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Insurance for the Ocean

"Hi guys," I smiled nervously at the people in front of me as I stood in my school's auditorium, speaking to everyone in this school. "I'm Karina Renike, and today, I'm here to talk about the ocean, specifically about giving insurance to the ocean." At that, I heard some people murmur in disbelief, "Giving insurance to the ocean? What does that mean?" 

"Insurance in general protects us from financial loss, according to , and it can only be afforded by the rich," I began. "But to me, insurance can protect us from losing more than we have. It helps compensate for our losses with money that we've already paid in advance." 

"The ocean's like the people who don't have insurance. Its losses are never compensated. Instead, it is hurt and poisoned with litter. OUR litter," The dark scowl on my face emphasised my point. "Every day, many tourists carelessly throw rubbish at nature reserves, never thinking of the consequences, and thus hurt the source of water that we need the most."

"To make matters worse, we are also hurting the innocent marine creatures who die due to eating our litter because they mistake it for their prey, like leatherback turtles," I showed a photo of leatherback turtles eating plastic bags, causing gasps from the crowd. "They mistake a plastic bag for jellyfish, which is their primary food, and eat it. Gradually, they die from the continuous consumption of plastic, which is why sea turtles have been classified as either 'Endangered', 'Critically Endangered' or 'Vulnerable' according to the United States ESA."

"Have you ever seen this photo before?" I asked as I showed a photo of sea creatures and divers swimming in a sea of plastic bags. "This was a photo that I took last time while I was part of a marine exploration expedition. All of us were really shocked at that time seeing that, but, after some discussion, we decided to turn our exploration expedition into an environmental program to raise awareness about the issue of littering. That is why I am standing in front of all of you today, despite my insecurities."

"The ocean has provided us with luxuries, like tourism and food, but we are not giving it insurance for what it has done for us. Instead, we are killing it slowly but surely, and with it the thousands of marine species that live in it. Because of this, we have to restore the beauty of the ocean that have been lost thanks to our selfishness."

"You're probably wondering, 'How can I make a difference?' You probably think that you can't do a thing, when the facts are, you CAN make a difference, even if it is unseen, like not littering, throwing the rubbish to its proper place, etc, because the smallest thing can change the world. Let's change the world together, everyone!"

There was silence as I finished my speech, but soon everyone was clapping and cheering. I grinned happily seeing this.

I did it!

*Karina Renike talks about helping conserve the ocean. #PlanetorPlastic Entry.*