HAPPY WORLD’S OCEANS DAY!

HAPPY WORLD OCEANS DAY!

Ocean Fun Facts:

• 70% of planet is covered by oceans.
• Light cannot penetrate past 330 feet so most of ocean is dark! (Eiffel tower was under water- about 2/3 of it would be in constant darkness).

• The Mid oceanic ridge is the longest chain of mountains in the world- 40,000+ miles long & covers 23% of the earth’s surface.

• Humans didn’t explore the ridge til 1973- 4 years after we landed on the moon.

• Challenger deep in Marianas trench  is the deepest point in the ocean and on the whole planet. It’s 11,034 meters deep (almost 7 miles). You could fit 24 Empire State Buildings stacked on top of each other in that trench!!

• Most of the worlds volcanoes are underwater.
• Humans depend on the oceans for food (most of the world’s protein supply comes from fish), transportation/trade and communication (most goods go by cargo ships).
• A good deal of the earth’s oxygen comes from our oceans. Phytoplankton in the ocean provide up to 80% of the world’s oxygen supplies.

Let’s meet some of the deep oceans craziest looking animals:

This a yeti crab! Yep- it’s legs are hairy!

This a Venus Flytrap anemone! And you thought they all had clownfish friends!

Tube worms live near hydrothermal vents that are hotter than hot!

And finally the dumbo octopus- he’s weird and wacky and little is known about this deep sea creature!

The oceans are so fascinating and scientists say only about 10% of them have been explored! That means so much of the world’s ocean is a mystery! What we do know is that humans are polluting those magnificent places! Come learn some ocean trash facts with us:

Ocean trash facts :

• It takes up to 1,000 years for some plastics to degrade.
• Plastics make up 90% of the trash floating at the oceans’ surface.
• 1 million sea birds die from plastic trash each year.
• The top trash item found in the ocean are cigarettes!
• 35 million plastic bottles are Thrown Away each year!
• Beached whales have been found with bellies full of plastic.
• Sea turtles mistake grocery bags for jelly fish.

HOW WE CAN HELP:

• Recycle! Recycle! Recycle!

• Use reusable glass water bottles!
• Bring reusable coffee mugs to your local coffee shop.
• Use glass storage containers instead of plastic ones.
• Get out those reusable shopping bags and use them!

• Ditch the straws- straws are not reusable.
• Never use body wash or cleanser with plastic beads. Soon these beads will be illegal! YAY- the US is the first country to ban these trashy beads that never disintegrate.

Let’s all work together to protect our world’ wonderful oceans and the amazing inhabitants!