CommSci Podcast

The speaker reminisces about their childhood love for water and aquatic habitats. They recall a program at the zoo where they slept in the aquarium and felt a strong desire to study and protect the oceans. They mention the alarming issue of plastic pollution and its impact on marine life and people. The importance of protecting the oceans for future generations is emphasized, urging listeners to take personal action, such as cleaning up beaches and supporting organizations. The goal is to ensure that future generations can enjoy the beauty of nature just as the speaker did in their childhood. Think back to your childhood. What's something that you remember from your childhood that you wish to protect for future generations? Back when I was younger, I really loved water. Fresh water or salt water, it didn't really matter. I would swim in the lake with my friends or visit the ocean during the summer. I really loved water and the plants and animals that lived in different aquatic habitats. One time, when I was in the second or third grade, I got to be in this program called the Snooze of the Zoo. It was a program where my science class got to go on the night of the zoo. You could sleep in certain rooms with certain exhibits like reptiles, fish, or mammals. I got to sleep in the aquarium. When the lights were all off and it was really quiet, I just stared at the fish and watched as they peacefully swam around. I knew then that I wanted to study and protect our oceans. Because now that I'm older, I know that these species need our help. We need to conserve their home so that the ocean can continue to support us and more kids can go and swim in the ocean during the summer. One thing I used to hear as a kid is that the ocean will have more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2025. But now, it's 2024 and we can no longer say that. We have to say that there is more plastic than fish in the ocean. Which is bad not only because the beaches are getting polluted so it's harder to enjoy them or swim in the ocean, but also that means that part of the plastic that's being ingested by animals like fish in the ocean is being consumed by people. So why does this matter? This matters because we need to protect the oceans for future generations. When you might have been younger, it might have been different. The beaches would have been cleaner and you could have enjoyed them with your family. But now, it's a little different. So try to think about something you can do personally at your local level. Like go to a beach or a lake and clean up. Make sure you don't bring any plastic to beaches or even donate money to organizations that are helping beaches. I want to make sure that we can see fish and coral and sea animals not just in an aquarium, but in the wild too. So think about that question, about something you remember from your childhood. And try to do something that matters in your local community so that kids can enjoy beaches and water and fish just like I did in the future.