Sea Sick Report

1156 Words5 Pages
YANG YU Book Report Sea Sick by Alannah Mitchell 2011/10/10 Reflection after having read the book. For this book, Mitchell travelled to nine different marine environments around the world and spent time with researchers. She clearly describes how humans are accelerating the degradation of the oceans through these examples. she poignantly describes how human actions are having a measurable effect on the ocean. We are changing ocean salinity, temperature, volume, and function. From the deepest ocean basins to the surface sea currents, human impact is evident. The disasters Mitchell enumerates include widespread coastal pollution, bleached coral reefs, acidification, and the imminent loss of wild foods depended upon by millions of people. These problems and their possible solutions are a challenge to describe, but Mitchell’s journalistic skills keep her writing accessible. Each chapter in the book blends lucid, factual explanation of complex subjects with engaging chronicles of the author’s travels to far-flung parts of the globe. Human activity is altering the ocean in every way, from temperature to salinity, from acidity to circulation. “ Each of these changes not only drastically affects the marine world, but more alarming has dire consequences for all life on earth”.(p.6) She convincingly makes the case that the oceans are an integral part of the climate change dilemma and need to be addressed along with changes in the atmosphere before a climate tipping point is reached. Clear and easy read of the current state of our Oceans. While I expected something a bit more wonky from what is almost required reading for me workwise, it is something anybody can pick up and get clued in. Review chapter 2 Mitchell’s journey begins in the Gulf of Mexico with a group of American scientists investigating the 'blob', a thick and dense, constantly moving layer of

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