The Importance Of The Ocean To Our Health
I went to the local science center with my kids, sister and parents this weekend. It’s always lots of fun – but this time I was also reminded of something I think we often overlook:
The vital importance of the oceans on our lives and the wellbeing of the entire planet.
There was a great movie playing at the science center’s very cool domed movie theatre. You really feel like you are ‘in’ the movie when you watch it on a screen that surrounds you. This wonderful movie, called ‘The Living Sea,’ was showing the importance of the oceans in our lives. Narrated by Meryl Streep, with music by Sting – it was full of breathtaking photography, while also bringing up some important points.
Here are a few of the things that struck me the most:
Whether we live on the coast or are completely landlocked, we are all really ‘islanders’. When you compare the size of the oceans to the relatively small surface area of land on this planet it is easy to see this point.
70% of our oxygen comes from ocean plants. 70%! I have long been concerned with the deforestation of forest, the Amazon Rainforest often topping the list, but maybe we all should be a bit more focused on the preservation and health of our oceans.
It’s really one big ocean. It’s not like the earth is segmented. The currants travel all over the world, along with many species and the many pollutants that are dumped in the water. People making harmful decisions on the other side of the planet not only affect our water, but our wildlife, and our water and air quality. It is ALL connected. We can’t just destroy one area of the ocean and not expect it to impact everything else.
So what can we do?
We can start by simply being more conscious of how we personally affect the health of the ocean. Such as making sure that we do not contribute to over fishing, or the killing of other creatures that occurs with certain fishing practices.
An easy way start is too make sure all your tuna comes from a source that doesn’t harm dolphins in the fishing process (look for the little dolphin with a slash through it on the can).
Not dumping waste in waterways is another easy one (which I’m sure you’d never do anyway!).
A visit to an aquarium will show you a lot about what is in these amazing oceans and how we can affect them – both negatively and positively.
And maybe this movie is playing at your local science center too! I believe the movie started out playing at IMAX theatres and has now found its way to other venues. I also found ‘The Living Sea’ on Amazon if you don’t have a science center or similar type of place nearby and you’d like to see the film.
