June 8: World Oceans Day

Whether you live along the coast or live so far inland you’ve only seen the ocean on TV, each and every one of us is connected to the ocean. World Oceans Day is an opportunity to celebrate the world’s oceans ocean and our personal connection to the sea.

After years of pressure, last year the U.N. finally declared June 8th World Oceans Day.

So why a World Oceans Day?

The world's oceans:

• Cover 71% of the earth and contain up to 50% of known life
• Generate most of the oxygen we breathe
• Help feed us
• Regulate our climate
• Clean the water we drink
• Offer us a countless number of potential medicines
• Provide limitless inspiration

Yet for too long, human society has taken the world's ocean for granted. Overfishing is the most dangerous threat our oceans are facing today. The U.N. reports that 75% of seafood species are maxed out or overexploited, and 90% of the oceans’ big fish – sharks, tuna, swordfish – are already gone.

The air is also killing our seas. Rising CO2 levels are making the waters more acidic which in turn is killing small animals critical to ocean food chains.

And what about the Deepwater Horizon oil spill? Hundreds of birds have already died and 34,000 species are at risk right now. Plus, the U.S. Coast Guard says that getting oil completely out of marshlands will take years.

World Oceans Day is an opportunity to bring stand up for oceans. What can you do?

• Join with friends and neighbors this month to participate in or organize a litter clean up around a local beach or waterway.
• Encourage your friends to think about what the ocean means to them and what it has to offer all of us with hopes of conserving it for present and the future generations.
• Whether you live inland or on the coast we are all connected to the ocean; take the time to think about how the ocean affects you, and how you affect the ocean, and then organize or participate in activities that celebrate our world ocean.
• Host a screening of an ocean documentary, such as Disney's Oceans or PBS's Ocean Adventures.