50 Ways to Save the Ocean

50 Ways to Save the Ocean

I’ve had folks ask me how they can help protect and conserve our marine environment and its creatures in a hands-on kind of way. I know that a lot of people would rather physically help out a cause and donate their time and effort rather than their money. It’s weird letting your money go to a huge pot and not knowing if it will be used for what you intended it to be used for.
A great resource for this type of hands-on help is a book by David Helvarg (Founder of Blue Frontier) called 50 Ways to Save the Ocean. The Forward of this book, which is written by Philippe Cousteau, sums up the book just perfectly, “If there’s one thing I learned growing up in my family, it was that we as individuals need to protect the environment-not only by volunteering, donating money, or going on great adventures of discovery, as my grandfather and father have done, but also by making fundamental changes in our everyday habits.” This is something I try to do every day, but it’s really hard to do in our current society. Admittedly, I still don’t do this 100%. We have to constantly remind ourselves to make changes in our habits every day and keep on top of ourselves about this!
I won’t give up all 50 ways to save the ocean, plus this would take up a ton of space and time, so I’ve decided to pick my top 10 favorites that are the most doable and can make the biggest impact:
1. eat organic and vegetarian foods – Here’s a reason why you want to do this: “Every year, farmers in the (U.S.) Midwest use as much as 140 pounds of synthetic fertilizer for every acre planted in corn and other chemical-dependent crops. Every spring, surplus fertilizer and other agricultural chemicals wash down the Mississippi River into the Gulf of Mexico where they encourage the growth of a massive algae bloom. When the algae decay they are fed on by bacteria, which suck the dissolved oxygen out of the water. The lack of oxygen creates a “dead zone” larger than New Jersey that kills every form of sea life that cannot flee its reaches.” As you can imagine, this could happen in many more places and on many more rivers than the Mississippi. You can apply it to your major river system as well.
2. eat seafood that’s healthy and sustainable – Eating the right fish protects your health. Eating the wrong fish may leave the plate empty for the next generation. You can see an older post of mine about seafood choices.
3. conserve water – Water you save helps to keep clean rivers flowing to the sea.
4. conserve energy – Energy conservation reduces the impact of power plants, which can poison ocean waters and fish.
5. be a marine sanctuary (or other type of marine protected area) volunteer – Our marine protected area systems are in need of volunteers to grow, prosper, and accomplish their missions.
6. use less plastic – The plastic that finds its way into the ocean never stops polluting because it never breaks down. It can end up in the stomachs of fish and other marine life which places them in peril.
7. opt out of the throwaway culture – What we throw out as rubbish doesn’t ever really go away.
8. keep your household refuse nontoxic – Chemicals tossed in the garbage find their way into streams, rivers, and eventually the sea.
9. drive a fuel-efficient car, join a car pool, or use public transit – Tailpipe emissions are a major source of ocean pollution.
10. join in a coastal cleanup or wetlands cleanup – Protect the shoreline while getting some healthy outdoor exercise.
And, Okay, 11 and 12 -because it was hard for me to choose- Protect our waters from invasive organisms (exotic critters) and volunteer for a marine mammal stranding team.
Admittedly, it was very hard to choose a top-10 list, but this will give you an idea. This book is great for folks who don’t have much knowledge about how what we do affects the ocean. For those of you that do have a good idea, the book also helps clarify why these things are detrimental and helps point you in the right direction as to how you can get involved.