World Ocean Day - Play your Part.
This week, on the 8th June we celebrated World Oceans Day. The main purpose of the day is to raise awareness of the impact of human actions on the oceans around the world.
Did you know that oceans cover over 70% of the earth’s surface and hold 97% of the world’s water? They help feed the world and provide at least 50% of the planets’ oxygen. The oceans also provide us with abundant opportunities for recreation and inspiration. The oceans are vital to the world’s economy, with more than 90% of trade using sea routes, and is a source of employment to millions of people, ourselves included.
So many of us are so passionate about trying to do our bit to minimize and /or prevent pollution of the oceans but sometimes it is hard to know where to even start. With so much information out there, it is so easy to feel overwhelmed when trying to decide on the right thing to do. Of course, we use natural soap, vinegar and baking soda as much as possible but there are some things, we need to purchase cleaning products for.
That is why we were so pleased to see Sheila from Environmental Yacht Services (www.eyservices.com) start a rating of various products we use, based not only on conventional price and performance but also on respect towards health and environment. That is what distinguishes a future proof product from an average one. So far, they have a fabric softener comparison as well as a comparison between Ariel, Hakalan and Ecover. Their simple rating guide takes all the guess work out of finding truly environmentally friendly products to use onboard! Find their comparisons here: https://eyservices.com/news-tips/
For years we have supported and loved the range of products that EYS supplies. Those of you who have completed our senior stew course and received our list of preferred suppliers will know that we have EYS on there for all interior products. Not only are they passionate about the environment and providing the best products but they also provide exceptional service to their customers. Recently they have included an online shop to make the purchasing process even simpler for busy yachties.
Besides our cleaning products, the waste that we generate is another huge issue onboard yachts. It always astounds us how quickly the garbage locker fills up and how much waste we generate. It can be quite terrifying actually thinking that most of this will probably end up washed into our oceans. One thing we really can control here is how much single use plastic items we purchase and use. Eliminating plastic water bottles alone would go a long way to helping this scourge. Did you know more than 8 million tons of plastic bottles in the sea each year and it is estimated that in the year 2050 there will be more plastic than fishes in the sea? Can you imagine how much 8 million tons of plastic is? Simply ensuring crew have refillable water bottles rather than buying in plastic disposable water bottles can make a difference.
The good news is that there is more and more awareness around the problem of our polluted oceans, and more and more people are speaking out and finding solutions to this issue. We, as yachties, however cannot be complacent and wait for others to find solutions, rather we must each do our small part and collectively we can make a huge impact.
Let us know what you do to help our oceans so that we can learn from each other. After all, our oceans are magnificent, and we want to leave them to future generations to enjoy and marvel at as we do.