- Science: Explained
- Take Action
Say Ocean – not oceans.
There is only one Ocean.
At school, we may learn that the Ocean has five separate regions, namely, the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Artic and Southern Ocean.
But our Ocean is not separated by borders. It’s connected as one and it works as a whole to help make all life on Earth possible.
Connection with our Ocean
Talking about ‘Our Ocean’ as one Ocean reinforces the notion of its interconnectedness.
We must all understand that: What happens in one part of the Ocean will have an impact on another part.
When 29,000 rubber ducks were washed into the North Pacific Ocean, they began showing up thousands of miles away in Alaska, Washington 10 months later.
This was known as “the quack heard around the world” and proved that a rubber duck (or a plastic bottle or whatever else) if chucked into a river could move across the Ocean and end up on the other side of the world.
A similar story happened, when almost five million pieces of Lego escaped into the Ocean off the coast of Cornwall, spilled from a cargo ship. The tiny, plastic figurines are still being washed up on the beaches of Cornwall 25 years later.
This not only highlights the interconnectedness of our Ocean, but also how our actions impact the entire Ocean.
What is your relationship with our Ocean?
We are all connected to the Ocean through weather, climate, and the very air we breathe. But everyone has their own unique experiences of the magic and beauty of the Ocean.
We swim, sail and bathe by the beach. We eat fish or seaweed in sushi. We use products that are imported from other parts of the world – by boat. We listen to Ocean sounds on Spotify to relax us.
Biologist Wallace J Nichols, the author of Blue Mind, says “We are beginning to learn that our brains are hardwired to react positively to water and that being near it can calm and connect us, increase innovation and insight, and even heal what’s broken.”
But the ways the Ocean provides life-support – like how it supplies the oxygen we breathe and nourishes the crops we eat – remains far less understood.
This is where we come in.
Here at Ocean Generation, we want to rebuild this connection.
Every drop of water is connected.
We don’t usually think of the water that comes out of our taps as the same water in the Ocean. But to quote a little fish…
All drains lead back to the Ocean.
Finding Nemo
The water that we use every day and the waterbodies in our communities connect us to the Ocean. All water eventually flows out to the Ocean.
Our Ocean is weaved into every part of our daily lives – and our actions have extraordinary impacts on it.
#WeAreAllOcean
Want to feel more connected to our blue planet?
Join the Ocean Generation
The Ocean Generation is coming together to restore a healthy relationship between humanity and the Ocean. As the first generation to understand ocean issues, we are also the last generation who can stop them.
We are all the Ocean Generation.
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