Be Green for the Sea

BE GREEN FOR THE SEA

The Ocean’s health is vital for human survival and Ocean Sustainability should be our main concern. We have been thriving off one of the Earth’s most valuable natural resources for thousands of years, taking granted for the life and protection the Ocean has provided. Regulating the weather and climate, providing a livelihood for over “three billion people” with an abundance of resources, producing most of the oxygen we breathe and water we drink, and storing “90% of the energy from warming of the Earth system” and sinking “30% of human-caused carbon dioxide emissions” the Ocean is powering the human society.  However, the Ocean and the life within are in danger, due to our unsustainable lifestyle, polluting and abusing our sea.

We Must Act Now

Most people probably don’t realize the negative impact we’ve had on the Ocean – we just plug away at our own lives unaware of the destruction. The rising tides and temperatures are simply one example where the tides are increasing at an frightening “three to four millimeters” each year. Did you know that we are responsible for “changing ocean’s acidity 50 times faster than at least the last 800,000 years with carbon emissions.”? If that’s not alarming enough there are approximately “17.6 billions of pounds of carbon that enter the Ocean each year”. If we want to continue rely and protect our Oceans as a valuable resource, we must act now.

Achieving Ocean sustainability world-wide will not happen over-night but having the right mindset towards change is the first step. Too often you hear unhopeful remarks such as “I personally can’t make that much a difference” or “what difference is one person’s actions”.  Here’s the thing -- individually we may not make a noticeable change on a large scale, but each one of us collectively can start a trend.

What Can You Do?

Here are several simple ways you can live a sustainable way of life for the Ocean:

• Reduce your Carbon Footprint and Energy Consumption
• Eat Sustainable Seafood that is sustainable
  • Small Fish,
  • Wild Fish,
  • Local Fish,
  • Farmed Shellfish
• Eliminate as much plastic use and demand alternatives
• Explore the Oceans, become more in-touch and educated
• Vote on Oceanic Issues
• Join or support Oceanic protection organizations
  • Oceana
  • Ocean Conservancy
  • Sea Shephard Conservation Society
  • Coral Reef Alliance
  • Coral Restoration Foundation
  • Project AWARE Foundation
  • The Nature Conservancy
  • World Wildlife Fund
• Inspire others in your community

Seaweed and Planet Botanicals Support for Ocean Health

Planet Botanicals supports all Ocean sustainability practices, but we promote in our own unique way, sustainable Seaweed Harvesting. Seaweed, the “tree of the sea”, is an oceanic plant that not only provides a substantial amount of minerals and vitamins for our but also has proven to have a “negative carbon footprint, absorbing 20% more carbon dioxide than it produces”. Amazing. With such an effective absorption rate of carbon dioxide, climate scientist Tim Flannery stated the following concerning Seaweed, “if you cover 9% of the World’s oceans in seaweed farms, you could draw down the equivalent of all our current emissions – more than 40 gigatons a year”. In addition, Seaweed is responsible for decreasing ocean-acidifiers nitrogen and phosphorus levels which reduces ocean acidification.

Seaweed’s nutritional benefits have become more recognized than ever before and the demand is rapidly growing. Thankfully, Seaweed is one of the most sustainable food sources as harvesting doesn’t require any fresh water, chemical preservatives, or land.  And seaweed regenerates itself quickly, if harvested sustainably.

We, Planet Botanicals, being located on the coast of Maine, realize the impact of Seaweed and that’s why we harvested our seaweed sustainably, produce sustainable skincare products and help support the livelihood for Maine Seaweed Harvesters.

The Ocean is slowly degrading and its needs our help. There is still time to make a difference, join the movement, BE GREEN FOR THE SEA.

Thank-you,

Keenan Hendricks

Planet Botanicals Sustainability Intern

If you would like to read more, here are the references

“10 Things You Can Do to Save the Ocean.” National Geographic, 29 May 2019, www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/oceans/take-action/10-things-you-can-do-to-save-the-ocean/.

“The Best Marine Conservation Organizations To Donate To On Earth Day!” Underseas Scuba Center Blog, 21 Apr. 2017, www.underseas.com/blog/best-marine-conservation-organizations-donate-earth-day/.

CMSBlueTheme. “SEAWEED.” SALAWEG, www.salaweg.com/en/algues/ecological-benefits-of-seaweed-farming.html.
             Grimes, Sarah. “Ocean Science for Sustainable Development: Facts and Figures.” SciDev.Net, SciDev.Net, www.scidev.net/global/technology/feature/ocean-science-for-sustainable-development-facts-and-figures-1.html.
            “Home.” NASA, NASA, 3 June 2014, sealevel.nasa.gov/.
            “Oceans & Seas .:. Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform.” United Nations, United Nations, sustainabledevelopment.un.org/topics/oceanandseas.

            Schneider, Tapio. “How We Know Global Warming Is Real.” Skeptic, 4 June 2015, www.skeptic.com/reading_room/how-we-know-global-warming-is-real/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIh8yOxsuC5AIVhiaGCh1unQclEAAYAiAAEgKV1fD_BwE.

“Seaweed Sustainability - The Future of Food.” Mara Seaweed, 

Please feel free to comment on the concerning issue and how you support ocean sustainability. We, Planet Botanicals, are very open minded and would love to learn from you!