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• 1 2018-10-16T06:36:30-07:00 Oceans and Beaches as a Measure of Human Destruction and Exploitation of the Environment 5 plain 2018-10-16T23:36:36-07:00 - Antonia Parker
  
  While reading through the Watery Worlds photo essays and critical reflections, I was struck by the image in the first photo essay of the beach covered in glass, the images in the last photo essay of rubbish on the beach and in the ocean, and the below fragment from the first critical reflection:

  ...when humanity, at this stage of late capitalism, has exploited and affected water on every level? Climate change is affecting sea levels and rainfall, and pollution is changing the chemical compositions of oceans and rivers and making them uninhabitable.

  All of these, as well as other comments about the comprehensive and destructive impact humanity has had on the environment and especially on the various watery worlds, recalled to mind an article I read years ago and then looked up again during the course. 
  
  xkcd, a webcomic written by Randall Munroe, also has a section called What If?, where people send in ridiculous questions and Munroe answers them scientifically. In 2013, in an article called "Signs of Life", Munroe answered the question "If you could teleport to a random place of the surface of the Earth, what are the odds that you'll see signs of intelligent life?" His answer basically said that no matter where you went (including the 70% of the world's surface covered by ocean), you would be able to detect signs of human habitation, and depressingly, most of these signs were pollution. In fact, Munroe actually says near the start of the article:

  In one way or another, humans have altered every square meter of this planet.

  He goes on to talk about the different kinds of ways we've actually done this, starting with the "big stuff", like roads, buildings, cultivated fields, etc., and then explaining some of the less immediately obvious ways to spot the footprints humans have left all over the world: looking for jet contrails in the sky, testing the air for carbon dioxide to see how we have altered the very air around us, and then finally simply waiting for nightfall and looking for satellites. However, the part that really struck me, especially after reading through Watery Worlds, was this:

  If you find yourself on a beach, check the sand. Sand all over the world contains tiny grains of plastic, mostly from industrial spillage into the oceans. Even if you land in the water, you might still be able to spot bits of plastic debris; the ocean is covered with them, which leads to heartbreaking consequences.

  This is the second thing he says to look for, after the big stuff. I find that incredibly depressing. You want to check the surface of the planet for human impact? Look for the record of how poorly we treat water systems.
  
  This article, in just a couple of sentences, summarises how damaging plastic is, especially for the ocean and its creatures, and, as exemplified by the xkcd comic below, it is EVERYWHERE and inescapable.
  
  Munroe, Randall. "Signs of Life" from xkcd: What If? 2013. Available at: https://what-if.xkcd.com/60/.
  Munroe, Randall. "Plastic Bags" from xkcd webcomic. Available at: https://xkcd.com/990/.