Updates for February 2008
2/15/08 - For those who think environmentalists are overdoing it. Ten years ago, all over the then existing Internet (small in comparison to today) was the 1998 Year of The Ocean, people like myself and large environmental organizations were warning of major breakdowns in the world’s oceans. Some attention was giving to this most amazing of circumstances, where mankind has so ravaged and polluted Earth’s oceans (comprising 70% of our planet’s surface volume), that world attention on the problems of overfishing, pollution, and even Global Warming was needed. So, this new report by the Nature Conservatory and talk by Science Friday (Science Friday Archives: State of the Oceans “Around the world, the oceans are in trouble, with declining fish stocks, disappearing coral reefs, and changing water chemistry. This week, researchers published a new map highlighting the human impact on oceans worldwide from 17 different activities, such as fishing, climate change, and pollution. “Our results show that when these and other individual impacts are summed up, the big picture looks much worse than I imagine most people expected," said Ben Halpern, lead author of the paper published this week in the journal Science.”) highlights a very troubling human problem towards our environment: Even though there is clear evidence that our species is destroying a major component of our environment (that keeps us alive) we continue to do it. The problem with the destruction of our oceans highlights the tragedy of the commons “The metaphor illustrates how free access and unrestricted demand for a finite resource ultimately structurally dooms the resource through over-exploitation.” So, for those who think environmentalists who think are overdoing all our environmental problems, what will it take for them to get it, to begin to see the absolute catastrophic change mankind is making on this planet? If you think that all of a sudden that environmentalists have jumped on a new topic that doesn’t mean anything, why not read A New Green History of the World: The Environment and the Collapse of Great Civilizations by Clive Ponting - Every conscious being on this planet should read this book because it is a history of how our species has radically changed the environment on this planet. If the accumulative facts on how humans have and continue to alter the environment we need to survive doesn’t rise to the top of your priority list, then… what? – So, our environment continues to worsen and we keep arguing that everything's OK, or that it's too much trouble to bother with, or we have more important things on our minds, or something..., anyway, check out the story on our oceans: Marine Conservation - New Study Finds Heavy Human Impacts on World’s Oceans First-ever global study of human influences on marine areas finds significant effects; few “wild waters” still exist ARLINGTON, VA — February 14, 2008 — Damage to oceans is ubiquitous and threatens the long-term health of marine areas, according to a new study co-authored by Nature Conservancy marine scientist Mark Spalding. --Nature Conservancy News Room - Environmental Issues Articles on Conservation Nature Conservancy News Room Press
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