By ADAM HENDEL
Our country has endured many environmental dilemmas, but are we acknowledging them enough and if so are we acting upon it?
Our immediate concerns and interests — such as finances, the stock market or the government shutdown — make us forget about the importance of focusing on our oceans and wildlife before resources are soiled.
An article on CNN titled, “Lionfish infestation in Atlantic Ocean is a growing epidemic” is an alarming report about our Caribbean fish and reef depletion. The article has a statement reading that the lionfish invasion is probably the worst environmental disaster the Atlantic will ever face. Stories like this should be headline news compared to some of the seemingly less relevant stories.
If this really a huge crisis, why is the cover story of that day a scientific report comparing the addictiveness of Oreo cookies versus heroin in lab rats, while this huge ocean crisis was just a side story?
Lionfish can wipe out a coral reef with their aggressive appetite and humans are to blame for their presence in waters. Often, pet owners release their animals into the wild, which started the bloom of lionfish in our waters. Humans are at fault for the majority of our invasive exotic species and environmental issues in general therefore it should be constantly made clear that it is our responsibility to correct these issues.
We are all concerned about the debts that our generation may have to face financially, but there are many more patches to fix above our money conflicts. The meaning of a dollar will be futile when we struggle to find fresh fruit and fish in the markets because we are poisoning our resources.
On CNN, I read two recent articles last that were not highlighted enough on other news sites, but should have been addressed. Reports pertained to two species of deep-sea animals that washed up on California shores last week, an 18’ oar fish as well as a saber toothed whale. Rarely are specimens like these encountered or recovered, especially in the same week. Global warming and ocean pollution is thought to be the culprit.
Enormous oil spills have occurred, radioactive material has made its way into our waters and there are many environmental issues that are going unreported and are unknown to many people.
Miami graduate, Colin Foord, co-founder of Coral Morphologic, explained that Miami itself has a lot of environmental dispute which is swept under the rug and generally is forgotten about and not released to the public.
I understand that not everybody wants a constant reminder that each day we are killing a little piece of our planet, but it’s true. I feel that if we presented these topics even more in our news, perhaps more action would be taken in response to our burdens. We are so focused on what’s popular and our journalists write in a way to draw in a juicy story, but the most important stories should be those that can save our future generations and our planet.