5. Oceans affect our weather. As the oceans are heated by the sun’s rays, water from its surface evaporates and then condenses to form clouds as part of the water cycle. This is how we get our rain and therefore our drinking water. It also contributes to wind, thunderstorms and hurricanes, and helps produce the monsoon rains that millions of people in South Asia rely on.
6. Scientists have discovered that many marine invertebrates produce antibiotic, anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory substances. Horseshoe crabs, seaweeds and marine bacteria have also been found to have useful medical properties.
7. Oceans influence our health and well-being. Water is known to calm and reduce anxiety in people and being near blue spaces, such as the ocean, is thought to have positive effects on our mental health.
Unfortunately, different human activities are putting our oceans under threat. Overfishing is reducing fish populations, threatening the supply of nutritious food and changing marine food webs. Approximately 80 percent of the pollution in the oceans comes from land, and coastal zones are especially vulnerable to pollutants. Plastics are also particularly problematic with enormous floating rubbish patches forming in the oceans. Climate change and its related impacts, such as ocean acidification, are affecting the survival of some marine species. Coastal development is destroying and degrading important coastal marine ecosystems such as coral reef, seagrass meadows and mangroves.
We need clean and healthy oceans to support our own health and survival, even if we don’t live anywhere near them. Each and every one of us can make a difference, it’s time to take action! Think about which threats to the oceans concern you the most or think about which ocean plants, animal species, habitats or ecosystems you want to conserve, protect and restore locally and globally. Here are just a few actions you can undertake:
1. Conserve: campaign to prevent the pollution of a local coastal environment or reduce use of plastics so that less of it ends up in our oceans.
2. Protect: help protect an ecosystem or species by campaigning to have it protected by your government’s laws or international policies.
3. Restore: take part in beach clean-ups, and involve others, including the youth.