Planet Earth has one big beautiful ocean.
This one ocean and humans are inextricably linked. The ocean covers 71% of our planet and its powerful waves and water energy shape the features of the land. The ocean provides us with many forms of recreation: fishing, diving, walking, surfing, paddling, beach bonfires, sailing, swimming and beachcombing. And, for millennia, our ocean has served as the natural superhighway for trade, transportation and communication.
The health of the ocean is essential to human survival. The ocean is a major source of food, medicine, and jobs. Fish from the ocean currently are the primary source of protein for one in six people on earth. And, nearly a million people in the US have jobs that directly depend on the ocean and that add $12 billion to our GDP. However, while the ocean supports the greatest diversity of life and ecosystems on our planet, it is largely unexplored. The ocean is a major influence on weather and climate. In fact it is the ocean that makes our planet habitable.
Without the ocean as a heat sink, our days would be unbearably hot, and our nights would be freezing cold. The ocean naturally recycles our water and our air, constantly cleaning it for us to use over and again 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In fact, 86% of the water we drink comes from the ocean; and the ocean produces more oxygen than the rainforests. It even absorbs 48% of the carbon that we humans put into the atmosphere. The ocean is the best protection we could hope for. We must be good stewards of this part of our living world.
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