In today’s political climate, we are used to hearing bad news, especially with our current president’s stance on environmental issues. However, there have been some good discoveries recently. According to Wired, sea turtle population has been rising thanks to conservation efforts.
Sea turtles have been found in our oceans for over 100 million years, but human interference has caused the species to reach near extinction. A scientific paper written by Gail Schofield, a postdoctoral research fellow in the School of Life and Environment Sciences at Deakin University, Australia, found 95 significant increases in sea turtle numbers. Growing efforts to protect sea turtle nests and fishing nets designed to help the turtles escape help increase population numbers, but that’s not all it’s gonna take.
Even with populations increasing, six out of the seven sea turtles species are still at endangered levels. It’s not just about how we treat our oceans either. Global warming is also a factor in sea turtle population. Sex of the turtles depends on the sand temperatures and the warmer sand leads to more female turtles being hatched.
While it is great to hear that sea turtle populations are increasing, we need to be aware of the impact we leave on the environment. Designing state of the art nets and protecting nests is only a piece of the solution. We also need to be eco-conscious in all aspects of life because our decisions affect the entire earth, not just one small part of it.