9781422285589

The oceans are where life evolved billions of years ago, and where both the largest and smallest animals now live. People have feasted on this bounty for thousands of years. Even today, more than one billion people obtain most of their protein from the oceans. We play in the oceans. We travel above and beneath them. We use ocean waves to generate electricity. We drill below the marine floor looking for oil to run our homes, automobiles, and factories. The ocean is so important to our lives that nearly half of the world’s 7 billion people live close to one ocean or another. Yet we know so little about the oceans. They remain largely unexplored and are the last true frontiers on Earth. However, we do know that human activities influence the health of the oceans. Human activities, particularly the burning of fossil fuels, have affected global weather patterns. Polar ice sheets are melting and the oceans are rising. We also use the world’s oceans as a dumping ground for sewage, chemicals, and other forms of pollution, including nuclear waste. Although they are immense, the oceans are fragile. If we ruin them, we ruin ourselves.

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