Politics and governance impact the issue of dead zones greatly. Because dead zones are in the ocean, many people see it as not affecting them very much. However, the health of the ocean determines the health of the land. Due to its nature, this issue requires government intervention in order to be solved. Research is being done with government agencies to discover what exactly is causing the dead zones as well as how they are impacting various organisms. The government has also organized ocean clean-ups, especially after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, to try to help prevent more dead zone formations. There have been United States Senators like Mary L. Landrieu who have brought to the government’s attention how important coastal restoration is. A National Commission was formed after the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill as well. A way that people can take political action to get involved with the issue of dead zones is to raise awareness about the issue through protests or simply spreading the word to others. People could also volunteer to be in the clean-up crews that help with oil spills. This issue is challenging for the average person to deal with because many of the ways to solve this issue politically take place in higher forms of government. However, if citizens are ever able to vote on things dealing with off-shore drilling or big oil companies they should vote against them. This will help in the issue of dead zones. It is very important to consider the average citizen when looking at my issue through a political lens. The vast majority of people will not hold positions in political office but this shouldn’t mean that they are not able to help prevent the formation of dead zones.
The Ted Talk I chose is called “My wish: Protect our oceans” and Sylvia Earle is speaking in it. Dr. Earle has been a huge proponent for the health of the ocean and has been for me personally a huge role model and led me to my major. She was the first female head scientist of the Environmental Protection Agency. Sylvia Earle points out that an unhealthy ocean not only affects fish and other marine organisms but also us, on Earth. Without water, we cannot survive. She also mentions that the ocean is home to 97 percent of the world’s life. The government has created national marine sanctuaries and state marine reserves to protect the ocean. Dr. Earle argues that many of the fish that we are taking out of the ocean for food are much more valuable alive than on our plates. Many people used to not realize that the ocean is affected by what we take out and put in, but Sylvia Earle points out that we are destroying the oceans with our behaviors. She says that while there are over 4,000 areas of the sea under government protection, this is not nearly enough. It also takes a very long time to recover the organisms in the protected areas. Dr. Earle proposes that we create Hope Spots, we need to campaign and garner public support to create a global network of marine protected areas. Sylvia Earle suggests we do this though anything at our disposal; this could be films, expedition, the web or the creation of new technologies to explore the ocean.