Having recently been on the Oregon beach and now this California one, south of San Francisco, then reading the blog of a friend regarding salmon on the Oregon coast, (Umbrella Watercolors), I felt like writing about oceans as habitats once again. For many people, the idea of climate change is not that big a deal. They equate it with warmer winters maybe or even harsher storms, but the bigger story about global climate change might be our oceans.I found several articles about dead zones in the oceans worldwide-- Dead Zone and another Dead Zones. A dead zone basically is where the necessary conditions for supporting life do not exist. Those who cannot move away from the area will die. Those who can move on will if there is somewhere to go. Dead zones likely have come and gone. The Oregon one was only defined in 2002--Science Daily. This does not mean it never has happened in the past. The bigger question, for us all, is what would it mean for our lives if the entire ocean became one? This phenomena has been little studied or understood-- Dead Zones.
Some of it mankind could fix but often has chosen not to do so based on economics or ignorance of real consequences. When big corporations and even cities pump their waste out into the ocean They just see a lot of water and what can it matter? Signs on a beach in that first photograph warn-- don't go in the water, it's contaminated. Did the authorities care that I watched a small child running into it? Was the sign simply to cover them from lawsuits in case of illnesses? Why send a polluted stream into the ocean?
The photograph of this dead bird was taken at Seal Rock, Oregon. I asked my son-in-law, who has one of his doctorates in marine life (there is term for it but it escapes me at the moment), what might have killed it. He said most likely starvation, and they had found one on the Yachats beach also.
People want simple answers to changes like these. It's the fault of climate change. It's foreign fisheries. It's seals. It's somebody else...
Newly discovered West Coast arrhythmias cause.
Every time I go to the coast, I look for shells, finding hardly any in comparison to what were there in my own childhood or even when my kids were growing up. In the sky and patrolling the edges of the waves, there are fewer seabirds. Salmon fishermen, some of whom depend on fisheries to feed their families, are upset at the increasing seal and sea lion population taking some of what is there. Not to defend the seals because their numbers must be managed, but if the ocean itself is suffering a shortage of real food, then what is left will be fought over.
How much of the damage to the oceans and our climate is due to the footprint of the creature to the left? (by the way, it's mine)
5 comments:
This is so scary to think about, Rain. We've had two blue whales wash up recently and it appears as though they were struck my ships. It is very late for them to be here, so your explanation of things makes excellent sense. The same with all the people reporting bears in their neighborhoods; they are really shaking up things.
Oh yes, rain, you've got it exactly right. It is about the oceans. The health of the seas is truly a harbinger.
Beautiful and sad pics, and a very thoughtful post.
I don't know if it is affecting sea birds but around here we have had a lot of dead birds from West Nile virus that is carried by Mosquitoes. We have also had some dead horses and a few dead people from it. They have started fogging for mosquitoes again since it has become a serious threat. We also have a lot of heartworm in the dogs and cats around here which is also spread by mosquitoes.
the oceans are so vast, so little understood. I still am able to find an array of shells at the beach where my house is situated. The Monterey Bay is an official sanctuary, so that helps, but of course it is still affected by the rest of the world.
It's all so very sad. And what I don't understand is, why people don't seem to care more than they do.
That was terrible about the bird.
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