Environmental Stewardship Statement
The Center for Aquatic Sciences, in accordance with its mission to promote the protection of aquatic life and habitats, aims to serve as a leader and a resource in environmental stewardship and sustainability education.
As an environmental education and research organization, the Center for Aquatic Sciences plays a vital role in inspiring individuals to make small but meaningful lifestyle changes that benefit their local communities as well as the global ecosystem. The Center is committed to advancing the understanding of the societal origins of environmental burdens, the impact of these burdens on humanity and biodiversity, and their implications for future generations. Human industry, transportation, home energy use, injudicious land development and agricultural practices have elevated the abundance of greenhouse gasses, led to the emission of harmful pollutants, eliminated significant natural habitats and created enormous amounts of waste material. These effects have led to increased toxicity in the environment, caused a reduction in biodiversity, and created dramatic impacts on the climate. Aquatic ecosystems such as rivers, lakes and oceans have suffered disproportionate damage as a result.
Through education, we advocate for a fuller understanding of the role of human actions on aquatic ecosystems. Individual choices can have significant local impacts on environmental quality that add up to large scale ramifications globally. We promote concrete, positive changes that individuals can embrace in order to advance environmental stewardship, champion conservation, and restore damaged ecosystems.
Your choices can save money and improve health while benefiting the environment as well.
- Drive less often and maintain your vehicle. Select vehicles based on fuel efficiency.
- Investigate alternative means of transportation such as mass transit, bicycles and walking.
- Reduce energy use in your home through incorporation of all available conservation opportunities such as efficient light bulbs and appliance choices, insulation, thermostat settings and alternative energy sources.
- Reduce your use of disposable plastics and recycle the plastics you do use.
- Reduce water use in and around your home by not running water unnecessarily, fixing plumbing leaks promptly, and developing more diverse, drought tolerant, yard plantings.
- Capture rainwater to use for outdoor watering.
- Reduce fertilizer and pesticide use on your land by practicing conservation-oriented landscaping methods.
The Center for Aquatic Sciences serves as an educational resource for its constituency to inspire everyone to get involved in preserving and improving environmental quality for the benefit and sustainability of their communities, and the well-being of future generations.
