Healthy Seas, Happy People: Joey Issa Likes What Makes Sense

A successful entrepreneur, Joe Issa, who is believed to know more than most what makes sense in business and philanthropy, now adds the environment on his list, as he supports the slogan: “Healthy Seas…Happy People. Makes Sense!”

 

Commenting on an article of the same title which shames humans for littering the sea with garbage and destroying critical fish habitats, Issa says “it makes sense to keep the sea healthy so that we can continue to exploit its resources much to our pleasure and happiness.”   

 

That the resources of the sea are depleting rapidly by human actions, Issa remarked, “You can’t argue against that; the evidence is glaring all along our coastlines and harbour, which serve as repositories for garbage such as plastic bottles and Styrofoam washed away by rivers and gullies whenever it rains.”

 

In addition to garbage, humans are also said to be constantly polluting the sea with untreated or partially treated sewage, industrial effluent, ship pollution, or the runoff of chemicals used in agriculture. As much as 40 percent of the world’s oceans is believed to be heavily affected by human activities including pollution, depleted fisheries, and loss of coastal habitats.

 

“It’s common sense that if we do not restore the health of the sea by proper disposal of garbage and cleaning and replenishing our coral reefs and mangroves, sooner or later we won’t have a fish to put on the table and a beach to go to, and we won’t be too happy about that,” says Issa.

In agreeing with the article that “the beach is a constant lure for Jamaicans in all walks of life…an escape, the epitome of relaxation and quite simply, the sea makes us happy”, Issa warns, however, that “soon, this will no longer be the case when the sea becomes too polluted to swim in and harbour marine life.”

 

Noting that the sea has been a source of livelihood for billions of people throughout the world, Issa argues that “if we continue to take from the sea without giving back to it, eventually, it will be unable to sustain life as we know it.”

 

According to the United Nations, it is the oceans �" their temperature, chemistry, currents and life �" that drive the global systems that make it possible to live on earth, stating that “our rainwater, drinking water, weather, climate, coastlines, much of our food, and even the oxygen in the air we breathe, are all ultimately provided and regulated by the sea.”

 

While lamenting the senseless human actions that are causing the earth’s temperature and sea level to rise, Issa finds some comfort in the oceans’ ability to counteract them, contending that “it’s a good thing that the oceans are able to absorb some 30 percent of the carbon dioxide which we produced, otherwise the impacts of global warming would have been more pronounced today.”

 

In acknowledging the might of the world’s oceans Issa invokes UN data which show that they cover three-quarters of the Earth’s surface, contain 97 percent of the Earth’s water, and represent 99 percent of the living space on the planet by volume.

 

It said over three billion people depend on marine and coastal biodiversity for their livelihoods and estimated the global market value of marine and coastal resources and industries at $3 trillion per year or about five per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP).

 

Mindful that the oceans and seas have been vital conduits for trade and transportation throughout history, Issa supports the suggestion that “careful management of this essential global resource is a key feature of a sustainable future.”