This Year, Earth Day Is All About the Oceans
As Earth Day approaches, TakePart is taking to the oceans in a weeklong series of stories, videos, and infographics that offer an in-depth look at the daunting challenges facing the planet’s life-support system.
Quite bluntly, the world’s oceans are at a tipping point. Acidification due to climate change is destroying coral reefs, crucial habitat for marine life on which hundreds of millions of people depend for food and their livelihoods. Enormous trawler ships are wiping out the largest fish, while plastic pollution and abandoned fishing nets are killing dolphins, whales, and other marine life. The booming cruise industry can give people a new appreciation for the oceans but leaves a trail of toxic pollution in its wake. Sea-level rise threatens coastal communities around the world and an entire way of life.
But a grassroots movement is emerging as scientists form alliances with activists, policy makers, and ordinary citizens to tackle these issues.
As the week rolls on, we’ll join a mission to rescue marine animals trapped in “ghost nets,” travel to Hawaii to tell the story of one of the world’s most critically endangered marine mammals, and meet the newest ocean activists—surfers. You’ll hear some of the most prominent scientists and activists tell their stories of why they’re fighting to save our Blue Planet—and what you can do to take part.
Related stories on TakePart:
• The Unseen Slaughter Under the Sea
• Watch Divers Free Sharks and Other Marine Animals Caught in Deadly 'Ghost Nets'
• The Little Fish Foretelling the Future of Ocean Life Harmed by the Deepwater Horizon Disaster
Original article from TakePart
