Have humans ever wondered about how the world would be the world like without oceans? Well, humans must start answering this question because humanity is destroying itself and because their behavior  is impacting society in an unprecedented way. Most countries in the world have a coast, and all countries use ocean products. Therefore we all need to protect oceans. According to UN, “Oceans provide key natural resources including food, medicines, biofuels and other products. They help with the breakdown and removal of waste and pollution, and their coastal ecosystems act as buffers to reduce damage from storms. Maintaining healthy oceans supports climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts. And have you been to the seaside? It’s also a great place for tourism and recreation.”

The​ ​longer​ ​the population ​continue​ ​polluting​ ​the​ ​ocean,​ ​the​ ​faster​ ​the​ ​marine​ ​species​ ​will​ become extinct, creating​ ​devastating​ ​effects​ ​on​ ​society. However, do you think they are prepared to change this behavior and be conscious of the devastation?

Ocean pollution is one of the biggest problems that’s affecting the world and La Guajira. If they don’t help stop the ocean pollution instead the Wayuus are making it a bigger problem.

“ The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has found that since the year 1500, (human) activity has caused the extinction of 514 animal species” (IUCN, 2017). Many marine species are now locally extinct like the Chinese river dolphin, the white shark, turtles, the southern bluefin tuna, etc. Marine extinction is similar in impact to terrestrial extinction. This situation is  affecting the society by many different ways, in its environment, economy and culture. Ocean pollution in the future could be one of the reasons the society may fall.

Apart from the pollution of the oceans something that is destroying marine life is the rising of ocean temperatures because of the climate change. Several studies from the NASA have shown that the temperature of the oceans has increased, and in 2014 were the hottest years on record, contributing to destruction of habitats and ecosystems. We are killing marine organisms such as: Corals, marine animals, and plants and as these organisms are killed, devastating impacts in the society have been seen. Actions done by humans as simple as littering garbage to the ocean can put  many different marine organisms in danger, affecting marine life in mass.

As we kill marine organisms we are killing the ocean. The ocean is important to the society in many different ways such as: economic gain, environmental benefit  and others now that cities that depend on the ocean will have less resources to make a sustainable society. (https://globaloceanrefuge.org/, 2017) “Oceans are essential to human survival and prosperity and yet human activities are pushing many critical marine species toward extinction. The best way to maintain the oceans’ diversity, abundance and resilience is to protect marine life in their ecosystems.” The impact of devastation is reflected in many ways like food sustainability, social problems, tourism, conflicts and more.

The protection of the oceans must be a priority of governments and countries. They have to create ways to protect marine life in order to protect their own economy and society. But the reality is another thing: “Currently only about 3% of the ocean is protected, and just over 1.5% is strongly protected in “no-take” reserves where humans are not allowed to extract fish, oil or other resources. Marine scientists recommend strong protection for 30% of our oceans to save marine life from extinction.” (The Guardian, 2017) “Recently Obama created the world’s largest protected area in Papahanaumokuakea, a protected area just over a million square kilometers in size. This is really good news as parks of this size will indeed provide meaningful protection for large vulnerable animals we highlight as being at risk.”

The causes of Marine extinction must be analyzed and it includes aspects like: climate change and the impact of high temperatures of the water, pollution which contaminates the environment affecting marine habitats, unsustainable fishing, lack of protection from the governments, shipping impact and the consequences of the oil spills and development of coastal places without conserving marine habitat.

If we continue like this we will have to be prepared to see devastating consequences that will affect animals, plants  and ecosystems. This will affect the quality of food that we eat, and at the end the health of the community and their kids. And then you will be asking “why they are so many strange diseases?.” The future of the ocean is unknown, and many species that play a critical role in the ecosystem will become extinct, affecting all of us.

However there are still some ways to help stop this, Many alternative actions by governments and people that  havev helped include: reducing energy consumption, making sustainable seafood choices, using fewer plastic products, efforts to control climate change, helping take care of the beach, and  not purchasing items that exploits marine life, etc. Humans just need to be aware of the consequences and make little things to contribute to society and environment.

Are we prepared to make changes in our behavior or it will take a long time humans to be conscious of the destruction we are creating? What things need to happen so people see the magnitude of the problem and make decisions to change? The solutions is in our hands.