Connected action for a connected global ocean

Earth is called the Blue Planet for good reason. When viewed from space with the Pacific Ocean as the centre point, our planet is an azure marble suspended in inky blackness. That ocean we see is life, but it is life we don’t fully understand. We rely on it for a stable climate, for every breath that we take, for food and livelihoods and so much more. And while much of the ocean remains unmapped and unknowable, we understand that it is vital to our lives.  That is the story we need to understand. Indigenous People tell us this story because they live with the ocean. Many of us have forgotten, so let’s listen to those voices.  This year alone, the world’s largest deep sea coral reef was discovered beneath the Gulf Stream. Who knew that new species would be found on an underwater mountain off the coast of Chile? Or that ancient polymetallic nodules in the dark depths of the Pacific Ocean would be found to be producing oxygen without light? No-one knew this was possible.  But vast as the ocean may be, it is vulnerable to human activities. Oceans uptake everything we give into the environment. Our CO2, our effluents, our toxicity, our garbage, our plastic. It flows into these innocent spaces. We need to stimulate awareness that oceans aren’t there just to take our garbage but are givers of life.  Climate change is raising temperatures and acidifying water. Countless microplastic particles are swirling alongside the plankton. Overexploitation is devastating species. And there are emerging threats.