We’ve got all the tools to stop shark finning, according to Fin Free founder Rob Stewart, now all we have to do is get it done.

We know the task and we have a network of millions of people who believe in a worldwide ban, now it’s time to hit the ground running. And with a decimated shark population as a result of grotesquely wasteful shark fin soup, we’d better get to work.

“100 Million sharks are killed each year, mostly to fuel the demand for shark fin soup, decimating shark populations by 90%”, says Rob Stewart – Fin Free founder and director of the multiple award-winning 2006  feature documentary “Sharkwater.”

Fin Free is an open source conservation movement that educates and empowers the public on the horrifically destructive practice of shark finning. More than 70 Fin Free chapters have already emerged worldwide and many businesses are also united for a ban.

Sharks were the first vertebrae on earth with jaws, 150 million years before the dinosaurs and in only a few years their population has plummeted  to dangerous levels.

Not only is shark finning inhumane and destructive, the world needs sharks to survive. They control the populations of all the marine species below them on the food chain and without them, fish populations would explode so much so that they could no longer support themselves in their environment. This would throw the entire framework of the world’s most important ecosystem out of balance–an ecosystem that we depend on for our very survival. Phytoplankton in the ocean accounts for the majority of the oxygen we breathe. It’s no small deal.

Start a Fin Free chapter in your area and let’s get a worldwide ban in place before it’s too late.

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Image: Steve Garner

The post Ban Shark Finning Worldwide: You Can Help Fin Free Make it Happen appeared first on EcoSalon.

A round-up of what we’re reading right now. 

Summery cocktails? Yes please. Here are 12 perfect summer drinks that only require having four different bottles of booze on hand. Easy! [Via LearnVest]

On the Road isn’t the only book you should be reading if you’re road tripping. Here’s a list of the 9 literary essentials. [Via Adventure Journal]

Because it’s Shark Week and you have always wanted to know: do menstruating women attract sharks? [Via Mother Jones]

Air fresheners can be full of chemicals and super toxic. Try these natural alternatives, as simple as taking out the trash and opening a window. [Via Organic Authority]

Vintage mascara looked a little different than it does today. 9 photos of the beauty product from when it didn’t come in a tube but was a brush in a box. [Via Buzzfeed]

A new solution to pollution in cities? An artist in Italy paints a mural that is able to clean the air of photochemicals, like smog. [Via PSFK]

Renaissance women were more feminist than you might think. [Via Science 2.0]

Don’t put an egg on it; eating eggs can be as bad for you as smoking according to a new report. [Via Ecorazzi]

Cities are great and all, but they are making natural disasters deadlier. [Via Atlantic Cities]

Here’s a shocker: kids who don’t get junk food in school don’t gain as much weight. Now proven by science. [Via Food Politics]

Image: zaqi

The post Link Love: A Mural That Cleans the Air, Why Eating Eggs is Worse Than Smoking and Whether or Not Menstruating Women Attract Sharks appeared first on EcoSalon.