While many issues hold my attention and passion, three came to mind when the Issue Exploration assignment crossed my path. These issues, related to the three Ps of sustainability (planet, profit, and people), are as follows: mental illness, shark finning, and ocean acidification.

The first issue I will investigate is mental illness. Mental illness has always been a part of my life; between my friends’ struggles with it, my family history of it, and my own experiences with such diseases of the mind, mental illness has played an integral role in who I am. Yet, despite its prevalence in my day-to-day, it does not define me. As far as people are concerned, mental illness affects everyone to some degree, even those who do not have any kind of illness. In terms of profit, a healthy economy is correlated with a healthy society, and a society that cannot handle mental illness suitably is not a healthy society. Originally when I thought of how the planet ties into mental illness, I was stymied. Fortunately, I thought of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. At the bottom is personal safety and wellness, particularly in the short term. If those needs of basic survival are not met, how is one supposed to be expected to care for others, including a planet? On another level, caring for the planet is self-care in its purest form. After all, we do live here, so it’s akin to making sure one has clean water and a roof over his/her head. Also, there’s evidence to support the hypothesis that spending time in nature can alleviate certain symptoms of depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and many more illnesses.

My second possible issue is the shark finning industry. Shark fin soup is considered a delicacy in many locations across the globe, but it comes at a steep cost. Sharks are caught, their dorsal fin removed, and what’s left of them is often thrown back into the water. As sharks use their dorsal fins as steerage, this means death for these fish. This issue affects people; people are the ones doing this to these species. Shark populations are dwindling, partially caused by these unsustainable and irresponsible fishing practices. This brings me to my next point: profit. Overfishing in general, but particularly in the case of shark populations, does not allow for the species to replenish its numbers. While this provides little issue in the short term, in the long term, overfishing simply means that we are cutting off our own source of fish. If we don’t allow for the shark populations to grow, we may lose even more species of them, and that could adversely affect the shark finning industry. If those species continue their route to extinction, the ecological balance of our oceans will be altered, which introduces the last consideration of the three Ps: planet. Sharks are top predators, and in some biogeographical regions, keystone species. This means that their presence in an ecosystem affects other species much in the same way as a linchpin.

My final issue is ocean acidification. Going hand in hand with issues of climate change and rising global temperatures, ocean acidification is of great ecological concern. Some causes include fertilizer runoff from coastal farms and the absorption of toxins from the atmosphere (emitted by the burning of fossil fuels). It’s sometime referred to as “climate change’s equally evil twin,” although ocean acidification is also considered to be a symptom and indicator of climate change. The lowering pH levels of our seas affects practically every aspect of our planet, from our drinking water sources to the fish we eat, from the acid rain killing our plants that cleanse our air to the poisoning of food webs worldwide. The ocean is our life-source (both directly and indirectly), and ocean acidification is its cancer. Likewise, if the ocean suffers, humans suffer. More than a billion people live on the coasts, and as the acidity of the water changes, the plants and animals that live in those waters suffer. This would damage fishing and aquatic plant industries worldwide, an enormous hole in the world economy. The ocean absorbs more than a quarter of the CO₂ in our atmosphere, and as it increases in its acidity, less of these toxins can be absorbed. This threatens the safety and quality of our air as well as water.

I have decided to pursue the issue of shark finning, as it is the issue of the three that I am the least acquainted with, and yet is still incredibly important. This issue will be challenging in that I must consider not only the environmental impacts of this issue, but the economic consequences as well. It will be important to also consider who, in proportion to the population, is being affected by this topic. I will begin where all research must: by reading literature on the topic. From there, we shall see where to go.