All of you have calculated your emissions and you have surely discovered the unexpectedly high impact of some of your behaviors (eating meat, flying to a sunny destination, etc.) on your total footprints.
Are there any behaviors that you are really willing to change or to improve for the sake of the environment? What challenges do you encounter or think you will encounter while trying to change these things? What help, support, and insights from others would make your life easier with these new behaviors?
Let's discuss these issues and make our pledges here!
Now It's Time for Action >
Ocean Pollution
Our oceans are filled with plastic and other garbage from humans. It is affecting all living things in the ocean terribly. Millions of birds and animals die each year because of the amount of pollution in the ocean. What can be done about this?
While it is true that there is an extremely large amount trash in the ocean, a lot is being done to reduce the amount. For instance, the Great Ocean Cleanup. Using Alameda CA as an assembly and launch site, the Great Ocean Cleanup strives to reduce the amount of trash in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch by 50% in five years. The team behind the massive cleanup is working extremely hard to greatly improve the health of the ocean. Many communities have also come together to cleanup litter on beaches which would leech into the ocean. I know this because in my town I have participated in multiple annual beach cleanups. My mom and I always do our part on these days, and always see many other people also participating.
Some immediate relief for the ocean would be to take part in a ocean clean up organized by a legitimate relief effort. ( https://oceanconservancy.org/trash-free-seas/ ) A long term solution that could have more effect on the pollution of the ocean is to reduce your own use of plastics in packaging and other uses. One other way could be to recycle more often around your entire life, such as at home and at work. ( https://www.oceanicsociety.org/blog/172 … tion-today )
I agree with your claim, Diljá. I think that we, the entirety of the world, have been putting this movement off for too long. A boy told the world in 2017 that we need to start cleaning the ocean for real, not to just have a bake sale at our school to raise money, but to really make an effort to make a change. Boyan Slat, the boy in charge of a team called "The Ocean Cleanup", decided to really make a change by creating large nets and cleaning the waters of the Pacific Ocean. I respect him so much for really trying to make a change in the world, and totally agree with his statement of "Human History is basically a list of things that couldn't be done, and then they were done." By really making a change, we can change the course of the world's endless fall and eventual collapse, and can furthermore help the environment, rather than kill it off the second we see it, the human way. This time, we can start again, and really follow through on our promises to help the planet, specifically the oceans.