Inextricably Interconnected

We’re almost finished with our series on the 7 Principles of Ocean Literacy, which help us understand the importance of the ocean to humans, and how much we affect the ocean. 

Principle # 6 reads: “The ocean and humans are inextricably interconnected.” Its sub-points go on to use verbs like affects, supplies, influences, provides, supports, serves and sustains. 

A “marine mammal” is defined not as an animal that lives only in the ocean but rather any animal that depends entirely on the ocean for its livelihood.  For example, polar bears are marine mammals.  After considering this Principle # 6, I think we humans are marine mammals.

“The Ocean takes care of us.  Let’s return the favor.” 

That’s the tag line of a very effective 60- second Public Service Announcement (PSA) from “Thank You Ocean.org.”   You can watch by cliching here.  

It shows seven different people connecting with the ocean and simply saying “Thanks.”  Thanks for the air, water, job, adventure, medicine, ride, dinner.  Then we are encouraged to return the favor.

I had a very small influence on the creation of this PSA.  But if they had followed my advice, it would have been a very different message, and a disaster.

As Chair of the Citizens Advisory Council of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary I was invited to be part of a series of focus groups early in the PSA’s development.  We are asked to come up with a few key ideas or values that would educate people about ocean threats and encourage them to change their behavior.  It had to be short – one minute, just a sentence or two.  At my table we listed climate change, sea rise, ocean acidification, plastic pollution, overfishing etc and wrote on the newsprint something like, “The ocean is in horrible shape thanks to our irresponsible and selfish and greedy behavior.  Stop doing all these bad things right now and save the ocean!”

The wise facilitators patiently wrote down all our suggestions and turned them over to a wiser ad agency.  Some months later they unveiled the Thank You Ocean PSA at a big meeting of California’s Ocean Protection Council, which had helped to fund the effort.  (I also met Arnold Schwarzenegger at that meeting; as California’s Governor he was a strong ocean advocate, notwithstanding all his other foibles.)

The message couldn’t have been simpler – thank you, let’s return the favor.  The beautiful photography added to the mood of gratitude and possibility.  The final product also couldn’t have been more different than my complaint and curse.  As I watched it I realized they had taken information and admonition and turned it into inspiration and motivation. 

And by saying Thank YOU, I realized the secular agencies, both government and advertising, had written a prayer.  They addressed the ocean in the second person, thank YOU, thus creating for us an “I-Thou” relationship with the ocean, in Martin Buber’s terminology.  They were reminding us that the ocean is not an object, a thing for us to use (I-It), but a subject, with intrinsic value of its own, with which we are engaged mutually. 

Also, by saying Thank You, the PSA was not telling us or others what to do, but inspiring gratitude, the simplest form of prayer.  The PSA developers were somewhat startled when I told them my experience of prayer. 

The PSA has gone on to win awards and widespread distribution.  It describes well this 6^th principle, the inextricable interconnection of humans and ocean.

The sub-points of this sixth principle, below, make clear this mutual relationship.

1. The ocean affects every human life. It supplies freshwater (most rain comes from the ocean) and nearly all Earth’s oxygen. The ocean moderates the Earth’s climate, influences our weather, and affects human health.
2. The ocean provides foods, medicines, and mineral and energy resources. It supports jobs and national economies, serves as a highway for transportation of goods and people, and plays a role in national security.
3. The ocean is a source of inspiration, recreation, rejuvenation and discovery. It is also an important element in the heritage of many cultures.
4. Humans affect the ocean in a variety of ways. Laws, regulations and resource management affect what is taken out and put into the ocean. Human development and activity leads to pollution (point source, non-point source, and noise pollution), changes to ocean chemistry (ocean acidification) and physical modifications (changes to beaches, shores and rivers). In addition, humans have removed most of the large vertebrates from the ocean.
5. Changes in ocean temperature and pH due to human activities can affect the survival of some organisms and impact biological diversity (coral bleaching due to increased temperature and inhibition of shell formation due to ocean acidification).
6. Much of the world’s population lives in coastal areas. Coastal regions are susceptible to natural hazards (tsunamis, hurricanes, cyclones, sea level change, and storm surges).
7. Everyone is responsible for caring for the ocean. The ocean sustains life on Earth and humans must live in ways that sustain the ocean. Individual and collective actions are needed to effectively manage ocean resources for all.

Some of these points are a little utilitarian for my purposes, like # 2.  The ocean is not here to serve us, nor does it only have value in its usefulness.  But then I have been deeply influenced by another set of principles, the Earth Bible’s Eco- Justice Principles, the first of which reads:

The Principle of Intrisic Worth:

The universe, Earth, and all its components have intrinsic worth/value.

It might be that we can’t get to the ocean’s intrinsic value until we understand what it does FOR us extrinsically.  Once its medicine has saved our lives and fishing solved our food crisis and water quenched our thirst and air given us 3 out of 4 breathes, maybe then we can just let it be.  For now, let’s recognize the care we’ve received, understand all the inextricable interconnections, and return the favor.

Copyright © 2017 Deborah Streeter