representative and the Senate (53 out of 100) have gone on record to denounce climate change as a hoax. There are great organizations like Ocean Champions who are working hard to develop a broad, bipartisan base of supporters - political champions - for ocean conservation. And whilst the UK seems to have more Members of Parliament believing the science, they continue to fail to achieve carbon emissions targets and wrap themselves up in bureaucracy ultimately achieving very little and nurturing a culture of jobsworths.
All said, we must make right choices as consumers and voters. You and I can boycott restaurants who continue to serve threatened fish, who buy from unsustainable sources. You can drive the changes in industry with what you buy and don’t buy. As business leaders, what will your legacy be? We are the ones who votes for people in Government, so make sure you know what they stand for. We are all responsible for reducing our own own carbon footprint. Think about it. Please.
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