By Deanna R. Pinkard-Meier
Author of Introduction to the Biology of Marine Life, Eleventh Edition
In recent decades there has been mounting evidence that humans are negatively affecting the marine environment on many levels. Although seemingly depressing to learn about, I find that many students are truly concerned about humans’ impacts on the Earth, and particularly the ocean. After learning about some of the changes occurring as a result of human activities, students often make insightful observations and ask important questions. Examples of students’ questions are the following: “What can I do?”, “What is our government doing?”, “How is ‘x’, ‘y’, or ‘z’ not illegal?!”, and in some cases “How has it come to this?”. (Figure 1: Students voluntarily participating in surveys to assess the biodiversity of the intertidal zone in La Jolla, California. No extra credit points necessary. Credit: Deanna Pinkard-Meier.).