Happy Ocean Day
Yesterday was Earth Day, a fact I overlooked here in Thailand where it isn’t recognized with quite the same fervor as it is in the US. As a scuba diver and general underwater enthusiast, I tend to see Earth Day through the lens of that mass that makes up over 70% of our planet…. the ocean.
The statistics on the destruction of the coral reefs and the general health of our oceans are staggering. At this moment in history 25% of the world’s coral reefs are effectively lost, while an additional 45% are under serious threat (source). And the fish aren’t faring much better: over 70% of the world’s fish species are either fully exploited or depleted (source). There is a patch of marine litter in the Atlantic Ocean that some statistics quote as being the size of Texas (source).
But don’t feel defeated; feel inspired. Last year I heard Jean Micheal Cousteau speak at a panel titled “The State of Our Oceans” and I found his message deeply inspiring: that the most important thing we can do as individuals is not to place blame on corporations or governments, but to change our own actions and be loudspeakers for our beliefs. In that spirit, I am making some Earth Day pledges, and I hope you will join me in them.
1. I will not use single-use plastics.
Oceanographers have found that between 60 and 95 percent of today’s marine debris is made of plastic (source). Considering the relative ease with which many plastics can be removed from the average person’s life… this is a no-brainer. For most people it comes down to two main culprits: plastic bags and plastic bottles.
I have a 90% success rate at turning down plastic bags. Here in Thailand it is a constant battle to grab the one small item you are purchasing off the counter before the cashier triple bags it and gives you seven straws. Just this week I stood in line at 7/11 in Ayuttaya and watched the woman in front of me buy three small items… each of which the cashier put in IT’S OWN INDIVIDUAL small bag. My brain more or less exploded. Still, in rare moments of weakness, when I’m not carrying a canvas bag over my shoulder, I often purchase a few items and take the plastic bag out of convenience. Well, no more. If I can’t carry it in my own two hands or a reusable bag I have with me, I will wait to purchase whatever it is I need when I can return with an appropriate bag. This will be much trickier when I get back to the US and do major grocery shopping again, but I will simply be forced to plan ahead better when I need to do big shopping trips.
Back in the US, I have a 98% success rate with plastic bottles. I always drink water from the tap, and when I do drink beverages from a plastic bottle, I always recycle them. Here in Thailand, I have about a 3% success rate. Why? Tap water is not safe, meaning I’m often purchasing up to 5 different bottles in one day just to avoid dehydration. And recycling facilities are well hidden, if they exist. Basically, I don’t see any other option. In the future I might consider buying a SteriPEN
2. I will eat seafood sustainably.
Okay, so this one is cheating. I don’t eat seafood at all, for much less noble reasons. But I’m grateful for that right now, because it makes it easy for me to sleep at night knowing I haven’t eaten something that was raised or caught via unsustainable methods. Luckily for you seafood lovers out there (at least in the US), the Monterey Bay Aquarium has made things easier for you. You can download either pocket or mobile guides based on your region that breaks seafood down into Best, Good, and Avoid categorizes based on sustainability, overfishing, and other factors. If you live in the US and you eat seafood, you have no excuse not to follow that link and take advantage of an amazing, free resource!
Also: I will never, ever eat shark. Here is why. If you know of restaurants in your area that serve shark fin soup, be brave and hand them a card explaining your position, available for download here.
3. I will spread the word loud and clear.
Of the behavior changed that I have mentioned here, I think this may be the hardest. In our society it is looked down upon to “preach” to others or to comment on others’ behavior. Live and let live, right? Well… no.
We all share this Earth and if we see another person abusing it, I think it is fair and right to step forward and talk to them about alternative actions in a polite and non-condescending way. I’m starting with this post (which I hope you will share using the buttons below!), but I’m going to continue by talking to friends and family about plastic use and recycling, handing out seafood guides and anti-shark fin soup cards, and continuing to use this blog to show off what a treasure we have in these great big oceans of ours!
What do you think, readers? Will you join me?
Please share this post with your friends and family, and tell me what you do to be green in the comments below!
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I'm a New York native who left my home to explore the world slowly and thoroughly. I love photography, scuba diving, and reading guidebooks to countries I have no immediate plans to visit. Read more on my 
Thanks for posting this. I’m a vegan for ethical reasons, and I take the state of the oceans very seriously. This past weekend, my aunt’s husband was teasing me as he always does about my eating habits, and he said, “You know, I feel sorry for you not being able to eat all the great seafood we have out here” (I live in the pacific northwest). Despite my past as a sushi and salmon lover, I told him that seafood is the easiest thing for me to not eat, because I cannot in all seriousness tell myself that my particular tastes and cravings and desires are more important than preserving entire species and ecosystems. They just aren’t.
I tend to get down about how we’re handling our planet, so it’s always so refreshing to find someone else out there who knows what’s up and cares
Thanks again.
Katherine recently posted..des nouvelles choses: learn to ski
Hi Katherine! Wow, I admire the dedication of any vegan. I have been a truly painfully picky eater since I was a child and going vegan or vegetarian would be almost a complete diet overhaul for me. Like I said, I’m kind of cheating because seafood doesn’t appeal to me (except shrimp!) so it’s not a tough sacrifice. Still, I definitely could put more effort into purchasing more ethically farmed meat when I am back home.
I love this!! The biggest thing I am doing right now is giving up meat (except as a rare treat). Hard for me because I love it so, but reading about the environmental impact of producing it has convinced me. It’s horribly polluting of water too…
I will try taking a leaf from your book and doing a better job at conserving plastic usage: it’s a great idea.
About the bottles…when I lived in China the tap water is also not drinkable. No recycling containers existed either so I always felt bad. But then I learned that there is recycling, it’s just not official. At night an army of human scavengers appeared and combed through the garbage of the day for everything remotely salvageable (paper, meat scraps, cooking oil, plastic, Styrofoam, etc.). They sell by bulk to junk dealers and support themselves in this way. Since all that stuff is worth a lot to them, they do a much more thorough job than most places in the US. Thailand might be similar?
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Oh, Grace. I’m so impressed your are giving up meat…. that is not a step I am anywhere near ready to make, but I admire those who do. I guess that means I need to double up my efforts in other areas, huh?
In Thailand I see what you describe in China but only with glass bottles. If I buy a glass bottle of soda from a street vendor and try to walk away they sometimes follow me to make sure they get the bottle back, I’m sure because they get a refund or can have it refilled. But plastic, I don’t see the same thing. Someone told me that Thailand is one of the major exporters in the world of plastic bags and bottles, so that might influence the attitude.
That San Diego website was very interesting. Thanks.
You are welcome! I think making ethical decisions about things like that can be overwhelming… it’s nice to have someone who has done all the work for you and made a nice little guide!
Alex-
If I save a whale would you go out for coffee with me?
Hi Alex,
Great post and that is an inspiring way of thinking, It’s so easy to put blame on someone else or feel the problem is overwhelming that one person’s actions won’t amount too much.
I always resist bags when I shop (unless I forget my canvas bag) and every Thursday at produce market in front of my apartment in Spain. Overall, the vendors cooperate but they sure like their plastic bags. Why o Why? And then we have a country like Rwanda who has banned Plastic bags!!!
I had no idea that Rwanda had banned plastic bags, how interesting. When I was living in Grand Cayman all the supermarkets starting charging for plastic bags, which I thought was a nice effort to try to curtail their use. And in my hometown one major supermarket chain does it even better… gives a 5 cent discount for every reusable bag you bring to carry your groceries out with.
Hey Alex!
I’ve been reading your blog for a while, but have never commented (my husband and I are embarking on a five month RTW trip at the end of this year, which will include 5-6 weeks in SE Asia…). I just had to say a huge thanks for this post – these are issues I’m so passionate about and the more people that understand how important it is, the better! It’s always so difficult to get people to understand that every choice they make has an affect on the Earth they call home. Great job and keep it up!!! (Oh, and I always use the Monterrey Bay seafood watch app on my phone – my friends and family are super embarrassed when I pull it out at restaurants and grocery stores.)
I’ve handed some of the pocket guides out to my friends in NYC who I know are big seafood lovers and luckily they were very receptive to hearing about it. Who knows if they use it, but at least they are getting out there! Congratulations on your RTW trip… I think you will have the time of your life!
Your passion for the ocean really rings through in this post, Alex. One of the things I’m most looking forward to when my husband and I embark on our upcoming RTW trip is the chance to finally scuba dive! I’ve put it square on my “non-negotiable, must splurge to do this” list, so I’ve really found your blog to be a wonderful inspiration and handy resource, too!
You’ve given me a lot to think about re: how to deal with the water situation in Asia. I have read some good things about Steri-Pens, but I’m not sure I could get over the mental block of drinking water in say, India. Apart from the fact that Steri-Pens do nothing to make suspect water taste good, I’d be so scared the whole time that I was going to get sick!
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Hi Steph! Always so excited to hear someone has the diving bug… where are you thinking of doing your open water? And yes, the taste is what makes me hesitate about steri-pens as well. It would also require so much planning ahead, and unless you are staying in a room with a mini fridge you will likely be drinking warm, non-tasty water. Yuk…
Because of the way we are planning to do our trip, I think we may do a scuba course in Nha Trang, Vietnam. I know you had a mixed experience in Vietnam, in general, but we’ve never been so I’m hoping we love it! I have just always wanted to scuba dive, so I figured we could get certified in Nha Trang and then if we do love diving (and how could we not?!?) then we could also do dives in Cambodia, Thailand (you have me sold on trying out Koh Tao!), and then maybe Malaysia as well. I figure if we go in that order, we’ll also be building up in terms of how impressive each dive is, so even though Nha Trang might be the least impressive of all four, I don’t think it’s a terrible place to start. Any thoughts?
Steph (@ 20 Years Hence) recently posted..What’s in a name?
Hi Steph, I hope my mixed impressions of Vietnam don’t ever turn anyone off from visiting! In fact I hope maybe they help people go in with the right attitude, a better one than I had, to enjoy it more.
Nha Trang is a decent place to dive (did you read my post on diving there?) but the safety standards I saw in some places were frightening. I highly, highly recommend Sailing Club divers as one of the few places that I felt was a really professional dive shop. There is also Rainbow Divers but they are super pricey, while Sailing Club had roughly the same prices as the shoddy operators. Good luck! And definitely try diving in Cambodia- search for my post on that as well!
Good thoughts on this one Alex – I particularly enjoyed the infographic as well. Good job spreading the word!
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I still remembered that infographic from the morning I saw it in the physical newspaper… I was so excited I was able to find it and share it hear. Really shocking, isn’t it?
Weird, I don’t remember the plastic bag situation being so bad in Thailand. It’s the same here in Argentina. I bring my own reusable bag to go shopping and I have to stop the cashiers from putting my stuff in plastic bags before putting them in my bag…
At least my area has finally started doing some recycling. It was one of the hardest things to adapt to when I arrived here, not separating all my rubbish for recycling.
As I mentioned in another comment, I was recently told that Thailand is one of the world’s top exporters of single-use plastics, which would definitely have an effect on the attitude here! As for recycling… I remember in the apartment that I lived in in Brooklyn for years I was so fastidious about separating my recyclables as the building of course claimed to participate in recycling programs. Then one day I saw it all going into the dump trucks with the trash. Sigh.
Good for you!!! I am going to think of a pledge and stick to it too. Guilty of the plastic usage for sure…
Start by making just one day plastic bag and bottle free and go from there…. it’s surprising how easy it is once you just change your mindset, I think. Good luck!
Ugg, I hear ya about not being able to stop using plastic water bottles in Asia. I’ve been told the tap water isn’t safe to drink here in Korea too (although it’s not as bad as Thailand), so we buy cartons of water in plastic bottles. It really does kill a part of me each time–in Seattle I was fanatical about avoiding plastics and things with too much packaging. Now I’m just fanatical about making sure as much of it ends up in the recycling bins as possible. At least Korea has a good recycling system.
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Recycling really does ease a lot of the pain. I really wish facilities were more readily available here in Thailand! I would never dream of drinking bottled water at home, really, so it’s just a shock to the system when you are forced to do so. I want my free water! From the faucet!
Great set of goals there Alex. I saw the demo’s here in Madrid, be interesting to see if the Spanish pledge themselves with as much forthrightness as you have in this post!
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It’s definitely true that some areas are just more “green” than others… take Portland for example, where I think it may be punishable by death not to compost. I’m not sure what the cultural attitude is like in Spain, but like I said… I really believe every one person can make a difference by living sustainably. Cheesy but true.
What a great post Alex! Love this. I am a huge plastic-hater and ocean-lover (I volunteer with Surfrider – http://www.surfrider.org/ for anyone who is interested) and I have a few more tips that I use – when traveling in places where you can’t drink the water, I always bring my stainless steel bottle and then just buy the biggest bottle of water I can and use that to refill the reusable bottle. Less plastic than tons of those little ones! (I’m also looking into the SteriPen but I’m too scared so far…) I also make sure to remind myself and others of my favorite Finding Nemo quote – “all drains lead to the ocean”! Not technically of course, but eventually they do so don’t put anything down the drain you wouldn’t want in the ocean. Happy oceans = happy earth
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Yes when we were stationed in Koh Tao Mark and I always tried to buy the gallon jugs. Unfortunately when on the road its more difficult but I at least buy the “big size” water as its so descriptively named here in Thailand. Glad to hear so many others are feeling passionate as well!
I think that eating sustainable seafood is SO hard. Brain-power wise. With pork/beef/chicken the rules are simple. I’m looking for free-range, organic, etc etc (and trying not to eat very much of it).
But with fish everything is different for each fish! And each region! Do I want the farmed salmon from the Northeast or the fresh from Alaska? Can I really ever have shrimp? (I haven’t had it in like 2 years now after reading Eating Animals). We buy our tuna from Amazon so we can get Wild Planet tuna. But all of this becomes infinitely more difficult when I go out for sushi, which is rare, but still I feel guilty.
But I want to be like you and do better!
That’s why I love the Sustainable Seafood app I linked to here…. it’s laid out by region! I really encourage you to check it out if you haven’t already. I am always inspired by your responsible food posts, I really wish I was better about beef and chicken. It’s just one more thing to add to the list of endless self improvements! I guess as long as we are always trying to better something…
I’ll try and check out that app also. Like Jenna says, it can be hard to be picky with seafood- food in general- in Asia. Most of the time, you’re eating seafood that was caught just a few kilometers or less from where you are sitting.
I often wonder though what happens with all that seafood a day that isn’t sold.
I’ll take the pledge!
Fidel recently posted..Day Trip To Hoi An, Vietnam
Unfortunately I think our choices about eating/living sustainably can be really limited when traveling or living abroad. Either it’s not possible or we don’t know enough to know how to do it. So that’s why I think it’s so important to be double conscious of our choices when we are back in the US!
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