One key solution is missing from the list and undermined by the photo. We need to connect people with ocean life, and take people under the surface.

Pictures of nice beaches provide a soothing but cool and disconnected view of the oceans. We need to do the Jacques Cousteau thing and connect people to the majesty of ocean life and the tragedy of unnecessary harm done through thoughless or reckless ocean abuse.

treehugger.com is the right place to do this. How about a column or series on "ocean connections?"

avoiding the use of plastic where possible is also a good move as a lot of it ends up in the ocean.

#9 is a fact not an idea. how does text messaging help conservation?

For Brendan, heres the info about text msgs, as found on the link in the article....

" Sending text messages is the most popular means of cell phone communication nearly everywhere outside North America. It is quick, direct, and often much cheaper than calling, and it works well even in remote areas where signals are too weak to transfer the spoken word. Through texting, all manner of conservation advocates can mobilize action, obtain information, and elicit support. Imagine, for example, a global network of hotlines created to react to a wide array of ocean issues, from oil spills to escapes of farmed fish. Citizens and other stakeholders witnessing such events could text an immediate report to the appropriate hotline and demand an official response. People whose cell phones take photographs and record precise geographic coordinates could supplement their words with additional evidence.

Even without formal hotlines, texting can make a difference. In the central Philippines, my colleagues and I have fostered an alliance of nearly 900 fishing families who send text messages to coordinate conservation efforts across a 150-kilometer arc of isolated reef atolls. Using cell phones donated by various Filipino sources, these fishers can alert the provincial environmental management office and local police when they observe illegal dynamite and trawl fishing, which have helped push many of their coastal ecosystems to the brink of collapse. The alliance leaders have also reported rampant violations and bureaucratic inertia to the national media through text messages and have given interviews by return text.

The list of conservation options for texting goes on. Fishers in remote areas of Africa are focusing their fishing efforts by texting buyers or friends to determine whether and where particular species are selling well. In South Africa, consumers can text a special hotline to check whether a tempting seafood dish or a fresh market fish has been deemed environmentally sound. Nongovernmental organizations worldwide can download free cell-phone software to organize their work and contact members, and interested citizens can transfer funds instantly to conservation organizations by ordering a ring tone and wallpaper of an endangered animal.

In the new world of cell phone text messaging, nearly everyone can contribute to good ocean stewardship—and the opportunity is only a few thumb taps away."

Hope that makes it clearer for you!
Carrie

Clean up trash on the beaches.
And help with oil spills and throw away trash in the right place so it won't end up in the ocean.

Clean up trash on the beaches.
And help with oil spills and throw away trash in the right place so it won't end up in the ocean.

hello we are doing a project on the subject and we are only in middle school and we think this is wonderful information!

thanks u r numbahh one!!!!

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For the past 15 years, the Vancouver Aquarium has been organizing, coordinating and promoting local individual cleanups across Canada. We do this in conjunction with the Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup and provide them with data on data items removed from our shorelines and beaches.

It is one of the easiest things to do that makes an immediate impact, but around the world, only 378,192 people came out and helped remove 6,075,698.4 pounds of debris, the weight equivalent to 35,324 Americans. Just over 52,000 Canadians picked up 220,380.1 pounds. That's the equivalent of approximately 1,316 Canadians.

In addition to shoreline cleanup initiatives like The Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup Day, there are programs starting up around the world promoting sustainable fishing practices, like Vancouver Aquarium's Ocean Wise program.

In the end, it is about everyone stepping forward and chipping in with their individual actions to make a huge change.