Essay 2: Life Blow Water

 

The ocean covers three quarters of the Earth’s surface and represents 99 percent of the living space on the planet by volume. Now imagine how many living things are there in the ocean compared to us on the surface. What I want to emphasize is that lives below water are as much important as land dwellers’. The world’s oceans – their temperature, chemistry, current and life – drive global systems that make the Earth habitable for humankind. How we manage this vital resource is essential for humanity as a whole, and a counterbalance for the effect of climate change.

            Our obsession towards industries’ developments causes us to overlook this matter. As results, we have subconsciously drained our natural resources, as well as exploited the surrounding natural environment which have affected not just us human, but also animals especially below water. Water contamination is one of the outcomes of human activities such as urbanization, industrialization, and agricultural activities. The overuse of pesticides and fertilizers and sewage from residential and industrial areas ultimately find its way to aquatic environment, resulting in the degradation of the water quality which then later will lead to the spread of infectious diseases such as dysentery, diarrhoea and jaundice. When contamination becomes uncontrolled, water will lose it self-generating capacity. Therefore, there is a need for regular monitoring and controlling of pollutant discharge into nearby aquatic environs. The lives below water matters as oceans provide us with source of medicines, biofuels and also food. Many people live their life fully dependent on oceans for their survival.

 

Sustainable Development Goal 14 aims to sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems from pollution, as well as address the impacts of ocean acidification. Enhancing conservation and sustainable use of the ocean-based resources through international law will also help mitigate some of the challenges facing our oceans. By following the guidelines under this sustainable development goal, we will slowly but surely be able to recover our oceans and prevent them from pollution in the future. To do that, we, ourselves follow some practices such as reduce water pollution and avoid plastic waste. Government should also enforce a stricter law to ensure the safety of aquatic lives such as to prevent illegal chemical substances from being dumped into oceans, fishing of the endangered species as well the use of destructive methods for fishing.