Diving Into World Oceans Month
Did you know that June is World Oceans Month? Read more about some online events happening this month from our Ambassador Fidan.
Did you know that the oceans provide us with most of the oxygen we breathe? That’s right - over 70% of the oxygen in the atmosphere is produced by marine plants, according to National Geographic. To celebrate our planet’s oceans and highlight the great work happening to protect and preserve them, the United Nations created World Oceans Day on June 8th. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) took this further and named the month of June as World Oceans Month.
The year 2020 was panning out to be a “super year” for the ocean, with several events and deadlines planned to strengthen and advance marine issues. However, given the COVID-19 pandemic, everything turned virtual. The United Nations kicked off the events of the week, followed by Sustainable Ocean Alliance, Capitol Hill Ocean Week (CHOW), along with many other related events. Some of the most well-known ocean figures spoke at multiple events, including:
Sylvia Earle - an American marine biologist, explorer, and lecturer
The Cousteaus - the family of Jacques Cousteau, who spearheaded ocean exploration and ignited that passion in many others through his informative documentaries.
Peter Thompson - the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean
Admittedly all-day events could get a little overwhelming and you can easily tune out. Yet this year’s theme, Innovation for a Sustainable Ocean, made the presentations and conversations engaging. For example, there was Mark Dalio, the Founder of OceanX - the most advanced marine exploration vessel exploring the depths of our oceans. They discussed the National Geographic series titled “Mission OceanX”, which will follow the maiden voyage of a next-generation exploration ship. There were also young entrepreneurs that spotlighted the technologies that they are leading. Two of those entrepreneurs are:
Miranda Wang, Co-Founder and CEO, BioCellection - turning existing plastic into performance materials that have the same performance properties but have a 45% carbon footprint reduction
Luke Young, Agrisea - ocean agriculture company that grows rice in the ocean
The list of inspiring presentations and thought-provoking conversations goes on and on. What I can say without a doubt is that I am proud to be in the water industry and working to keep our waterways safe, and seeing so much young talent working on ensuring a cleaner ocean environment keeps the dream alive! Here’s to World Oceans Month and for each of us doing our part to keep the ocean pristine!
Fidan was our first-ever ambassador and is passionate about all things water - drinking it, diving in it, and cleaning it. Keep an eye out for her posts and tips for cleaning our planet.