Activists And What We Can Do

Many people around the globe are not happy about the conditions of our world’s coral reefs. American Artist John Quigley and non-profit organisation Greenpeace activists have recently banded together to create a piece of art (pictured below) on the Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The protest was demanding that a newly discovered reef off the beach be protected and not damaged. It was part of an international movement to stop oil drilling into the Amazonian ecosystems. There have been thousands turn up to marches that have been organised (majorly by Greenpeace) in this area to protest the same issue.

Greenpeace have also played a huge contribution to protests fighting against coal mining into the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. If the coal industry gets what it is asking for, millions of tonnes of the ocean floor will be dredged and this natural wonder will be destroyed. Greenpeace have been using the media to expand the knowledge of this issue and prevent the loss of even more coral when we are already at a crisis.

So what can you do? Organisations such as Greenpeace and Reef Relief have missions that they set for volunteers who want to make a difference. You can use these sites to donate, sign online petitions or physically get involved amongst the problem and work towards preventing it further. This is a very personal issue to me as my favourite childhood moment is snorkelling at one of Australia’s reefs, so I encourage everyone to at least look into this problem further and do what you can to help. Although all of this makes a positive impact, it does not stop the issue at the core. Stop using excessive resources that turn into waste and end up in our oceans, diluting into our water. Stop giving your money to industries that give off masses of greenhouse gases which result in the rise of ocean temperature. Society needs to wake up and realise the effects that our consumption is having on the environment, and not just with coral reefs.

Getty Images. 30 March 2017, http://www.gettyimages.co.nz/detail/news-photo/greenpeace-activists-and-us-artist-john-quigley-organize-a-news-photo/660283984#greenpeace-activists-and-us-artist-john-quigley-organize-a-largescale-picture-id660283984

Greenpeace. http://www.greenpeace.org/australia/en/what-we-do/climate/Save-the-Reef/

 Greenpeace. "Save The Reef". Greenpeace, http://www.greenpeace.org/australia/en/what-we-do/climate/Save-the-Reef/

Reef Relief. "Volunteer". Reef Relief, https://www.reefrelief.org/act/volunteer/

Telesur. “Copacabana Beach Forms Human Mosaics to Protect Amazon Reef”. Telesur, 30 March 2017, http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Copacabana-Beach-Forms-Human-Mosaics-to-Protect-Amazon-Reef-20170330-0007.html