Protecting, Restoring & Preserving the Worlds Oceans
So here we are, divers, all of us. And we visit the oceans of this world regularly. Most of us do so because we feel the ever present call. That certain something, an urge, a pulling toward the oceans magnificent power and beauty.
This calling creates a need inside each one of us that must be fulfilled. We know, almost instinctively, that the ocean is an essential part of our lives, all of us. And for those of us who have pursued a search to understand just how integral the ocean is to our own existence, we have found many connections.
The world’s oceans; or more correctly, the one world ocean is more than just a source of our recreation and adventure. The ocean is crucial tour very lives, all of us. It provides us with vital oxygen that we breathe, it sequesters excess carbon dioxide and other atmospheric chemicals that are hazardous tour health, it provides us with food and in some cases water, it even drives our weather and climate.
As vast and powerful the ocean is, it is not all powerful. It needs our help. For decades we, as humans, have been operating under the “BigOcean” ideology where the vastness of the ocean could swallow up and hide all of the waste that we could manufacture, and that we could take form its depths all the seemingly inexhaustible supply of fish and other living creatures for our own use and consumption. But recently, we have discovered that this ideology wrong.
Recently we have found that our uncontrolled activities such as dumping and taking from the ocean have had wide spread and devastating effect on that environment which we once thought of as vast, unlimited and most powerful.
Because the ocean environment is so vast and so powerful, any detrimental affect that we have upon it, because of our activities, will have detrimental repercussions upon us and the environment in which we live. It’s a sort of balancing act, you see.
But this is nothing new, you might say. Especially among we divers, this is something that is well known. We see the effects every time that we dive on our favorite reef.
So then I will ask the critical question for debate: “What are you doing about it?”
As for myself, I teach people about it. I do everything that I am able to create awareness at every level. I talk to divers. Of course I do. But more importantly, I talk to others as well. I give talks to Boy Scout troops, 5th grade classes, college students, church groups, anyone who will listen. Why? Well, because this is what I am able to do. And others, like me, are doing similar things in their own communities.
Some folks do what I do, others organize coastal clean up events, some write petitions to their congressmen, some invent or engineer new technology that will prevent or more effectively control pollutions and limit our impact on the ocean environment. The possibilities are numerous.
For those among us who are taking action, I commend you all and implore you to keep up the fight, don’t give up, you are making a difference. For those among us who are still simply “spectators” I beg that you will become active. Everyone can do something. If we act together, we can have a positive impact.
In conclusion, I would repeat the critical question: “What are you doing about it?” It is only by the creativity, will and efforts of the inhabitants of this world that we can Protect, Restore & Preserve the Worlds Oceans.
If you are currently doing your part, then please let us know about what you are doing. If you have a good idea about how people can help to make a difference, then please tell us. You don’t have to be a scientist, engineer, or doctor. You only have to care….