Humans have been exploiting the ocean’s resources for centuries. As Jon Bowermaster states, “[they have] now abused the ocean to the point of almost no return” (xiii). Society needs to understand that “[w]ater equals life; there is no separation” (DiCaprio 194). Every human is responsible for the problems the ocean is facing. They must find a way to balance their own needs with the ocean’s needs; otherwise, they will be the cause of their own destruction.
Humans will continue to disregard the fact that if life in the ocean disappears, life on Earth will vanish until a permanent consequence of their impact on the ocean finally affects them; in Oceans: The Threats to Our Seas and What You Can Do to Turn the Tide, Alexandra Cousteau, Christopher Mann, Jon Bowermaster, Leonardo DiCaprio, Paul Watson, and Callum Roberts try to inspire people to save the ocean by explaining what will happen if its exploitation continues.
Since the beginning of time, people have admired the ocean’s wonders seen from the surface.
Alexandra Cousteau’s grandfather, Jacques-Yves Cousteau, invented the Aqua-Lung in 1943. The Aqua Lung allowed humans to explore the world beneath the ocean’s surface for the first time and to extract from the depths of the ocean. As Cousteau states, “… reason replaces wonder, and soon reason is lost to resource” (197). People do not give the ocean time to recover itself (Cousteau 198).
As a result, future generations will not be able to enjoy the beauty of the ocean. This generation will be harmed as well if it does not begin to worry about the future.
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Cousteau writes that the largest storehouse of freshwater outside polar ice caps, the Himalayan Glaciers, could disappear within twenty-five years (Cousteau 200). Society must find a way to balance its own needs with the ocean’s needs; otherwise, it will be the cause of its own destruction.
People will not be able to save the ocean if the federal government does not create a national ocean policy. Protecting the ocean may seem like a low priority in these tough economic times, but commercial and recreational activities provide more than two million jobs and are responsible for more than one hundred and twenty billion dollars (Mann 203). Mann writes, “[ten] billion [dollars] are received by the United States each year in royalties for the development of offshore oil and natural gas;” he believes that setting aside ten percent of that amount every year would increase the ability of society to conserve marine resources (211).
Americans must demand a national ocean policy for it to be implemented. Congress should codify a national policy towards the oceans for its implementation in federal law; since future problems can occur and the federal administration will change, the ocean policy must be a law (Mann 212). Humanity must take action now, in order for the ocean to be rescued.
Humanity has been trading the lives of the creatures that live in the ocean for momentary satisfaction. For the past five centuries, people have taken advantage of the ocean without considering that it is delicate (Bowermaster xii). For example, humans cause the ocean to have polluted water for the prosperity of a few industries. What they may not know is that “…as goes the ocean, so goes the human race” (Bowermaster xiii). Pollution is killing the reefs that circle the globe. Humans are also affected by pollution.
By 2050, all the fish humans use for consumption will be gone. Moreover, twenty million people drink polluted water in the United States; freshwater supplies are scarce. Also, oceans levels are rising as a result of global warming. One hundred forty-five million people, who live at sea level, are affected by the rise of the ocean levels (Bowermaster xii-xiii). As the ocean levels rise, the water cycle changes. Humanity needs fresh water to survive.
Millions of people are dying every year because fresh water is not enough. DiCaprio states, “[t]hrough the millennia, the water cycle has supported all life” (193). Now, humans threaten water resources; pollution, overpopulation, climate change, mismanagement, and war are causing freshwater to be less accessible for the most unprivileged parts of society. Moreover, global warming alters the water cycle, which threatens access to water for the poor. Also, water pollution is causing diseases not only in animals, but in humans too (DiCaprio 194). People need to understand that water must not be wasted nor contaminated. The ocean must be rescued; otherwise, the amount of fresh water there is today will eventually decrease.
Paul Watson is one of the few people who are trying to save the creatures that live in the ocean and the ocean itself. He writes, “[i]f [one has] a birth certificate [one is] guilty” (238). By that, he means that every human that is born causes the Earth to have more people. The Earth is overpopulated; that causes the production of more plastic waste, which ends up in the ocean. Also, because the Earth is overpopulated, more fish are needed for human consumption.
For Watson, a way to stop some of the ocean’s problems is to lead those who are affecting it the most to bankruptcy; for example, he has been trying to bankrupt the Japanese whalers’ fleet (238-242). However, a few people will not rescue the ocean; a few people will not rescue life on Earth. Every human should do something to pay back the ocean for all what it gives them. Roberts writes, “[e]very fish and meat eater shares the responsibility for the losses…” (224).A way to cover some of the ocean’s needs is by creating new marine reserves. Roberts believes that roughly thirty percent of the sea needs to be covered with reserves (228). By creating more reserves, more marine species will be rescued; that would notonly benefit the ocean, but life on Earth as well.
In Oceans, Alexandra Cousteau, Christopher Mann, Jon Bowermaster, Leonardo DiCaprio, Paul Watson, and Callum Roberts try to inspire society to rescue the ocean byexplaining the consequences of its exploitation. Humans must understand that life in the ocean allows life on Earth to survive. By 2050, all the fish that humans use for consumption will be gone. Humans are also threatened by water pollution. Twenty million people are drinking polluted water. In the long term, that number will increase; diseases will increase. Educating the people to take care of the ocean’s needs is not enough. The federal government must create a national ocean policy.
Humans will continue to ignore that if life in the ocean disappears, life on Earth will vanish until a serious consequence of their actions finally harms them. Humanity needs to be more compassionate. If it does not begin to take action for the ocean, it will cause the extinction of its own species. In the end, their actions could cause either the rescue of the ocean or the destruction of every form of life.
The Dangers of the Exploitation of the Oceans and the Need to Save Them. (2022, Dec 17). Retrieved from https://paperap.com/the-dangers-of-the-exploitation-of-the-oceans-and-the-need-to-save-them/
