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save the sea fall 2019
john corredor
will palauskas
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
CO-PRESIDENT OF EGC
gianna gironda
ben french
MANAGING EDITOR
CO-PRESIDENT OF EGC
maria garin ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
talia aiges FINANCIAL DIRECTOR WRITTEN CONTRIBUTIONS FROM
skyler johnson ◦ hannah davis ◦ johanna stiefler johnson samara debruyn ◦ talia smith ARTISTIC CONTRIBUTIONS FROM
thea farber ◦ maria garin ◦ gianna gironda adrianna amy-delgado COPY EDITORS
adelina miceli ◦ julia rouillard ◦ victoria bazar johanna stielfer johnson DESIGNERS
will palauskas ◦ john corredor ◦ adrianna amy-delgado
from the presidents This semester has been filled with so much change and so much growth for our organization. It marks the first semester that Emerson Green Collective is an affiliated organization with the college and the first that we are funded. From our founding back in the spring of 2018, our goal with our publication green has been to share with the Emerson community the importance of environmentalism in all forms. We’re proud to say that it has done just that. This third issue is dedicated to the sea: something so powerful, yet so delicate. Take from it what you will and share it with those who need to see it most.
- will & ben
from the editor-in-chief This issue brings up the topic of protecting our oceans. We at EGC recognize the importance of all environmental causes, and with the continued apathy that the vast majority of people hold for the ocean we thought it best to prioritize conversations about an often overlooked topic with our fall issue of green: save the seas. This issue will be the first Emerson publication printed with soy ink on recyclable paper. This decision has been made to inspire other Emerson publications to print sustainably. Thank you all for being a part of Emerson’s only environmentalist publication.
- john
From deep sea adventuring to light scuba diving, the exploration and admiration of corals in reefs and off shorelines has withstood the test of time. Coming in all shapes, sizes, colors, and textures— coral gives reefs across the ocean a pop of life. So, why then do we seem to be so naïve to the fact that coral isn’t just a formation of some type of “water rock” that sits lifelessly in the depths of the ocean? Corals, inevitably, are living specimen. The National Ocean Service, or National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, released an informative article in June 2018 about how the formations we like to call “coral” are actually mounds of hundreds and thousands of very tiny animals called polyps. According to the study, “corals have tiny, tentacle-like arms that they use to capture their food from the water and sweep into their inscrutable mouths.” As corals do not produce their own food as plants would, they are in fact living organisms that seek nourishment elsewhere. For this reason, they are considered to be animals. Because corals are animals, labeling these small polyps as just rock or limestone puts them in serious danger. Besides rising oceanic temperatures, water pollution, and other contributing factors to coral reef destruction, human misconception of corals leads to their destruction. From carving names and initials into coral reef beds to dragging fishing hooks across the corals’ surface, human activity and carelessness contributes to the coral endangerment epidemic our world faces. For this reason, and the many other reasons we have to respect our planet, stop hurting the environment and start helping. If ever the urge comes to carve your name into coral, or fish in an area where a coral reef lays, rethink your actions. Remember that corals, too, are living beings— not a canvas for human destruction.
I was born and raised in sand and rocks. If I looked up, I could see the light of the sun dance through the surface of the water. If I looked around I could see all the seaweed I needed. Oftentimes I’d go with my siblings and play hide and seek, eating my way through all the seaweed to find my brothers or my sisters, and usually I became so sick I had to stop and take a rest. Usually after an hour or so of this my brothers and sisters would return home to make sure everything was alright. My mother would laugh at me whenever I did this. It was to teach me a lesson. She would sit there while I lay groaning on my back hoping she would stop. She was a good mother though, and would always make sure I was okay before doing anything. Soon, times changed. There came to be less seaweed around. My mother stopped allowing us to play hide and seek. Instead, we stayed around the house most days. But she told us not to worry. She told us never to worry about food, even when there seemed to be less and less food left. Soon, there was barely any food around, and we were only ever able to see tiny morsels left. But we were able to see the rest of the ocean. It lay barren before us, and dark. There seemed to be nothing near us, nothing even close to us at all. These were dark times, as we would roam around for hours looking for food, looking through all that was left, sand and rocks, and finding nothing. One day, I heard my mother scream out of pure joy. I knew it had to be food, but I was so far away I couldn’t see anything, I could only hear her ellation. I swam as quickly as I could back home, but what I found was not a happy surprise. Instead I found my mother, dead, her head inside what looked to be food but it was all white but was actually a six pack ring that my mother mistook for food. But I didn’t have time to mourn, or to think about what had happened, as I needed food, and I needed food fast. So I turned around, and started searching again.
this issue is dedicated to the preservation of our coral reefs
PRINTED SUSTAINABLY IN WALTHAM, MASSACHUSETTS ON 100% RECYCLED PAPER.
the sea level will rise 4 feet by 2100