Two Minutes on Oceans w/ Jim Toomey: The Land-Ocean Connection

In this short video, Jim Toomey explains the impacts that our activities, even far inland, can have on ocean health. For example, products such as cosmetics and pharmaceuticals that we introduce into the wastewater system can threaten the health of marine animals. And fertilizers can be washed into streams and rivers, and eventually the ocean, where they can cause excess algae growth, creating enormous dead zones. Litter, such as plastic bottles and bags, follows the same path to the ocean, where it can harm animals through entanglement and ingestion. In the end, every community is an ocean community, and we must find ways to reduce the impacts that our activities have on the health of the ocean.

The United Nations Environment Programme has partnered with cartoonist Jim Toomey, of Sherman's Lagoon fame, in developing a series of two-minute videos intended to raise awareness of the importance of oceans and the coastal environment. The videos use animation and humor to explain in clear and simple language the role oceans play in our lives and our very survival.