Alive Boutique
7 Things You Can do this World Ocean Day
You might have heard of it. It is World Ocean Day today! Because of this, and because of the oceans’ importance for the environment, we thought we’d share a few things (and some facts) that we can all do to make our world a better place.
So without further ado, here are seven things that we thought are important to start doing.
I) Celebrate
One cannot celebrate World Ocean Day by not understanding how we are all connected by this substantial blue blanket, which covers more than 70% of our planet.
Ask yourself the question: “how am I connected to this incredibly vast amount of water, despite, perhaps, not even living close to the sea?”
Well, it only seems fair to say that everything ends up in the ocean sooner or later. We are going to elaborate this in a bit but for now, try to find an answer to this.
II) Change your perspective
Ask yourselves questions about what the ocean means to you. Ask other people around you, what it means to them, as well.
Also, do consider what our oceans have to offer to all of us and why conserving it is crucial. You might be surprised to find out what our oceans do for us:
- They generate most of the oxygen that you, and I breathe
- Thanks to our oceans, our climate gets regulated
- The water you and I drink gets cleaned
- The oceans help to feed people in remote societies that would not have access to food otherwise (please note that we, of course, do not support fishing. However, we are aware that for a very small portion of the world’s population, there is no other option.)
- Also, last but not least, they provide endless inspiration!
III) Learn about how your actions affect the oceans:
As mentioned before, (almost) everything we do affects our oceans.
“So what do you want me to change?” I hear you ask.
Let’s start with something we do on a regular basis, like drinking coffee. Is it necessary to have that coffee for takeaway? How about having it to eat in instead and reducing your plastic consumption that way?
If that is out of the question, how about bringing a reusable cup? It’s the simple things we do, that will add up and make a massive change in the long run.
IV) Participate in a Beach Clean-Up:
The world (definitely the UK) is rich in beaches. Consider leaving work a bit earlier than usual today and head to your closest beach to clean up a bit of trash and throw it in the next bin.
Don’t live near a beach? Sigh, same here.
However, think about your closest canal, river or lake. Yes, these are not oceans, I hear you saying again. I know, I know. We all wish they were.
They are all connected though, and, needless to say (again), pretty much everything ends up in our oceans.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to spend half a day today near the closest lake or beach to find trash and to bin it.
All it means is that every time you’re next to a canal or a lake, consider how much effort it would take to take some rubbish (like a plastic bottle) and put it into the bin?
Imagine that you would do that once every week, to begin with, and then maybe, let’s say, twice a week after that. You would save more than a hundred water bottles a year!
Now consider you would inspire 2-3 people, who might see you doing that, and who, most probably, will love what you are doing. Imagine they do the same, and they also inspire 2-3 people each?
Needless to say that within only a few years, there would be no need for an Ocean day. These small things go a long way.
V) Donate to a Favorite Ocean Advocacy Group
If you feel that you are too busy to spend 30 seconds once or twice a week to throw away some rubbish, how about donating and helping out other organisations?
Multiple nonprofits are doing great work to help the oceans, and they need any financial help they can get.
We personally recommend Oceana, Conservation International, or Save Our Seas, to name only a few.
VI) Sign the Care2 “Save Sharks” Petition
Should you be a bit rushed this month, and also short on time on top of that, how about helping sharks?
Chances are that you are vegan, or vegetarian and that you do not consume any fish products.
This is one of the easiest (yet most important) things to do to help sharks, who get caught as bycatch and thrown away (without being eaten).
Populations of these essential predators are collapsing and species are going extinct. For example, oceanic whitetip and great hammerhead sharks have diminished by 99% in only the last five decades.
On top of that, shark fin (for the soup with the same name) has only very little nutritional value and often is high in mercury.
So do consider going plant-based, should you not be already, and if that seems a bit too much to do (I can assure you it’s easier than you would think), sign Care2’s petition to help save sharks today. Let’s protect this crucial species from extinction.
VII) Spread the word
At the end of the day, we are all linked to oceans.
By making small changes, here and there, we can make a difference as they all add up.
Consider talking to your friend about the oceans today over lunch. Remember that last time you swam in the ocean on that beautiful beach, and it was clean and free of plastic bottles. Why take that for granted? Why not raise awareness today and make other people apply some of those changes?
You, the people around you in your life, the planet, and especially the animals in and outside of the ocean, who cannot protect themselves, will benefit from having clean oceans.
What do you do for World Oceans Day? If it isn’t just today, do you have any habits to clean the canals, rivers, lakes and oceans around you? Do let us know in the comments below.
