Reasons to Thank Our Oceans
Our oceans are amazing and we depend on them to support healthy life on Earth. The ocean is a giant care-taker looking after life on the planet and looking after all of us. The oceans provide us with so many gifts. These are some of the things that oceans do and reasons why we can say “Thank You Oceans”.
Beauty
Our oceans are beautiful, filled with wonderful animals, colourful fish, stunning corals and reefs. They give us an awesome and most dazzling range of blues, greys and greens to feast our eyes upon. Amazing films have been made to educate us and entertain us, showing us a world so vast to still new to explore with colours of fish and corals as bright and brilliant as any jungle or flower garden. Think of your favourite ocean memories, pictures of the coastlines and beaches, holiday photographs and sounds of laughter.
Breathing
Did you know that the oceans are lungs of our planet? They provide around half of the oxygen in our atmosphere.
How? The ocean is full of tiny microscopic plants and life forms that convert carbon dioxide into oxygen. In fact, the ocean converts more carbon dioxide than all of the plants and forests on the Earth combined.
No matter where on the Earth we live we all have the same one atmosphere to share and breathe. If we want a clean air to breathe then we need to keep our oceans healthy, just as we need to keep our own lungs healthy. We wouldn’t drink poison or inhale toxic chemicals into our lungs and so we need to do make sure that we treat our oceans in the same way.
Climate
Not only are the oceans the lungs of our planets, but they also act as the heart of the planet and do a very similar job to our own hearts.
The oceans control our weather systems with ocean currents driving the circulation and distribution of heat, keeping everything in balance. Again we need to take care in the same way that we would take care of our own heart. If blood stopped flowing correctly in our bodies all of the organs that depend on the correct flow would start to suffer. So, just as we need to eat healthily to keep our hearts fit we also need to make sure our oceans have a healthy diet. So, no rubbish in the oceans and no smoke in the atmosphere!
Food
The oceans feed the world. More than 3.5 billion people depend on the ocean for their primary source of food. In 20 years, this number could double to 7 billion.
The oceans provide the biggest source of protein in the world. Each year some 70 to 75 million tons of fish are caught in the ocean. Less than half of that amount is for human consumption.
Species of fish endangered by overfishing are: tuna, salmon, haddock, halibut, and cod.
Fun
Swimming, sailing, diving, surfing, beach volley ball, sand castles, rock pooling, picnics and adventures to new shores; the seas and the shorelines are place of fun and joyful experiences to share with our friends and families.
Medicine
Plants in the ocean can help to heal us from disease and keep our bodies healthy, and can also help animals stay healthy too. Ocean and sea algae are the richest natural source of minerals, and rare earth elements. Iodine, from seaweed, can help the body protect itself from the effects of radiation. More and more research is being done to find new wonders in the
Pollution
The oceans do their best to clean up our mess. Areas of sea grasses, wetlands and mangroves do the job of cleaning up natural pollution. However, humanity is now making so much pollution and most of it is unnatural and with 6 billion people making a mess is just too much for the oceans to handle. Can you imagine having to clean up 6 billion dirty bedrooms, toilets, sinks and then have to clean up all of the shops, offices, schools and factories too? Is that fair? Would you be able to stay happy and healthy with that much work to do?
Travel & Transport
More than 90% of the trade between countries is carried by ships across our oceans.
Not only that but around half of the communication between nations use underwater cables.
