Jamejdra Holverstott | THE RIDER
Is a sustainable lifestyle realistically possible? This is a question I often find myself asking after watching a documentary on pollution or climate change. A documentary or docu series will usually place a spotlight on practices or stories many were not aware of. The most recent documentary I watched was no different.
“Seaspiracy” on Netflix showed viewers the dark side of the fishing industry such as the overfishing, pollution, and dolphin killing that occurs. The effects of overfishing can be so severe that some species are driven to extinction and habitats are ruined. “In addition to removing an increasingly large number of fish from the ocean, many industrial fishing practices also destroy aquatic habitat,” according to https://www.environmentalscience.org/environmental-consequences-fishing-practices.
One might think that a way to stop these destructive processes is by consuming less fish. But this is not a realistic option for everyone. Numerous socioeconomic factors make not eating fish or eating less fish an impractical solution at this time.
Many different types of pollution exist in the world, such as air or soil pollution. The plastic in the ocean seems to be one of the most highlighted types of pollution practices nowadays. Just a few years ago there was a large movement to “#savetheseaturtles” by using reusable metal straws instead of plastic ones. The movement pushed for consumers and companies to switch to more sustainable straws. However, after watching “Seaspiracy,” I learned we consumers are not the ones who produce the highest amount of waste in the ocean. “Approximately 46% of the 79 thousand tons of ocean plastic in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is made up of fishing nets,” according to https://www.seashepherdglobal.org/latest-news/marine-debris-plastic-fishing-gear/.
After seeing these statistics in the film, I was left with more questions than before. We as consumers are often handed the burden of reducing pollution and told to recycle or reduce waste. And while I believe that these sustainable practices will be beneficial in reducing some waste, they are not long-term solutions to the bigger issues of climate change at hand.
