Reflection

Reflection

When researching about climate change’s marine effects, I learned that since the ocean absorbs 80 percent of the excessive atmospheric heat of climate change, its heated water results in coral bleaching and the migration of many marine organisms and creates the great risk of coral reef ecosystems collapsing. This, essentially, turns the coral ecosystem into underwater deserts: heated and lifeless. In this piece, I decided to capture what the ocean could look like if ocean warming was to develop further from the “Dust’s” point of view. The paradoxical effect of desert dust, characterized as red and representing heat, conveys how unnatural it is for oceans to become barren and lifeless. The diction of “bone,” “ghosts,” “paper,” and the connotational use of colors—like red representing danger and white representing death—further adds to this effect. Imagery of coral, from “hole” and “table” textures, and deserts make the audience visualize these contradictory ecosystems and make them realize how wrong this entire situation is. The figurative language and the references to “man” essentially points out that we, as a society, are contributing to this catastrophe. To reduce my carbon footprint and do my part to reverse ocean warming, I am using natural light as much as possible instead of light bulbs, biking to school instead of driving, avoiding single-use plastic, and have become a vegetarian. In order to avoid the impending doom of ocean desertification, it is crucial for us to take responsibility and reverse global warming now.