The quickly depleting seas

Oceans have provided humanity with a rich source of food and economic well being. Rampant overfishing however has caused fish stocks to fall everywhere. The global catch exploded to 93m tonnes in 2006, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation, compared with just 19m in 1950. Better technology has enabled fishermen to catch more, smaller fish and recent research by Scripps, a marine-science research organisation, speculates that fish species may have declined by up to 80% from their original state. This is a disaster given how important fish is to human diet and the well being of entire communities around the globe. The tragedy is that depleting the seas is unnecessary and completely avoidable. Creating a global system of granting property and trading rights to fishermen, societies could encourage conservation and better use of scarce resources but narrow minded nationalism still prevails and until a big disaster strikes we fear inertia will prevail and proper safeguards may come too late.

Floating on thin ice

Research from the National Snow and Ice Data Centre revealed that Arctic sea ice receded to its second-smallest area since satellite records began in 1979. The rate of shrinkage is the fastest ever and the current ice coverage of 5.3m square km could fall by the end of summer to less than the record low seen last September of 4.1m square km. This is bad news for the environment because Arctic ice reflects sunlight, keeping the region cool. The change is threatening polar bear populations which are predicted to fall by a third over the next 50 years as their habitat disappears. As more developing countries develop, climate change will become a greater risk to humans’ quality of life. It would be good for concerned world governments to start taking some sensible action if we do not want to hand up like the polar bears.

Drowning in Trash

According to data published by Foreign Policy over 2.1 billion tonnes of trash were dumped around the world last year. Rich countries are the most wasteful, with each person dumping about 1.4 kilograms of solid trash every day. Fortunately this amount has levelled off in recent years as the rich countries try to create less trash and recycle more. As poorer nations grow richer however they will produce more waste. In 2004 China surpassed America as the largest producer of rubbish and by 2030 it will be churning out nearly 500m tonnes a year. Consumption is a key driver of modern economic growth but with the threats to the environment increasing, it is time to create STRONG incentives for producers to use more recyclable and environmentally friendly material. Fighting global warming is important but leaving to our children a world drowning in trash in just as likely to be pitiful legacy.