The Green Parent

by Terra Wellington

I changed my family’s habits to aid marine life.  You can too.

On the eve of World Oceans Day, June 8, the devastating Gulf oil spill takes front stage on every news site, program, and Twitter page.  But, even in the midst of this tragedy, you can find a silver lining.  And that is that ocean conservation is getting much-needed media and public attention. And maybe you might even think about what you can do.

What are the oceans issues and how can you help?

Overfishing is probably the most urgent issue.  The United Nations Environmental Programme just released another confirming report that if we don’t stop fishing out every last wild fish out of the sea, then fish may go the way of the buffalo – all the world’s fisheries collapsing in 40 years.  Why?  Because behind the scenes 35 million fishermen across the planet are literally drudging and combing the oceans to find every last fish available, fast freeze it, and ship it to a retailer near you.

You also have climate change’s warming of the water, mercury pollution from coal plants, floating plastic dumps, and farms’ chemical runoffs that create dead zones where there is no oxygen in the water.

But, all is not lost!  There is much we can do!  And it just takes a little adjustment in choices and habits to make a big difference for the oceans and its wildlife.

Here’s what my family and I do –

* Buy Best Choice – we use SeafoodWatch.com and try to stay on the Best Choice list whenever we purchase seafood.  Although I used to use their print-out pocket guide, I now have a link to their easy-search database on my Blackberry, and also I know their iPhone app is very popular.

* Eat less fish – we’ve cut down our meat eating, including fish, and have moved to a semi-vegetarian diet that emphasizes plant proteins and more fruits and veggies.  It has been healthier for us and helps to release some of the pressures on our animal protein production.

* Eat sustainable food – we joined an organic-veggie CSA and also spend more money at the local farmers market.  This is in our search for organic and sustainably grown food that comes from farms that reduce their chemical run off.  The point is to not have chemicals and top soil runoff into our waterways and oceans.

* Clean your energy – my utility has an alternative energy option, which we have opted into to support cleaner electricity – away from coal and oil.

* Reduce your utility bill – we’ve taken advantage of the many appliance rebates available to change out our appliances for less energy-hungry ones.  In one month alone, I reduced my electrical bill by $30 by swapping out my washer for an ultra-efficient one.  This immediately reduced the coal-burning part of my bill.

* Buy greener transportation – a few years ago, we bought a flex-fuel (ethanol option) car.  I wish, now, we would have bought a hybrid.  But, the next time we buy a new car, we’ll be buying the greenest we can afford — electric, hybrid, or high gas mileage – to use the least amount of oil.

* Stop the landscape chemicals – we’ve moved to a greener lawn without all the chemicals.  We use compost, mulch, and slow-release or organic fertilizers — all in moderation.  And we stay away from pesticides and herbicides.  All of this nearly eliminates our chemical runoff into waterways.  We have also changed out swaths of our landscape for more native plants, which need less water and fertilizing overall.

* Contact your government – I regularly go onto Congress.org and write my state and federal representatives about my ocean-related concerns.  I have requested they restrict fish imports and regulate domestic fishing to meet Seafood Watch guidelines, transition to alternative energy, amend the Farm Bill so that industrial farms are not given incentives to continue unsustainably, and regulate oil drilling more closely.

* Give your grocery store feedback – the best tool I have used is the online, corporate feedback form to tell my grocery store what seafood I do and don’t want.  I seem to get the most immediate results when I try to impact that way.

* Talk to your chef – Seafood Watch has given me leave-behind chef cards that I have placed alongside my bill at the restaurant to tell the chef what was good or bad about the seafood on the menu.  It has been an easy way for me to get out the message.

Terra Wellington is the author of The Mom’s Guide to Growing Your Family Green: Saving the Earth Begins at Home.  This past year she introduced her family to U.S. farmed catfish, on Seafood Watch’s Best Choice list.

Photo by ZaNuDa

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