Paradise lost and the mission blue.

Dr. Sylvia Earle.The first female chief scientist of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration although shortly resigning after feeling that she couldn’t voice her opinion of change. She was one of the first people to go scuba diving in 1953. In 1979 she was the first person to walk the ocean floor at 1,250 feet in a device called a Jim suit, and most recently was voted Glamour magazine’s “woman of the year”.

Sylvia’s list of achievements could go on but this incredible marine biologist has been telling the world about her film and project mission blue.

Sylvia’s single wish is to ask humanity please treat the ocean how we would treat the land.

Whilst watching her ted talks and the film itself I was shocked to hear some of the facts that were being reeled off throughout the documentary:

• We have eaten more than 90% of the big fish in the sea.

Now I was aware that we have been overfishing tuna, haddock, cod, but to hear that actually there are many more species that we are killing off by overfishing really shocked me. Especially in such a large quantity.

• Climate Change is affecting the oceans chemistry and making if more acidic.
• Clogging our oceans with litter.
• Industrial trawlers are scooping up the sea beds leaving destruction.

In 50 years time we may not have the environment we do now. We take the seas for granted and forget to protect the very thing that helps us live.

We have this idea, us humans, that the Earth is so vast and so resilient it doesn’t matter what we do it it.

– Dr Sylvia Earle.

Sylvia also raised another concerning question:

“If 12% of the land on earth is protected, why can we not protect our ocean in the same way?”

Hopespots were created. A selection of coral reefs marked down in the world’s most affected oceans. These clusters allow scientists to keep track of positive progress and most importantly; protect them. 

Ideas like this help us say no to overfishing, no to trawlers and no to everything that could pose a threat. As corny as it sounds it injects hope into these areas.

The ocean is something I care about strongly, and maybe we should think a little more about how we treat it and the little things we buy/do that could change everything.

Look at the bigger picture.