Tow #14 "Humans Causing Jellyfish Takeover"

The highly credible author of this CNN article, Lisa-ann Gershwin is an acclaimed marine biologist that has been researching jellyfish for more than 20 years and has discovered more than 180 new species. She not only was awarded with a Fulbright Fellowship to study jellyfish blooms and fossil jellyfish, but is also the director of the Australian Marine Stinger Advisory Services and Stung! On Jellyfish Blooms and the Future of the Ocean. In this article, Gershwin argues that humans are causing a vast growth in jellyfish populations from our carbon dioxide emissions that are warming as well as polluting the water. In this environment, fish and krill especially are dying but jellyfish are thriving and disrupting the whole ecosystem. Gershwin continues to warn that a small increase in jellyfish may cause no harm but a huge surge that is occurring right now is not only forcing emergency shutdowns of nuclear power plants and destroying fisheries but it has also completely flipped the food chain upside down and are now dominating the fish deprived oceans. After discussing the cause and effects of the jellyfish takeover, Gershwin brings her argument full circle and indicates that all fingers are pointing at us. We caused the problem so isn't it our responsibility to fix it? Answering her string of rhetorical questions, Gershwin reaches out to her audience and demands that we need to invest in research now and slow down the damage occurring rapidly in the world. However, despite the urgency and desperation apparent in her tone, Gershwin ends with the thought that "in all likelihood we will go down in history as the generation that could have saved the ocean but chose not to... It makes me cry, because I fear it is true".   Despite the optimistic talk of others, she gives readers a dose of reality and reflects her disappointment in today's generation itself.