Source: Inside Sources
Author: Sylvia Earle and John Bridgeland
For more than 2,000 years, Greek mythology has conjured up images of Oceanus and Poseidon with his Trident wielding power over Earth’s most valuable resource — the ocean. But it wasn’t until just 50 years ago that we began to fully understand how important the ocean ecosystem is to life on Earth.
We now know how critical the ocean is to planetary chemistry, regulating temperature, and governing climate and weather. The ocean generates most of the oxygen in the sea and atmosphere that provides the air we breathe; powers the carbon, nitrogen and water cycles to provide the fresh water we drink; holds 97 percent of both the Earth’s water and biosphere; and harbors millions of species. Without a healthy ocean, we will not have a habitable planet.
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