How can we motivate people to get involved in oceanic conservation and restoration efforts?

Answer 1

The problem these days is that few people feel a personal connection to the world they live in. We have become so disconnected from the natural world that we have begun to take it for granted, and as a result the idea of the earth being 'in danger' is preposterous.
So, really the most important thing is to help the people around you understand the importance, urgency, and meaning of your cause.

Answer 2

Sea & water is a part of our life, a part of nature and the mother earth. Even I'm living on land, a place which is far from the sea, I always wanted to be involved in oceanic conservation and helps in restoration efforts. I love to protect the mother earth, both ocean and land.

Once I went to a very beautiful island, I was swimming and I found there's a layer of oil on the sea, and the dead corals are found on the beaches. This make me very sad.

And the laws which doesn't fully protects the whales from being killed. Last year I saw some whale protecters on a small boat trying to stop the Japanese boat from pulling the whale on boat, they failed to. But if they success, the whale has died, what can they do?

I saw your programme on National Geographic last week, and I knew the deadly sonar can kills the whale. It's now not about the sea pollution, and it's also about the sound pollution under the sea. It's sad, armies around the world can't stop using sonar but sonar kills the ocean creatures. What a sad story.

If some of the ocean living creatures extinct, it'll bring serious problem to the food chain and the ocean will seriously effected. This will cause a big problem to the humans since we're all closely related to the ocean and mother earth.

Human destroyed the ocean for own benefits, but the ocean creatures are suffered under the sea. So I think we should be responsible for what we've done, we should protect and restore the ocean.

Please keep on your effort to bring us more knowledge about ocean and do your best to protect the ocean.

Answer 3

Unfortunately, most of the focus regarding conservation has
been based on land related issues and not the oceans. It's
difficult to keep in mind that which we do not actually see.
You can go to an aquarium or see film and television programs that emphasize the importance of ocean
conservation programs, but I think the focus of the media
and print has been on rain forests, pollution of cities,
dependency on foreign oil or where to get more, harnessing
the wind, etc. I feel there needs to be a concentrated media
blitz regarding the oceans, the creatures therein and what
are the real and very dangerous repercussions of ignoring
diminishing food chains and the species involved. More
education in the schools to prepare the next generations
on how to cope with a severly altered world and how to
keep the planet habitable at all for humans and animals.
It takes many years for people to evolve and make changes,
but I think everyone's going to have to step it up and immediately. Daily reminders or enforced laws regarding
this should be in effect now. How long ago was it when
the Surgeon General's report came out against smoking,
and second hand smoke. Just this year it's being banned
in public places. We can't wait this long before the ocean's
resources are depleted beyong retrieval.

Answer 4

I love marine biology and I am SCUBA certified, so I know that oceanic conservation is a major concept. I think that if more people knew about the beauty and fantasy that lies beneath the surface, they would want to conserve it. I'm only 12, but I understand that we need to help the ocean. If you run a few campaigns, you will get peoples' attention. Show them pictures of beautiful ocean creatures from your diving adventures. Then show them what awful events are happening, such as littering, overfishing, or oil spills. Get people encouraged to use SCUBA. Tell people that if we don't start conserving and restoring the ocean now, there won't be as much of the marine world left for future generations. Another way is to go on the coasts of places like California where a lot of people swim on the beaches. Tell all of these people that if they don't help soon, there will be nothing left to swim in. The water will be nasty and polluted if they don't help. Possibly even go to a place with aquariums, like Seaworld, and give the people a speech telling that if they don't consereve, there will be none of those fish left because there habitats would have been destroyed. If you really want, do a short commercial on TV that shows the world what is really happening to our oceans. We only have one Earth, so we have to take care of it. As for restoration, tell people that if they litter in the ocean, it can damage a whole coral reef system by destroying the habitat, which severely damages the ecosystem. I am a huge fan of yours and I love to watch your diving adventures.

Answer 5

By getting them involved in making a difference and showing them first hand the damage that is being done to the oceans ecosystems throughout the world. Every year our 5th graders go to Catalina Island for a Marine Institute Science Camp. If you want to know what works ... this does!

These kids are from a small rural farming town - some of them have never even seen the ocean - and I have seen this change kids lives every year! When they get to snorkel and see Marine life in it's natural environment and are taught the damage that pollution and people are doing it has an big impact. When they see a school of dolphins porpoising alongside the boat on its way to the island you talk to them about how mass fishing is hurting the dolphin population, etc...

Make it real for them ... every year several of the students have come and told me that now they know what they want to do when they grew up. That they had no idea how exciting and amazing oceanography was. Whether it stays that way or not at least we've go them thinking ... about our world and something bigger than themselves! This is how change is made ...

Getting people involved requires making them feel they can really make a difference. Show them how and they will feel more able to stand up and fight!

Answer 6

I moved to Seattle, Washington just about two years ago. Until that time, I'd lived a long distance from any major body of water. When I got here, I started to have a sense of how very connected we all are to the oceans, and how the things that I, personally, do can affect the oceans.

I believe that many people are like I was; they don't feel a sense of personal responsibility toward the oceans. They don't have a sense of the fact that what goes in a drain or a stream or a river actually MATTERS when it gets to the ocean. Until they understand this, they're not going to change their behavior.

I'm not saying I really know how to get it across to people that this is a global resource for which we are all responsible; I only know that it has to be done. Perhaps what Al Gore has done for the atmosphere needs to be done for the oceans in some way. Movies and mass media are powerful tools; certainly your father understood this, and used them very well. I think that you, who are carrying on his wonderful work, have the power to use it as well, not simply to explain the curiosities of the oceans, but to inform the people of the world and to educate them.

When we as individuals see that we can make a difference, I believe it will happen. Gore's movie discussed the individual's "carbon footprint," and discussed simple ways for each person to change, such as fluorescent lighting, low-pollution vehicles, etc. Perhaps you need to do a similar, ocean-based project that will bring a greater awareness that each of us has an impact, and that each of us can help effect a change.

Thank you for your very important work. I'm sure you hear about your father all the time, but his work would not be continuing without you, and that makes it your work!

Answer 7

Well paying people to do so is just a waste of money.

I highly agree, we need to get people more motivated on getting involved in oceanic conservation and restoration efforts. I think that maybe we should start presenting this in a more serious manner. We need to start stepping up on this kind of stuff, and get the message out louder.

I think that maybe we should get the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard to start helping with the motivation, and get them involved in this as well. People (especially on the coastal states) should get together into many different groups and go with either the Navy or the Coast Guard, and then have them clean up the ocean, and help with conservation and restoration efforts. Navy and Coast Guard want to protect this country? Well then maybe they can help protect this country in other ways besides in this senseless war.

The Media has the nation all gummed up on the Immigration problems, and yes I understand how big that problem is, but maybe we should get off that and set everyone's minds on the ocean restoration efforts as well. We are not motivated on the oceans because of other problems the Media is making big deals out of.

Here's a nice link-http://www.sdearthtimes.com/et0897/et0897s11.html

Answer 8

In the U.S. I sense a new interest in conservation in general, probably because of the high price of gas. I also sense that most people now acknowledge that global warming is real. Education is the key to any awareness or motivation. You have to make each person personally vested in conservation. Give them a reason to become motivated. For example, a large percentage of the population lives near the coast, show them what will happen if global warming rises sea levels. I remember, the "save the whale" campaign. People were really into it. You need a similar hook -- "oceanic conservation and restoration efforts" sounds boring.

How about using a mascot such as the dolphin -- people like dolphins.

Answer 9

Your asking a question that is as difficult as asking "How do we make a blind man see?". Mostly to get people motivated they need to have some kind of interaction with the ocean and the life cycles involved. Public education and outreach is essential in all areas of the country. I'm a living example of what teaching people in the midwest about the ocean can do. I'm originally from the midwest but am currently going to college to get a degree in marine biology. To show people the wonder and mystique of the ocean is a constant struggle. It can be helped greatly by Nature videos, active-well kept aquariums, apt curricular placement in public schools, and having someone with great experiences such as yours share there stories with the rest of the world. It's impossible to get 100% of people trying to conserve the ocean but the more the better when it comes to conservation and restoration.

Answer 10

1. Make a really good "big box office" movie that illustrates the issues. Not so much a documentary, more like a more realistic "Day After Tomorrow" type of movie (Fiction, but illustrative of the issues)
2. Follow in Al Gore's footsteps and talk to everyone!!!, plus do a more documentary style feature film.
3. Increase awareness in children, they often ask their parents thought provoking questions. This can be done through schools in some areas. Get teachers involved so that the school children become more involved.
4. Approach clubs such as scuba diving, surf life saving, sailing, swimming, any water sports, service clubs (Rotary, Lions, Apex, etc) conservation groups etc. and give talks at club meetings.
5. Start to build a network of people who just won't stop talking about the issues, and can talk to people from all levels of society.
6. Start at the beaches!
7. Maintain the passion! and keep up the great work - Thank you for caring and publicising as much as you do.

Answer 11

If you can show people the impact the oceans have on our lives and show them what is happening to the oceans as far as human impact is concerned and the results of human negligence on the ocean and what is missing and what has been lost maybe people would be more concerned about the oceans.

I grew up on nature shows and am a scuba diver. I have seen first hand that the environment has changed drastically in just the last twenty years and I am afraid we are loosing our oceans for good. I'm already motivated to do something, but I have no resources to do so. If all the people that had the resources to do something got together with others that had the resources to do something we might be able to save the oceans, but profit seems to be the only source of motivation. You have to make it profitable to help the environment.