Why Save Oceans?
Ocean is the largest ecosystem on Earth, which covers more than 70% of Earth’s surface. The ocean have provide us benefits more than we can expect. Ocean helps us to provide foods, medicines, climate regulations, etc. But, do you know that the ocean produces more than half of the world’s oxygen and absorbs 50 times more carbon dioxide than our atmosphere? The majority of the role is done by phytoplankton.
Phytoplankton are the foundation of the ocean. They can do photosynthesis, which is a process to convert light energy, water and carbon dioxide into oxygen, which is used for us to breathe. Phytoplankton are also the primary producer in the food chain of the oceanic ecosystem, feeding small animals to big animals like whales.
Like land plants, phytoplankton needs light energy, water, and carbon dioxide to survive, their growth depends on the availability of those. Water are obtainable because they live on the ocean or water itself. Carbon dioxide are obtainable for the current lifestyle of the majority of the people produces carbon dioxide regularly. Sunlight? Are one thing that might be difficult for phytoplankton to obtain.
Excessive use of plastic in the society, leads them to throw unusable plastic trashes to the once clean ocean, making it unclean. With plastic on the ocean, blocks the sunlight from getting to phytoplankton, which prevents them in doing photosynthesis and dies. When phytoplankton dies, it causes suffocation and de-oxygenation of the ocean making them dead zones.
In this globalization era, people are doing their best to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide, by making forest, planting trees, etc. But, those activities majority is done on the land because is more approachable, making cleaning the ocean as the secondary option for their activities. So, save the ocean, because your lives depend on how you treat the oceans.
References:
https://marine-conservation.org/what-we-do/advocate/why-we-protect-our-oceans/
https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/why-care-about-ocean.html
https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev.marine.010908.163855