On June 21, a report was released
stating that the oceans are facing a severe loss of species similar
to the major mass extinctions of prehistoric times. The causes vary
from climate change, overfishing, chemical pollution and the
acidification of ocean water.
According to the report, the oceans are
facing a disaster that is “unprecedented in human history.”
Species facing extinction vary greatly. Many fish populations are
rapidly declining and entire ecosystems, such as coral reefs, may
disappear within a generation. According to the report, declining
levels of oxygen, ocean dead zones, warming of the ocean and the
acidification of seawater are the conditions that emerged in the
ocean during every major mass extinction in prehistory. These
conditions are reemerging today at rates faster than predicted.
The report was created by a panel of
leading marine scientists in Oxford earlier this year.
The chaotic, unregulated production and
wastefulness of capitalism is the cause of much pollution in the
ocean.
