Tomorrow, Tuesday, 22 April, is Earth Day.  This year's celebrations world wide will be the 55th anniversary of the event, founded by Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson.  1970 was a heady year in America, with non-stop protests against the Vietnam war, and less than two weeks later, four unarmed students were killed at Kent State University in Ohio by the National Guard on campus.  In many unfortunate ways, it was  a perfect time for Nelson and like-minded people to bring the cause of environmental protection to the fore.  Now in the year 2025, protests again are happening worldwide, and no doubt, the environment, particularly tomorrow, will be in the mix.  Since I just finished reading two books by Susan Casey - The Underworld:  Journeys to the Depths of the Ocean, and Voices of the Ocean:  A journey into the wild and haunting world of dolphins, my mind has been on the earth's oceans.  They are the great connectors and sustainers of Planet Earth.

In my youth, I dreamed of becoming an oceanographer, diving into turquoise blue water, and being part of that huge, fascinating, and mysterious element.  Until I came to the realization that underwater archaeology and oceanography are not particularly well-suited to people with a propensity for motion sickness.  Not to mention the fact that I had trouble with calculus and organic chemistry (tough to be degreed in biology without that coursework).  But I always tried to watch The Underwater World of Jacques Cousteau, a television series that first aired in 1968, and glean what I could from the master himself, along with the likes of Dr. Sylvia Earle, featured in The Underworld.  And I am content to learn from aquarium exhibits and those spaces such as tide pools that are at water's edge.  

The clownfish and manta ray below are at the Albuquerque Aquarium. Perhaps one of you reading can help me identify the interesting fish shown in the middle.  Try as I might, I was unable to put a name on it.     

Animals - Clownfish and wrasse, Albuquerque Aquarirum 2025 Animals - fish at Albuquerque Aquairium 2025 Animals - Manta ray, Albuquerque Aquairiuam 2025

Starfish and sea urchin below were in a tide pool on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state. 

starfish and sea urchins in tide pool Washington state

The takeaways from Susan Casey's books (she also wrote The Wave about surfers and the ocean) are the deep love, knowledge, and appreciation she has for oceans, the massive amount of life contained therein, how little we know about them (she suspects that we know more about the moon and outer space than we know about the deepest parts of the ocean), and how incredibly endangered they are.  They are the new frontier and wild west, complete with the greed and lack of consideration that comes with being first and having the most.  Rare earth minerals that are so essential to computers, automobiles, and electronics are there - the new gold. You can almost see the avarice on some who are ready, willing, and able to mine the earth's oceans, rubbing their hands together, waiting to strike it rich by pillaging the wealth of the ocean floor.  It is happening now and it is not pretty.  Plastics in the oceans are bad enough, but mining can take the ruination to a whole new level.    

In celebration of Earth Day, I recommend Susan Casey's books.  She is an excellent writer, giving a perfect combination of science and story telling. Each that I have listed here are beautiful and cautionary tales about combining exploration, restraint, and conservation in our treatment of the literal life blood of our planet.  You won't think about the oceans in the same way.  They give all of us life, and we need to ponder and appreciate that fact every day.  There is currently only one planet on which humans can exist, largely due to the oceans and the role they play in all of our lives.

Thanks to Karren, TTT, Ingrid, Marilyn G., Jean & Sam, Victoria, Gustavo, Steve, M. Fred B., and Pater for commenting this week.   

until next Monday,

DB

a passion for the image©