Oceans
Redondo Beach, CA More than 70-percent of the Earth is water. Fishes from the ocean provide over eighty million tons of food for the worlds population each year. The oceans currents and water temperature control weather patterns. A few degrees warmer or cooler can significantly affect hurricanes, typhoons and droughts. Millions of jobs and hundreds of economies rely on the sea.
However, as important as the sea is to our own survival we are not taking care of it. The Pew Environmental Group believes the past 50 years of human activity has irreparably damaged even the most remote parts of the sea. Other researchers say there is six times more plastic than plankton in the ocean. The shark population has been depleted by 90-percent, upsetting the delicate circle-of-life balance that creates harmony in the sea. Oil drilling, whaling, overfishing and pollution all take part in destroying the same ocean that sustains humans with consistent weather, food and jobs.
We are destroying the ocean, says world-renowned marine wildlife photographer/cinematographer and former US Marine Tom Campbell. He believes too much damage has been done to the ocean over the past few generations for the sea to recover enough to return to its original balance, but he does hope to stop the damage from progressing.
20 years ago when I taught diving classes in Californias northern Channel Islands, I told my students to be careful when they touched the bottom because so many harmless angel sharks lay in the sand. Today, you can dive for 7 days and not see one. Its another species dying out this one in less than two decades.
Campbell believes educating the next generation is the only chance to maintain our current climate patterns, food source and income associated with the sea. To inspire young people Campbell has taken part in pioneering the non-profit Save Our Seas Foundation (SOSF). To achieve their goal theyve created a series of books much like Nancy Drew or The Hardy Boys were to Baby Boomers and Generation Xers only focused on the ocean.
I hope parents will set examples for their kids, and these books are a breakthrough tool to help. Picture Jacques Cousteau meets the Spy Kids. In each novel a twin brother and sister team travel to various spots on the globe to rescue marine animals and/or an aspect of the creatures environment from peril. We need to reach the next generation and inspire them to care about their environment. We hope to get young people excited about saving the sea. The book series, produced by Jokar Productions LLC, uses Campbells famous photography with original illustrations incorporated into the pictures. It is becoming very close to being too late to save our oceans and, arguably, our planet. Before his death in 1997 Jacques Cousteau told Time Magazine, The oceans are in danger of dyingIn the past, the sea renewed itself. It was a continuous cycle. But this cycle is being upset.Some scientists think its too late. I dont think so.
Neither do Campbell and the non-profit Save Our Seas Foundation. They hope the next generation will step in to save the same Oceans that have been protecting the Earths balance since before man set foot on land.
About The Save Our Seas Foundation
The Save Our Seas Foundation is a non-profit with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Its purpose is to implement and support diverse programs aimed at education, protection and conservation of the marine environment around the world. Its Foundation Board discusses the allocation of funds, sponsorship and policy. The Founder has provided the Foundation with sufficient means to cover its administrative costs and to insure that all future donations and sponsorships go directly to help worthy marine projects. www.saveourseas.com
About the Author: Tom Campbell is a world renowned Marine Wildlife Photographer and Cinematographer. He was part of a select Force Recon unit assigned to Seal Team One in Vietnam to conduct covert operations. After his discharge in 1966, he became a NAUI diving instructor. Campbell spent twenty years with the California Highway Patrol. He has since become a professional ocean photographer and cinematographer. Campbell was one of the first to work in High Definition. His cinematography work has been featured on the Discovery Channel, National Geographic, PBS and Disney. www.tomcampbell.com
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