World Oceans Day: Why it Should Matter to All of Us

Did you know that 8 June is World Oceans Day? Like all days of designated observance, World Oceans Day was started to bring a yearly awareness, in this case to the state of our underwater world. Although water makes up ~70% of Earth’s surface, our seas remain one of the most unique, important, and yet unexplored parts of our world. As vast as our marine areas are, they are also extremely fragile, quickly being destroyed from an ever-increasing pressure by an ever-increasing human population. I suppose it is easy to dismiss what we do not see on a daily basis; …

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The Ocean: Where Life Begins and Ends

The ocean, for most, represents a great blue void.  It is sometimes hard to imagine that an incredible world, much larger than the space terrestrial beings inhabit, lies beyond the shoreline and below the surface.  The Censes of Marine Life, completed in 2010 by 2,700 scientists from 80 countries, identified more than 1 million species that call the ocean home.  In addition, researchers feel that despite their great accomplishment, 50-80% of the species inhabiting the sea surrounding South Africa, Antarctica, Japan, the Mediterranean, and Australia are yet to be discovered.  The ocean covers 71% of Earth’s surface and holds 97% …

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Shark Finning: The Global Attack on Sharks

Used as a tasteless thickener in soup and an inconclusive cure all in Ancient Chinese Medicine, shark fin, or more specifically shark finning, claims the lives of more than 70 million sharks annually.  Think about that number for a moment; more than 70 million sharks.  Portrayed as mindless, blood-thirsty killers in Peter Benchley’s novel Jaws, sharks are persecuted not on what they do, but what they have the capacity to do as conjured up in the human psyche.  Is not the alcoholic behind the wheel of a vehicle more of a danger to your family than a shark?  In reality, …

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