The Earth is known as the blue planet. 78% or three-fourths of our planet is covered with water. Out of that we can only use 1%! Isn’t it shocking that 7.6 billion people can survive with the 1% of water that we have. Now imagine the other 99% of water that’s still there. We may not be able to use it but a whole world of animals are present in it - and we only know a few of its inhabitants. So we all know about marine creatures like jellyfish, sharks, turtles, whales, etc. but the ocean holds a lot more.
Let’s talk about some of the wonderful yet shocking creatures we have found in the oceans…
- The Immortal Jellyfish - it can live forever! it turns into a baby, just when it’s
about to be eaten. The only way it can die is if it’s eaten by a predator.
- The Siphonophore - it’s a long chain of many different organisms
that are each designed for a specific purpose. They only live in deep sea waters.
- The Barrel-Eye Fish- it has a transparent head which it uses to spook other fish. You
can see its brain too!
- The Christmas Tree Worm - these worms have multi-coloured spirals around them that is used for
breathing and eating. It also makes them look like a Christmas tree!
These are just some of the wonderful creatures present underwater. What if we go deeper? What if there’s another life form out there? What if we discover something we did not know could exist? Just like we can’t judge a book by its cover, we can’t know what’s in the ocean just by its surface!
We have polluted our seas so much that animals are not able to live there anymore. Let us learn some shocking facts about what we have done to our oceans.
1. Scientists estimate that by 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish (by weight).
2. Oil spills are one of the largest contributors to water and Ocean pollution. Just in 2021, the Israel oil spill in February and the Sri Lanka oil spill that happened yesterday have caused devastating effects. The oil spill in Sri Lanka has been termed the “ the country's worst ever man-made environmental disaster.”
3. There is an island of garbage twice the size of Texas inside the Pacific Ocean
4. there are dead zones in the oceans that have been created by pollution with makes life impossible for marine or plant life
5. over hundred thousand Marine animals die every year from plastic entanglement and ingestion. They mistake plastic for food . Sometimes, they get stuck in the garbage and they are not able to open their mouths, which causes them to die of starvation.
6. approximately one truck load of plastic enters the ocean every single minute
7. Pollution causes oxygen depletion in the water. This causes an ecological imbalance, which will be the primary source of the extinction of many species.
However, all hope is not lost. We still have time to save our oceans and seas from the monstrous problem we have created - Pollution. Let us come together, this environment day, and every other day of the year, to make a difference so that the planet we inherit is still inhabitable. Let us save these amazing creatures, and keep our seas safe so that we can explore it for answers.
Be a wise man, the ocean is not a garbage can!