April 23, 2021

What will it take to transform the ocean?.

Taken for granted for much of the 20th century, vast swathes of people are now waking up to the need to restore and protect our most vital resource. But will it be too little, too late?

Our life support machine.

It was from the ocean that life began on Earth around 3 million years ago. Today, the ocean’s waters still contain an incredible 50 – 80% of all life. Whether we realise it or not, the ocean is connected to every element of our lives and our planet. It is our largest life-support system, and we cannot survive without it.

The ocean covers over 70% of the Earth’s surface. It is at the epicentre of our planet’s biosphere, and a fundamental force in the systems that govern the natural world. With an estimated 97% of all water on Earth residing in the ocean, it has a critical impact on our climate and weather.

An ocean in crisise.

The sheer vastness of the ocean is one of its most intriguing and advantageous qualities. However, it has led humans to believe that its greatness makes it ‘too big to fail’. For the majority of history, this has held true, but over the last century, the world has changed rapidly. The Earth is now populated with over 7.5 billion humans, and this number is rising. With so much human activity across the planet, the ocean is struggling to maintain its role as humanity’s support system.

Impacts from human activities affect over 40% of the ocean’s surface.

United Nations Environment Programme

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Urgent changes needed.

We’ve now reached the now or never moment to get the ocean back on track. Over the next ten years, our actions will decide the ocean’s fate. To make the urgent changes necessary we need action at all levels and by all people.

A campaign to transform the ocean.

To transform and heal our ocean, the actions we take must be informed by knowledge to be effective. Fortunately, through exploration and research, ocean science has given us much of the knowledge we need to diagnose problems and find solutions. Now, we must put this knowledge to task and take tangible actions.

Generation Ocean is a campaign that uses knowledge to take action for the ocean we urgently need to save. It is Reelmedia Film’s latest communication campaign for Third Sector organisation and UN agency, UNESCO. It comprises documentary film, photography, and people-led storytelling to motivate people to restore and protect the ocean. You can read more here and visit the GenO website www.gen-o.org