During all mass extinctions, including those initially caused by comets, the sea has played a key role. The major cycles and processes in the ocean take place so slowly that by the time problems arise, it’s too late to do anything.
Morten A. Strøksnes, Shark Drunk, Penguin Random House, 2017
The Earth’s climate is undeniably changing, but if it wasn’t for the seas and oceans, that capture around a quarter of all the carbon dioxide released into the air, the effects of climate change could already be much worse.
As well as giving us food and resources, the oceans are our main ally against global warming, and the first to feel its effects. This capacity to absorb carbon dioxide and excess heat are not without consequences, as the acidification of the oceans and global sea level rise demonstrate.
THE NUMBERS
In the last 40 years, the ocean has absorbed 93.4% of excess heat, acting like a buffer against global warming. A further 2.3% goes into the atmosphere, while 2.1% is absorbed by the soil. The rest is soaked up by the polar ice caps and glaciers.
The absorption of this heat causes water molecules to expand and contributes to sea level rise. Since 1900 sea levels have risen by 20 centimeters and according to our best estimates they’ll continue to rise by an average of 3 millimeters a year.
THE CONSEQUENCES
While richer countries like the Netherlands are investing in new forms of coastal barriers, the lives and homes of people in some of the poorest countries are at risk, in the regions most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
In Bangladesh, for example, sea level rise is more than double the global average, at eight millimeters a year. Every year, between 30% and 50% of the land is flooded with seawater, and millions of people risk becoming climate refugees in the near future.
WHAT CAN WE DO?
We’re often led to believe that some problems are bigger than us, and that there’s nothing we can do about them, or that they’re not ours to solve. None of this is true: we’re all connected, and what happens at sea has largely terrestrial origins.
There’s a lot of virtuous behaviors we can adopt to mitigate the effects of climate change, starting with our eating habit.
- Eat less meat, and of better quality. Remember that fish too may be farmed intensively, in highly polluted environments: avoid tropical shrimp, salmon, and catfish.
- Look for food which is fresh, local and seasonal: the less miles it’s traveled to get to your table, the better!
- Try to vary your purchases: biodiversity is a friend of the climate.
Each of these behaviors can be applied to the fish we choose to buy and eat. If we choose to buy only seasonal fish, paying attention to the distance it’s traveled; if we choose fish that’s been captured or raised with sustainable, environmentally-raised practices; if we try to increase the variety in our diet and avoid consuming the same small number of species… Then we’ll be part of a virtuous interconnection: for the sea, for the climate, and for ourselves.
Discover positive fishing stories at Slow Fish. Fishers, conscious consumers, companies and organizations will show you what they’re doing to create a more natural, sustainable, and beautiful plastic-free future, and what you can do to help.
Sources
- Heinrich Boll Stiftung & Schleswig-Holstein, 2017, Ocean Atlas – Facts and Figures on the Threats to Our Marine Ecosystems
- Impacts of climate change on fisheries and aquaculture – Synthesis of current knowledge, adaptation and mitigation option (FAO, 2018)
