Here at HC CNU, we’re surrounded by water. This water has helped provide tons of seafood and fun for Captains and local residents. Not only do we have the James River, but we also have the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean just a car ride away. If you asked most CNU students, one of the number one things they like to do when the weather’s warm (besides hang out on the Great Lawn) is visit Huntington or Buckroe for a good swim and cookout.
But, things are hardly ever perfect. According to Ocean Conservancy, debris in the ocean and beaches can create problems for marine wildlife and for ships as they try to navigate the oceans. If we don’t start focusing on cleaning up our beaches, we might not be able to enjoy watching those amazing sunsets or hosting Greek mixers there. In 2015, there were over 5 trillion pieces of plastic in the ocean, according to National Geographic. Because of these numbers and the prospective negative outcomes from not fixing this problem, we’ve partnered with Her Campus at College of Charleston to participate in their #HCxSea campaign to help promote awareness for beach cleanliness — and we’re so excited about it!
If the reasons we just gave you aren’t enough to get you to understand why it’s so important to conserve the beaches, below are five more.
Think of the dolphins
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No, seriously. Think of them, and all the other marine wildlife found in large bodies of water — they’re in danger. All the cute and funny sea lion memes will no longer be relevant because they’ll all be dead from ingesting plastic, which is toxic for most animals.
People might lose their livelihoods
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Okay, so this one’s a little more controversial. While certain practices of fishing, like drudging, are seen as degrading to the aquatic environment, they won’t have the chance to become more environmentally friendly if we continue to neglect our beaches. There are so many men and women who earn their living by providing us with seafood, and it isn’t fair to them to kill off the things they provide us with. Which actually leads me to my next point…
People will get sick
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Mercury poisoning occurs when you ingest something that has toxic levels of mercury in it. More recently, a variety of fish and other seafood have been found to have high levels of mercury in them. This is mainly due to the fish ingesting other fish that have ingested things with mercury in them. EcoWatch explains that this is why tuna is one of the fish that humans ingest that has a lot of mercury in them; they’re at the top of the marine food chain and eat a lot. High exposure to mercury can actually lead to insanity — and we definitely don’t need more insane people in this world.
If you want to help sustain marine wildlife and keep our beaches clean, help HC CofC with their #HCxSea campaign — purchase a shirt and get out there and start cleaning your beaches!