This summer, I’ve been fortunate enough to participate in a coastal ecology research program called CSCR. Specifically, I studied eelgrass with other high schoolers and tried to figure out why eelgrass is disappearing from Cohasset. Throughout the summer, we dove into the ocean to harvest and record eelgrass plants to better understand the environment they live in and how different organisms interact with the plant. Our main action was taking samples of eelgrass plants from various sites in Cohasset and comparing the maturity and health of the seeds. Analyzing and understanding the environment of these plants is what allowed us to come closer to the answer as to why eelgrass is disappearing. Without eelgrass, habitats and ecosystems are completely altered and erosion increases, and these are the reasons why it is so necessary to take care of the plants we don’t always consider or think are important. This study showed me how diverse the ocean really is and how much ocean life is in need of restoration. When I picture restoration programs for the environment, I think of people helping bleached and dying coral reefs or cleaning up garbage patches lost at sea, but never something as specific as eelgrass so close to my own home.

I feel that the ocean has a larger impact on our lives than we think. We are constantly surrounded by what the ocean gives us and how it is affected by climate change. Without the ocean, most if not all the food chains on Earth would be disrupted, including our own. The ocean is what allows the earth to be a livable planet for all different kinds of organisms, along with letting animals and plants thrive here. Because of how much we depend on the ocean, the effects climate change has on the sea end up being more disastrous for us. With warming temperatures, ice bergs melt, causing sea levels to rise. With higher sea levels, certain places begin to go underwater and flood more often, leading to increases in displacement. Additionally, we get large amounts of nutrition from the ocean, even if we are not directly eating seafood. If fish become infected by the constant plastic pollution in the ocean, the animals eating the fish also get infected. Eventually, this handoff of pollution lands on our plate. This is called bioaccumulation, and it is very present in food chains in the ocean that eventually lead into our own diets.

The thing about climate change is that everything is connected. Pollution will always have a web of consequences whether its origin is a plastic bottle or car exhaust or bleached coral reefs. It is impossible to tackle all the causes of climate change, and that is why we must fix the problem we are most passionate about. The best way to make a difference in the environment is for us to give our full effort into a problem we really care about – there isn’t time to be half-heartedly working on something you don’t enjoy. There are so many problems the environment faces, and the combined passions and efforts we all put towards our specific issues is what is needed to prevent the climate crisis.   

Image: Ungaro, Francesco. “School of fish in body of water photo.” Unsplash, 25 February 2020, https://unsplash.com/photos/school-of-fish-in-body-of-water-MJ1Q7hHeGlA.