Vending Machines are Scarier than Sharks!

Most people unfortunately are afraid of sharks and actually stray away from the ocean due to the fear of being attacked by a shark; But just how likely is it that a shark will actually bite you?  Well, over five years (2006-2010), an average of 4.2 fatal shark attacks took place each year worldwide, while icicles killed 100 people per year just in Russia. So why are people so freaked out by sharks? 

The major reason people are so afraid of sharks is the media; hollywood films such as Jaws portrayed sharks as monstrous creatures, who's main goal in life is to kill people. This picture the media has painted couldn't be further from the truth. Another reason people fear sharks is due to how sharks look physically.

Ants kill almost 6 times as many people as sharks do a year.

Most people have heard the saying dogs are a mans best friend, yet dogs kill 34 people each year in the U.S alone. Even things such as falling out of bed take many more lives than shark attacks. (Falling out of bed kills 450 people annually in the U.S.) 

Are you scared to buy snacks from the vending machine, over the fear of them falling on you? Well, you should be if you’re scared of being killed by a shark. Vending machines kill about three times as many people a year than shark attacks. (Vending machines kill 10-13 people a year.)

Sharks are amazing animals; they are one of the oldest creatures to inhabit the planet and are essential in the marine food web. So instead of being afraid of them, enjoy their presence and wonder and the next time you get scared about going swimming in the ocean remember you shouldn’t be.

The real threat is humans. "For every one human killed by a shark, there are approximately 25 million sharks killed by humans"2. Education is the key to protecting our planet and the amazing organisms that we share it with.

References: 

1. http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Sharks/ISAF/ISAF.htm

2. http://oceana.org/en/our-work/protect-marine-wildlife/sharks/learn-act/shark-attack-statistics

Written by Cody Miller; B.S in Marine Biology from the University of Hawaii at Manoa

My First Blog

First let me introduce myself; My name is Cody Miller, I am a marine biologist from San Diego and like most marine biologists I fell in love with the ocean as a child and couldn't see myself ever living away from it. 




However, the ocean and water mean much more to me than the typical marine biologist and have been influential in defining me as a person. Since I was 6 months old I could swim and loved the water. I feel at home whenever I am in water, and this comfort lead me to take up competitive swimming and bodyboarding. I spent thousands of hours in a pool and in the ocean and these hours culminated into obtaining third at nationals, a sponsorship for bodyboarding and becoming a Division-I collegiate swimmer. 

However, my real passion in life is the ocean. The ocean covers 72% and rising of this small planet and is home to most of the globe's biomass (living matter), and biodiversity. With population growth, pollution, global warming, and the overexploitation of the oceans resources our beautiful oceans are being destroyed. 


Education I believe is the key to saving our oceans worldwide. If governments won't help to save our oceans than we as people must learn how to protect them. I want my children and grandchildren to be able to enjoy the ocean as I have throughout my life.

Written by Cody Miller; B.S in Marine Biology from the University of Hawaii at Manoa