Courtesy of World Ocean’s Day 2025
The ocean is our world’s greatest wonder, a seemingly endless source of sustenance, potential, wisdom, and awe. However, in this time of interlocking crises, humanity has grown increasingly isolated from the natural world and siloed in our self-preservation; and there is no clearer evidence of our selfish and short-sighted actions than in the ocean’s dire state.
From the marine life that produces our oxygen, medicines and food, to its natural infrastructures that sequester carbon and buffer shores, every diverse element of the ocean – across both its biodiversity and composition – supports humanity in a multitude of ways. But instead of acting with appreciation and amazement towards the ocean, we have acted with ignorance and greed. And despite countless warnings, we have chosen to deplete the ocean’s abundance, devastate its ecosystems, and pollute its depths. We can no longer
afford to take the ocean for granted. It is critical that we mobilize all actors to sustainably use and conserve the ocean. It is critical that we mobilize all actors to sustainably use and conserve the ocean so that future generations can have the chance to revel in its wonders, instead of wondering what’s been lost.
If the warnings haven’t motivated us, wonder is what will. The ocean’s wonder is what draws us in and often drives our desire to protect it. Wonder is the foundation of scientific knowledge, the allure behind exploration, the curiosity that drives innovation, and the seed of traditional wisdom. In the face of increasingly daunting challenges, the act of wondering serves to remind us that we are part of something bigger. It wakes us up to our inherent connection to the earth and to each other, expands our understanding of what is possible, empowers innovation and prioritizes decision-making for collective well-being. This World Oceans Day, we celebrate the ocean’s essential wonder from all of the wonders it consists of to the wonder it ignites. Because just as the ocean sustains the planet, wonder sustains our humanity. And while the ocean is the lifeblood of the earth, and wonder is the beating heart that will save it.