I read the following article in a newsletter I receive daily which is the absolute best overall green online newsletter I have found to date. The Daily Green is the name of the newsletter and Mr. Dan Shapley wrote this article. Once again, running the numbers is what helps a person get their head around what’s really going on. Species of fish are literally disappearing daily.
Mr. Shapley writes:
Here are the facts, still startling even if increasingly familiar, that came out of the Global Conference on Oceans, Coasts, and Islands in Hanoi this week, as reported by Agence France-Press. “Warming seas are bleaching corals, feeding algal blooms and changing ocean currents that impact the weather, and rising sea levels could in future threaten coastal areas from Bangladesh to New York,” experts said, according to AFP.
Overfishing and water pollution also remain serious and ongoing problems: “North Atlantic cod fisheries collapsed in the 1990s, anchovies previously disappeared off Chile, herring off Iceland and sardine off California,” AFP reports.
By the numbers:
20% – Amount of humankind’s protein intake that comes from fish
75% – Fish stocks already fully exploited or depleted
Millions – Number of people whose nutrition is at risk
64% – Ocean areas outside national jurisdiction
I have to say these numbers and this story blew me away. As part of the consciousness raising that I so hope to accomplish via the Mrs. Green network, look at and process these startling facts and figure out what part you may choose to impact. Always remember that one person CAN make a difference. MILLIONS of people’s nutrition is at risk. That’s a big number and it’s happening so fast. Getting into action gives everyone hope.