Population drops of 95% look a lot scarier in animated format
Facts and figures might be the most accurate way to drive a point home, but they often lack the emotional element necessary to inspire change. Scientist Sylvia Earle, who gave the TED Talk, My wish: Protect our oceans, has put together a set of infographic that highlight the shocking destruction that’s been caused to our oceans in less than a century. Tuna and cod populations at 5% of what they were in 1950 might sound bad, but see how much worse it looks in GIF format.
Between 1950 and 2014, half of the coral reefs across the oceans died.
Between 1950 and 2014, Pacific Bluefin Tuna, sharks, and North Atlantic Cod were all almost fished to extinction. Between 5% and 10% remain.
Ocean deadzones are spots in the sea where life no longer exists, often caused by overwhelming fertilizer runoff that suffocates countless species of marine life. In 1975, there was one documented deadzone, in 2014, there are more than 500.
Oil drilling is another activity that has caused endless damage, and continues to happen away from the public eye. In 1947, there was just one oil drilling site. In 2014, there are more than 30,000.
Most people feel they don’t have a direct part to play in the destruction of ecosystems and wildlife around the world, but inaction can be just as harmful to the environment. Overconsumption, reliance on plastics, wasteful driving habits, and various other daily activities can all have horrendous effects when multiplied by 7 billion people on the planet.
You don’t have to go off the grid, or grow all your own food (even though that would make a big difference), but making small changes in your daily habits can go a lot further than you think. If one person makes a change, that could be enough to inspire someone else to change, and so on up the chain until we’ve brought our planet back into balance.
Images by TED