We live on the Water Planet. Water comprises over 70% of the surface area of Earth, and 97% of all of our water is contained within oceans. Sylvia Earle, renowned oceanographer and spokeswoman for the oceans, describes how integrated our lives are with the processes that take place within ocean waters: "Earth is dominated by the sea. In short, the ocean is our life support system, the driving force behind climate and weather, the key to temperature and regulation, the source of most of the oxygen in the atmosphere, the place where enormous quantities of carbon dioxide are absorbed."
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Oceans, even more so than rainforests, are crucial in preventing global warming, the likely cause of rising sea levels and the escalating trend in the frequency and severity of hurricanes. Adding to disturbances in climate, degradation of oceans causes profound repercussions for human health and economics. When toxins are released into the sea, they accumulate in living organisms, contaminating our seafood. Today, 90% of our most important fisheries have been severely overfished. Depleted fisheries mean less catch with more effort, causing long term losses in revenue and jobs. Reckless and shortsighted development of our coastlines generates costly initiatives to prevent and compensate damages caused by erosion, a natural process which when artificially halted, causes greater detriment to ocean life.
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