But if we intend to be responsible stewards of this planet, we can’t let this happen. In addition to potentially causing wrenching problems on land somewhere down the line, the death of Earth’s oceans would be an unforgivable moral stain upon the human species.
Stopping this, however, will require international action. Rich countries already bury most of their plastic trash, and the U.S. has made headway in preventing overfishing. Carbon emissions, meanwhile, are a global phenomenon. Saving the oceans thus means changing the behavior of developing countries such as China, as well as rich East Asian countries like Japan and Taiwan, which have less rigorous conservation standards.
The U.S. and other countries that care about the health of the oceans can do several things to spur the biggest offenders to change. First, trade policy can be rewritten to take ocean damage into account — the U.S. should be able to apply tariffs on goods from countries that overfish and dump plastic into the seas. Second, the U.S. should use the UN and other international organizations to coordinate international policies and standards to save marine life. Finally, the U.S. should use a variety of measures to help developing countries switch to carbon-free energy sources.
The oceans may seem unimportant to many, but they’re an irreplaceable part of the living planet. Letting them die out of neglect and lack of coordination is not an option.
This article provided by Bloomberg News.