“The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) chose a top ten of animals in danger in order to highlight to leaders attending the
Top of the list in the report is the clownfish that live in the Indian and Pacific oceans. The bright orange fish became famous following the Disney film Finding Nemo but it is less well known that they are in danger of extinction because of rising carbon dioxide levels. According to the IUCN, as the sea absorbs CO2 the oceans turn acid which disrupts the clownfishes’ sense of smell and their ability to find the anemones they rely on for protection. Ocean acidification will also bleach staghorn corals, which include some 160 species, as the acid weakens the skeletons.”
It’s really starting to piss me off that people are so damn blind when it comes to the environment. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that the oceans are dying; it’s been obvious for over a decade. Marine Biologist Sylvia Earle wrote about it in a book over ten years ago (Sea Change).
I’m trying desperately to figure out who the mysterious “they” are that everyone keeps counting on to solve the problems we failed to stop while they were happening (and happen for that matter). We buy our 100% recycled pulp toilet paper and produce at farmers’ markets and are taught by the wondrous media and the propaganda surrounding us that we will somehow save the world by doing this.
Meanwhile Disney makes a movie about a fish that is caught out of the ocean for an aquarium while keeping dolphins in tanks at Epcot and selling tickets.
Meanwhile unwanted zoo animals and pets that never should have been are sold in an underground market that is not policed.
Yet people watch Animal Precinct and feel informed and like they are doing something good for society.
Perhaps it’s the children I need to talk to, because the adults sure as hell aren’t listening. Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, sisters, brothers, everyone out there, here’s what I want you to do:
Pull up a chair next to the child in your life and watch Finding Nemo with them. When you are done and the child is happy, content, and excited about oceans, tell them that nearly every (if not all) type of animal in there might be gone from the oceans forever in a matter of years. Tell them that unless we stop destroying their homes this will happen for sure. Then ask the child what to do. They will likely have more insight on the matter than you know.
Let’s not make it any harder to find Nemo than it already is.
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