Anne Platt McGinn

Human activities are destroying the oceans and coastal regions that people depend on for survival, argues Anne Platt McGinn in the following viewpoint. Fishing provides food and income for billions of people worldwide, she maintains, but wasteful fishing techniques have depleted key fish in the food web, threatening the entire marine ecosystem. Moreover, McGinn claims, people continue to flock to coastal communities, polluting the shores with fertilizers, toxic metals, and human waste. Unfortunately, she contends, policy makers seem more interested in promoting trade than protecting the marine environment. McGinn is a senior researcher for the Worldwatch Institute.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. In McGinn’s opinion, what warning signs show that the world’s oceans are perilously close to their natural...