There has never been a more urgent need to protect and conserve our oceans. As the largest and most important earth system, it’s astonishing that only 5% has been explored, especially while we spend billions on space exploration. But as has been proven time and time again, people tend to care about what they can see, understand, and connect with. Most people know of the ocean as waves and horizons- only what’s on top. It’s hard for them to grasp the danger the ocean is in when acidification, fishery depletion, coral bleaching, and so many other threats don’t change what the surface looks like. The vast abundance of life below is virtually unknown and unseen by the majority of the population.

The ocean covers 97% of our planet and is a driving force of the health and livability of the earth. Ocean dynamics, CO2 absorption, heat regulation, and so much more are the gears that keep our home running. The deep depths hold untold medicines and cures, the kelp forests present plastic alternatives, reef ecosystems hold secrets of symbiosis and interconnectedness. And yet, ocean science is inordinately underfunded and disregarded. It’s a constant shock to me when I bring up an ocean or sea life fact, or an abhorrent practice like shark finning, and most people have never even heard of it. Not that everyone need be as huge an ocean and natural science nerd as I am, but it’s truly astonishing that this environment that makes up the vast majority of the earth is just… ignored. And with the effects of climate change not only looming but currently ongoing, it’s frightening.

We are the caretakers of the ocean, and our fates are bound together. To quote conservationist Paul Watson, “if the oceans dies, we die”.

Original 10”x14” pen and watercolor drawing