Now We Know, We Can Fix It

On Tuesday, 5 February 2008, I was sitting at my desk in an insurance company reading an article in?The Independent?by Kathy Marks and Daniel Howden that inspired a career change and led me on the path to marine science. The article told of a 'plastic soup' of waste floating in the Pacific Ocean that was thought to be covering an area twice the size of?the state of Texas?(or three times the size of France). Originally discovered by oceanographer and boat captain Charles Moore, this continent-sized "trash vortex" alarmed millions of people and was a catalyst for wide-spread action against?plastic?pollution. 13 years later, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a well-known horror story that has real-life impacts on marine and coastal ecosystems worldwide. The volume of plastic waste entering our ocean each year is vast and terrifying, and there is no one solution to this Earth-sized problem. ?

It's not just plastic that is contaminating the ocean. Human-made pollution includes debris and discarded fishing nets; synthetic?fibres?from?textiles and materials; oil spills from offshore pipes, maritime activity, and historic wrecks; noise and light pollution; sewage and agriculture runoff; and the invisible chemicals we flush down our toilets each day. It can originate from all?kinds of?industries and our homes. ?

The more we understand, the more it feels like a tremendous challenge. But there is a silver lining to our uncovering the scale and depth of marine pollution. Now we know,?we can fix it. ?

In her book 'The World is Blue,' legendary oceanographer?Dr.?Sylvia Earle wrote: "Knowing is the key to caring, and with caring there is hope that people will be motivated to take positive actions. They might not care even if they know, but they can't care if they are unaware."?

Dr.?Earle is also the president and chairman of Mission Blue, a non-profit inspiring action to explore and protect the ocean. Therefore, we feel particularly privileged to have the opportunity to partner with Mission Blue to bring you this special edition inundated with the latest research and solutions addressing the many 'flavours' of Marine Pollution. ?

Given the topic, it wasn't easy choosing the image for the cover. Let's face it; pollution isn't photogenic. But there was more to consider than beauty. We wanted the cover to depict the variety of pollution sources as well as the enduring efforts to clean up the ocean – reflecting the stories inside. Thus, in the succeeding digital pages, we report on global efforts to tackle marine litter and plastic, nutrients and harmful algal blooms, ocean noise, chemicals and pesticides, and oil spills.?

Today, I sit at a desk reading dozens of articles all about the different types of marine pollution and the many ways it impacts marine and coastal ecosystems. The problem is still vast and far-reaching, more so than we knew 13 years ago.?While it might seem like things have not improved, we have made meaningful steps towards improving our understanding of this multifaceted issue, allowing us to better meet the challenge of cleaning the ocean. Perhaps the most important change since Kathy and Daniel's article has been in the?general public. Each year, thousands of?cleanup?events involving hundreds of thousands of volunteers remove hundreds of?millions of?pounds of waste from lakes,?rivers?and beaches.?It might not solve the problem, but it's clear that?the plastic story did so much more than just inspire me.?

A huge thank you to our sponsors of this special edition for helping us spread awareness about these important topics, without whom these digital issues would not be possible. ?

You can read the special issue here ?