This summer has provided a new opportunity to be outdoors with my son, as, thanks to his grandfather, he’s lately embraced fishing as a pastime. Pulling fish out of the water is a great activity to take on with a kid; not only can it be exciting and a way to get some sun and fresh air, but it also provides a great backdrop to discuss concepts such as the food chain (from small fish to big fish to humans), animal rights (is it fair to use worms? Is it fair to eat the fish?), and ultimately the state of our lakes and animals that live in them. Namely, why it’s not always safe to eat the fish we catch. Talking about this last point with him had me reflecting more deeply on the impacts of humans on the fauna of our planet. Some points for consideration:

• A recent study of fish in the Great Lakes by the conservation group Environmental Defense found high levels of PCBs and mercury were present in specimens caught and concluded  “a fifth of the 2009 advisories examined in this report were for zero consumption levels, meaning it is not safe to eat such fish at all. This is unacceptable, from recreational, economic, and human health perspectives”.  These chemicals are entering the lakes in small amounts through sewage, but more dramatically from emissions from coal-burning power plants.

• Conventional growing of products such as cocoa and coffee beans requires the clear cutting of large swaths of rainforest and the use of pesticides to make up for the loss of nutrients in the soil that occur when growing a single crop year-round. This results in the loss of natural animal habitat causing migration and imbalance in food chains as well as pesticide leach into the groundwater that affects the water supply of wildlife in the region.

• It is estimated that over the past 60 years 5% of the world’s post-production plastic has entered the world’s oceans; approximately 100 million tons. According to the UN, this has resulted in almost 46,000 pieces of plastic debris floating on the surface of every square mile of ocean, 70% of which is plastic bags. It is projected that humans use approximately 1 million plastic bags per minute, usually for an average of just 12-20 minutes and recycle only one in every 200.  Many of these bags, once disposed, end up in the ocean where they are mistaken for food and kill many species of birds, whales, dolphins, seals and turtles each year through suffocation, poisoning and drowning by being entangled. (more…)