Today June 8 is World Oceans Day. The day is celebrated globally with the launch of new campaigns and initiatives, special events at aquariums and zoos, outdoor explorations, aquatic and beach cleanups, educational and conservation action programs, art contests, film festivals, and sustainable seafood events.
The theme for this year is "Preventing plastic pollution and encouraging solutions for a healthy ocean".
Here are some tweets and images about the event, There are plenty of links to additional info and events around the world, including actions we as individuals can take to reduce our plastic footprint.
We start with a few announcements and tweets that focus attention on the scourge of plastics in our environment -
Lots of Useful Info at the NatGeo Site — Planet or Plastic -
The Living and Breathing Oceans -
The Beauty of our Oceans ...
… Sullied by plastics.
The Magnitude of the problem ...
It is not too late to save Coral Reefs
Deep sea mining in another emerging threat -
The younger generation plays an important role -
What a beautiful way to draw attention -
Some Info on Plastics and Microplastics —
A Call for Action and Useful Tips
Actions and Pledges From Around the World
Events
March for the Ocean in DC and other cities June 9 — details at marchfortheocean.org
A poem by Samuel Illingworth
The Oceans are Dying
The Oceans are dying; can this be so?
It happened before, so scientists claim,
One quarter of a billion years ago
Will it happen again, are we to blame?
All marine creatures almost left the game
Volcanic eruptions then caused the blow
Now it’s mankind that has entered the frame
The Oceans are dying; can this be so?
Carbon dioxide dealt the hammer blow
Degassing followed the volcano’s flame,
Dropping the pH of oceans below.
It happened before, so scientists claim.
So why is it that people still proclaim,
“Nothing we’ve done has changed the status quo,
And despite the problems, things did remain
One quarter of a billion years ago.”
And why do we carry on even though
Nothing will ever again be the same,
Acidity will continue to grow.
It will happen again, we are to blame,
The Oceans are dying.
thepoetryofscience.scienceblog.com/...
Epilogue
Watch the oceans through the eyes of Sir David Attenborough in Blue Planet II again to get a sense of what is at stake -