It has long since been advertised by profiting companies that the ocean is so vast that it is impossible for us to destroy it. This claim has been repeated so many times that it has become part of the general public’s core beliefs. However, this incorrect assumption is being pushed forwards by the agenda of corporations that wish to make use of the ocean and all its resources without thinking about the consequences. Corporations want us to believe the oceans resources will never run out. It is the result of this agenda that has brought along many environmental repercussions for the vast array of species that live in the ocean. Sylvia Earle’s book “The World is Blue: How our Fate and the Ocean’s are …show more content…
She uses the studies and findings of many oceanographers to show just how humans are destroying the ecosystem and presents many ways in which we may be able to slow this decline of the earth’s most important resource (Earle 25). Resources that, at the current rate of usage, will be gone at the end of the century. Among the many works Earle uses to accentuate her claims is “Collapse” by Jared Diamond. Diamond believes that societies that fail to minimize their use of resources will fail and end up like the Easter Islands, were every tree was lost to overconsumption and lack of planning (Earle 32). This example resonated deeply with me, because the Easter Islanders did not know they were over using their resources, and each generation simply believed that the number of trees was stable rather than dwindling. This lack of information about the extent of damage is mirrored by the people of today, who often do not have a hand in the production of their resources and are therefore emotionally detached from the extent of the damage their over consumption is causing. There are also many different mediums used throughout the book that emphasize just how deeply this entitlement has ingrained itself into our society. The diverse mix of scholarly articles, photographs, poems, and literary fiction enhances the possible audience size of the book, by …show more content…
Meaning that while her fixes may be lacking, her argument is very sound, and individuals and corporations must implement some clauses regarding the protection and conservation of the ocean and its resources. Earle only devoted a small portion of her book chapter at the end of the book, about 20 pages, to solutions. There was not much said about the things we, as a society, can do in order to prevent, or at least lessen, the detrimental impact we have been having on our environment. However, that never seemed to be her goal. The author has presented many examples of the damages we are having on the environment, that one could infer that not doing those things, i.e. eating certain species of aquatic creatures, dumping waste in the ocean, ext. would be impactful, however these solutions are easier said than done for the average person, seeing as the biggest offenders are often corporation’s that produce cheap materials meant for low income masses who cannot