SDG 14 - Life Below Water - Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, leaders from 193 different countries agreed on 17 global goals they felt the world needed to achieve by 2030. Goal 14 Life Below water focuses on the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.Â
Healthy oceans and seas are essential for our well-being. They make up 70% of our planet and they play a crucial role in providing us with food, energy, and water. However, we've done a lot of harm to these valuable resources.
It’s more urgent than ever to act and protect marine life.
In today’s blog, we’ll understand how important these incredible and complex ecosystems are, and how SDG 14  wants to protect life below water.
Who lives below water?
Millions of species are living in marine ecosystems. Down there, we can find a huge collection of life, from the tiniest invisible bacteria to the giant blue whale, the biggest animal to ever live on Earth…
Let's picture just a small part of a marine ecosystem:
There is plen...
Oceans of Plastic
It is a place many of us love to be on a sunny day, or on our holidays – by the sea. Looking out on that beautiful, vast horizon I normally find my problems become minute, but how often does it enter our minds that it is being overwhelmed with plastic pollution? I fear this problem is very much “out of sight, out of mind”.Â
It is estimated that 10 million tonnes of litter enter the world’s oceans each year. Plastic makes up 80% of this “marine litter” (IUCN, 2018). Think about that figure for a moment, 10 million tonnes of waste equates to more than 1 garbage truck load of rubbish, entering the ocean every minute. That is staggering.
Beach clean ups are great initiatives, bringing communities together, creating awareness and keeping local coastal areas clean. But it is not enough. they are not a solution to this problem, it is like putting a band aid on to a broken leg.
“It is estimated that 70% of marine litter is on the seabed, 15% is floating in the water column and 15% is wha...
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Who We Are: Fifty Shades Greener
Sustainability with a side of sass!
At Fifty Shades Greener, we’re not your typical sustainability crowd. Here, green isn’t just a color; it’s a lifestyle, and we live it with a bit of cheek and a lot of heart. Our team, a quirky blend of lifelong greenies, seasoned educators, and fresh innovators, believes that every little bit helps and that education is the cornerstone of sustainable change. Born from a simple idea in a hotel’s green team meeting, we've grown into a vibrant community passionate about turning the hospitality world a shade greener. We think greenwashing is as outdated as last season's fashion and are here to ensure sustainability is as authentic as it is actionable. From the early days in Doolin to the bustling workshops of today, our journey has been about making sustainability accessible, understandable, and, dare we say, fun. We don't just throw jargon around; we break it down with practical advice and real-world actions that everyone, from hotel managers to cafe owners, can take. So, whether you’re looking to start your green journey or you're trying to make your business a beacon of sustainability, we’ve got the know-how and the can-do attitude to help you make it happen. And while we’re serious about what we do, we believe a little humor goes a long way. After all, if you can’t have a laugh while saving the planet, when can you? Join us as we continue to write our story, one green step at a time. Here’s to making sustainability not just a necessity, but a norm. Ready to add a little green to your scene? Dive in—the water’s fine, and it’s getting greener by the minute!
