Get you cleaning boots on, and go and save the ocean. Image source: Ocean Conservancy Org.

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Every year, we generate tonnes of waste. The amount that goes into the dump would put any sensible human to shame. Ever wondered where all the trash goes? Where do the single-use plastic masks, straws, polythene bags, waste cloths, scraps of metal, medical wastes, chemical wastes, and any other possible form of trash go? If not a landfill, the trash takes a dump in the ocean.

It's as if humans forgot that there is a whole ecosystem in the oceans, and creatures live and breathe underwater. So much for being a civil society when we can't see past our noses and think beyond our needs.

A lot of you must wonder what a salty ocean could give us. Aside from seafood and an array of edible ocean plants, they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and cut down the effects of global warming, an expansive area for recreational activities, and add to the beauty of the planet. Let's not forget, the Earth is one of a kind- it wouldn't have been hospitable if not for the presence of water.

The need for the International Coastal Cleanup Day (ICC) arose when the trash in the oceans started killing the animals, birds and made its way into our food. The need to conserve water bodies became more imminent than ever.

> The idea was incepted way back in 1986 when Linda Maraniss and Kathy O'Hara felt an urgency to eliminate the dumping of waste into the Oceans. Kathy's groundbreaking report- *Plastics in the Ocean: More than a Litter Problem,* inspired Linda, who worked with her at the Ocean Conservancy.

> The Ocean Conservancy initiated this day in 1986, and from that year on, every third Saturday in September, each year is celebrated as the International Coastal Cleanup day.

> India immediately recognized the urgency of the event (no doubt the long coastline forced the policymakers to think and act) and launched an eco-label in its BEAMS program.

Our lives are intertwined with each other and a threat to any reserve of the biosphere poses an imbalance to everyone. The need to conserve oceans and reduce trash generation is higher than ever. As a guest of this planet, do your bit and participate in the coastal cleanup. Urge others to participate as well, and raise awareness about the ill effects of senselessly littering the coastlines and the oceans. Each little effort makes a difference. Use social media to make more people aware of the movement and engage more by tracking the data on Ocean conservancy.

Even though we can't overturn the accumulated waste in a single day, but by being conscious of our actions and taking responsibility towards making better decisions that benefit not only us but the environment as well would save all that can be saved.

The Earth is not what it used to be 300 or even 30 years ago. We've come a long way and evolved into civil society. However, rather than becoming more sensible- we've grown to become wasteful creatures who trash and litter everything beautiful. 