Chasing Coral (2017) –Jeff Orlowski
Coral can live as long as the environment allows them to, however, their environment is becoming unlivable due to global warming and causing the phenomenon called coral bleaching. Much of the world is oblivious to this rare event in nature and do not realise that an unhealthy ocean means an unhealthy planet, as the ocean controls everything. 93% of the heat from greenhouse gasses and carbon emissions is absorbed by the ocean if it was not earth surface temperature would rise to 50 degrees Celsius. Within the last 30 years, 50% of the worlds coral have already disappeared and threatens to kill entire classes of coral if our actions are not reversed. The eradication of coral will also cause 1/4 of the planet’s creatures to diminish.
“If we can’t save this ecosystem, will we have the courage to save the next ecosystem down the line?” – Chasing Coral, 2017
My image depicts how bleaching is clearly evident and rapidly happening right in front of us but we, man kind are not acting fast enough to prevent even more coral from dying due to rising temperature from global warming.
Frontier Borneo: Shark Project
Borneo is home to the richest and most diverse marine area in the world and mankind have been poaching these creatures. In order to save sharks from being mass finned, shark expert, David McGuire buys unfinned and live sharks before they are sent to the markets. He travels across Borneo risking the sharks’ survival, to release them into a protected reef. Not only are sharks being poached but also turtles eggs. Activist, Alex Yee patrols the beach and collects freshly hatched turtle eggs to take to a hatchery where they are safe from the black market.
My image many dead finned sharks that are lifeless and grey that are sold at the markets. Even though shark expert, McGuire only protected 7 sharks from meeting the same fate as many other of the sharks out of the thousands he had seen at the markets, it is still a positive impact that they are alive (hence the red showing they are alive).