We as a people on earth have been extracting its resources for millennia. We have savaged the lands, so much so that a large portion of its inhabitants has disappeared. Now the sea is on our hitlist. We have damaged its ecosystem for quite a few decades by discharging pollutants into the water, and overexploiting fish stocks. This has caused ocean warming and ocean acidification which are now being deemed by many experts as new global-scale threats affecting the oceans today. A solution is needed for sustainable ocean use and it needs to have an accurate analysis of its condition so as to allow for the correct environmental policy measures implemented as soon as humanly possible
There are many problems facing us and many of them have been caused by either regional mismanagement or global climate change. Most affected areas are the coastal regions because they are densely populated and are excessively being used. The coastal areas are the places where the majority of the fish is taken from while drilling for natural gas and crude oil is also done there. Tourism has also become a plague to coastal areas as they are seen as are popular holiday destinations, which has led to marine life in these regions being ravaged and all for the sake of constructing new hotels and other similar structures.
The book The Empty Sea: The Future of the Blue Economy by Ilaria Perissi and Ugo Bardi looks into all of these issues and much more as they navigate the reader through the multiple business practices related to ocean depletion. It focuses on how the demand and supply chain is wreaking havoc as our consumption habits have led to the complete degradation of what a beautiful place.
In their book, The Empty Sea they have looked at solutions that can help sustainability and growth within the seas. The biggest fact is that our wants and needs won’t stop and the way the population is ever-growing, there is no stopping our eating habits but other solutions are possible. It’s an important read if you care about the future of your children and what their children will be living in, but beyond that, it’s still a very beautiful and interesting book even if you don’t really care about the wide-open seas. It has both historical and contemporary points and has an allegorical scientific journal-type feel.
Dr. Ilaria Perissi and Ugo Bardi both have strong backgrounds and know what they are talking about, and it clearly showed as I sifted through each and every page, being educated on the subject matter. Even though I thought I knew quite a lot about how our oceans work, this made me realize and know very little when it comes to the inner workings of it. By the end of the book not only was I much more knowledgeable on the subject but wanted to go out there and do my part.
The book The Empty Sea: The Future of the Blue Economy by Ilaria Perissi and Ugo Bardi might just have the solution to save the sea. I would like to thank them for their vision and words.
