This is a guest post from Terra Wellington, who is an actress and cares a lot about ocean issues. She is also the author of The Mom’s Guide to Growing Your Family Green: Saving the Earth Begins at Home and regularly blogs at www.momsandtheplanet.com.
After coming back from an important environmental meeting about our oceans, land, and food at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in mid-May, I am more convinced than ever before that we all need to take food and ocean issues more seriously.
Although there are many critical environmental issues -- climate change, depletion of soils, renewable energy -- one of our top priorities must be in saving and protecting our oceans. And of the myriad of issues facing our oceans, one tantamount concern is the endangerment and extinction of its marine life.
We are literally fishing all the fish out of the sea. Did I say literally? Yes. Scientists forecast that we are facing the end of seafood by 2048 simply because we fish too much. Remember what happened with the buffalo? This is what is happening on a much larger scale -- with everything in the ocean. This is not an issue to be complacent about. It requires each of us to consider what seafood we purchase in restaurants and stores, and ask ourselves the humble question each time -- am I contributing to this problem?
The solution is to use a Seafood Watch card every time we buy seafood. They even have a sushi guide -- which is important because bluefin tuna are nearly extinct because of our love affair with that species at the sushi bar. And if you have Internet access on your phone, you can access the card there -- or even through an iPhone application. Choose the best choices every time -- no wavering. This protects your health and the fish.
Also at the Monterey conference, I saw the trailer for an upcoming documentary on this issue -- the film is called "The End of the Line." I also chatted with author Charles Clover, who wrote a book upon which this film is based and he also was the investigative reporter that was followed in the film. THIS FILM IS A MUST-SEE FOR YOU, YOUR FAMILY, AND YOUR FRIENDS IN 2009. Do not let this year go by without seeing this film. It will change your life. It will energize you to take better care of the oceans, and hopefully inspire you to write your government representatives asking that they pass legislation to protect the oceans. Here's the website to find a screening and learn more -- http://endoftheline.com/ Let your heart strings be tugged enough to change what you buy and how you live! And tell everyone you know to do the same.
Here's Ted Danson's quick thoughts on the film --…
