“See? The soapy water travels in pipes underground, and then it pours into our stream. The soap foam from your car wash is polluting the water. The things that live in the stream aren’t used to the soap chemicals. It’s killing them.”
from Merhorses and Bubbles
written by Asia Citro
illustrated by Marion Lindsay
The Innovation Press, 2017
“Away is someone else’s here.” I read that line in a newsletter I received from our recycling center some years back, and I’ve been thinking about it ever since. Even though I try to be thoughtful and intentional about it, I throw a lot of stuff away. Some lands in my composter, some goes to the recycling center, but I know more than I want to ends up in the landfill.
I wrote a whole blog post about the landfill after I toured it a few years ago. It was really interesting and informative, but Sunday afternoon, I heard a(nother) talk. It was about what’s happening in our oceans.
It was just like the kids in the story I quoted from found out, and more. Lots (and lots) of stuff ends up in the ocean. Whatever slips down a storm drain travels miles to a stream, which flows into a river, which wends its way, eventually, to the ocean.
According to oceanconservancy.org, 11 million metric tons of plastic waste ends up in the ocean every year. “That’s equivalent to more than a garbage truck’s worth of plastics entering the ocean each minute.” Or 100,000 (not a typo) blue whales.
That’s just the plastic. Other stuff in the ocean includes leftover shipwrecks, automobiles, and all matter of trash like the boot you caught instead of a fish.
But seriously, all kinds of chemicals from fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and insecticides run, leak, and slip into the water and encourage algae blooms that kill fish and harm humans, too.
Chemicals from household cleaners and skin-care products including sunscreen, lead to coral-bleaching.
Pollution from oil spills, especially the thin layer of oil that hugs the surface of the water, prevents oxygen from reaching marine plants, preventing them from photosynthesizing. The oil that sticks to the bodies and wings of seabirds prevents them from being able to fly.
Toxic industrial waste can be solid, liquid, or semi-liquid. Some are carcinogenic. They contribute to the growth of the ocean’s dead zones.
Watercraft as large as ocean liners and as small as a jetski create noise pollution, disrupting communication between seals, dolphins, and whales that depend on echolocation.
Light pollution especially affects sea turtles. The newly hatched babies are flummoxed by artificial light that blocks the moonlight they need to find their way to the ocean.
Wind carries dust pollution and toxic air from factory emissions and drops it into the subtropical oceans, destroying coral reefs.
Mining the ocean floor for cobalt and other metals needed for cell phone batteries and solar panels destroys deepsea sponges and coral ecosystems.
But the ocean is trying hard to clean up all the junk we throw in. Mangroves in estuaries (coastal areas of brackish water that connect rivers and streams to the open ocean), just like trees in a forest or our backyards, suck up carbon dioxide and keep it contained in what scientists call a “carbon sink.” Estuaries, sea grasses, and mangroves take up much less space than Earth’s forests, but collect carbon much faster and store it below ground.
According to RepairTheSea.org, mangroves “sequester five times more carbon than rainforests and up to 10 times more carbon than any terrestrial forest.” They also trap pollutants before they get to the ocean. They protect shorelines, homes, bridges, and dams from storm damage and erosion.
Coastal ecosystems are vital to the people who live near them, too. They provide food and livelihood in local fishing industries.
When these ecosystems are damaged, though, huge amounts of carbon are released into the atmosphere, contributing to our climate crisis.
To date, half of our world’s mangrove coverage has been lost.
Organizations are working to repair the coastal areas that are so vital to our welfare and the health of our planet. Here are some of them:
https://www.repairthesea.org
https://oceanconservancy.org
and their International Coastal Cleanup: https://oceanconservancy.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Annual- Report_FINAL_Digital.pdf
https://oceansharmony.org/save-our-oceans/?msclkid=c0ad74742a7b13e473e313fadc5c9e75
https://thirdact.org/our-work/
Locally, look for
https://friendsofthemahoningriver.org/
https://www.cuyahogariver.net/
I decided to forgo most of the news coming out of Washington, DC, at least for now. What is true and relevant will be recapped in my newsfeeds. (Look especially for Heather Cox Richardson and Joyce White Vance. I also subscribe to the free version of The Contrarian.
I’m better off, and the world is too, if I stay involved and active in causes that I know lead to positive change.
Follow one or two of the links above to get involved, too.
I just started reading Differ We Must by Steve Inskeep (Penguin Press, 2023). He describes Abraham Lincoln through his encounters with several important (and not-so-important) people. More on this one next week.
Be curious! (and stay engaged in the world)
from Merhorses and Bubbles
written by Asia Citro
illustrated by Marion Lindsay
The Innovation Press, 2017
“Away is someone else’s here.” I read that line in a newsletter I received from our recycling center some years back, and I’ve been thinking about it ever since. Even though I try to be thoughtful and intentional about it, I throw a lot of stuff away. Some lands in my composter, some goes to the recycling center, but I know more than I want to ends up in the landfill.
I wrote a whole blog post about the landfill after I toured it a few years ago. It was really interesting and informative, but Sunday afternoon, I heard a(nother) talk. It was about what’s happening in our oceans.
It was just like the kids in the story I quoted from found out, and more. Lots (and lots) of stuff ends up in the ocean. Whatever slips down a storm drain travels miles to a stream, which flows into a river, which wends its way, eventually, to the ocean.
According to oceanconservancy.org, 11 million metric tons of plastic waste ends up in the ocean every year. “That’s equivalent to more than a garbage truck’s worth of plastics entering the ocean each minute.” Or 100,000 (not a typo) blue whales.
That’s just the plastic. Other stuff in the ocean includes leftover shipwrecks, automobiles, and all matter of trash like the boot you caught instead of a fish.
But seriously, all kinds of chemicals from fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and insecticides run, leak, and slip into the water and encourage algae blooms that kill fish and harm humans, too.
Chemicals from household cleaners and skin-care products including sunscreen, lead to coral-bleaching.
Pollution from oil spills, especially the thin layer of oil that hugs the surface of the water, prevents oxygen from reaching marine plants, preventing them from photosynthesizing. The oil that sticks to the bodies and wings of seabirds prevents them from being able to fly.
Toxic industrial waste can be solid, liquid, or semi-liquid. Some are carcinogenic. They contribute to the growth of the ocean’s dead zones.
Watercraft as large as ocean liners and as small as a jetski create noise pollution, disrupting communication between seals, dolphins, and whales that depend on echolocation.
Light pollution especially affects sea turtles. The newly hatched babies are flummoxed by artificial light that blocks the moonlight they need to find their way to the ocean.
Wind carries dust pollution and toxic air from factory emissions and drops it into the subtropical oceans, destroying coral reefs.
Mining the ocean floor for cobalt and other metals needed for cell phone batteries and solar panels destroys deepsea sponges and coral ecosystems.
But the ocean is trying hard to clean up all the junk we throw in. Mangroves in estuaries (coastal areas of brackish water that connect rivers and streams to the open ocean), just like trees in a forest or our backyards, suck up carbon dioxide and keep it contained in what scientists call a “carbon sink.” Estuaries, sea grasses, and mangroves take up much less space than Earth’s forests, but collect carbon much faster and store it below ground.
According to RepairTheSea.org, mangroves “sequester five times more carbon than rainforests and up to 10 times more carbon than any terrestrial forest.” They also trap pollutants before they get to the ocean. They protect shorelines, homes, bridges, and dams from storm damage and erosion.
Coastal ecosystems are vital to the people who live near them, too. They provide food and livelihood in local fishing industries.
When these ecosystems are damaged, though, huge amounts of carbon are released into the atmosphere, contributing to our climate crisis.
To date, half of our world’s mangrove coverage has been lost.
Organizations are working to repair the coastal areas that are so vital to our welfare and the health of our planet. Here are some of them:
https://www.repairthesea.org
https://oceanconservancy.org
and their International Coastal Cleanup: https://oceanconservancy.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Annual- Report_FINAL_Digital.pdf
https://oceansharmony.org/save-our-oceans/?msclkid=c0ad74742a7b13e473e313fadc5c9e75
https://thirdact.org/our-work/
Locally, look for
https://friendsofthemahoningriver.org/
https://www.cuyahogariver.net/
I decided to forgo most of the news coming out of Washington, DC, at least for now. What is true and relevant will be recapped in my newsfeeds. (Look especially for Heather Cox Richardson and Joyce White Vance. I also subscribe to the free version of The Contrarian.
I’m better off, and the world is too, if I stay involved and active in causes that I know lead to positive change.
Follow one or two of the links above to get involved, too.
I just started reading Differ We Must by Steve Inskeep (Penguin Press, 2023). He describes Abraham Lincoln through his encounters with several important (and not-so-important) people. More on this one next week.
Be curious! (and stay engaged in the world)
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