Good summary of the growing awareness of the issues surrounding oceans at worldchanging.org:
“Simply put, if the oceans crash, we crash, and the signs of impending collapse are everywhere. On the other hand, it’s becoming clearer that new solutions and policies may actually give us the capacity to understand and prevent that crash, if we have the will.”
So what is the future for the Chao Lay kids growing up in the islands?
Certainly we see this in Thailand. In the years we’ve been going down to the Adang Archapeligo for our Islands Course, as well as the time in Trang with the Coastal Course, we’ve seen fish populations decline, average size of individual species go down, and an overall drop in the health of the reefs. It can be pretty discouraging. However, as Alex and Julia point out in their summary article, there is growing awareness of the oceans and their role not just in producing fish but also their role in regulating climate. This is GREAT news, as while coastal communities have been aware of this, so many people are disconnected from the oceans.
In related news, Andy Revkin has a great post up on the dot.earth blog about how Google is opening up the oceans as it did the land.
“The new version of Google Earth allows users to mouse around under and over the seas, click on video clips of hydrothermal vents, read up on which seafoods are being harvested unsustainably, look at marine dead zones and sanctuaries and the like.”
While this isn’t as good as going out and living with a community dependent on fishing and the mangroves, getting wet and diving a reef, it opens up a whole new world that most people really don’t see or understand–hopefully leading people to care more about the reality of the oceans and their critical role in our future and the health of the planet.
WorldChanging: Oceans Are the New Atmosphere
