As Earth Day approaches, TakePart is taking to the oceans in a weeklong series of stories, videos, and infographics that offer an in-depth look at the daunting challenges facing the planet’s life-support system.
Quite bluntly, the world’s oceans are at a tipping point. Acidification due to climate change is destroying coral reefs, crucial habitat for marine life on which hundreds of millions of people depend for food and their livelihoods. Enormous trawler ships are wiping out the largest fish, while plastic pollution and abandoned fishing nets are killing dolphins, whales, and other marine life. The booming cruise industry can give people a new appreciation for the oceans but leaves a trail of toxic pollution in its wake. Sea-level rise threatens coastal communities around the world and an entire way of life.