Op-Ed: To save the Earth, think like a ‘blue water’ sailor
I grew up in the suburbs of Toronto. My family was well-off in a town where many were struggling to get by. Yet we never forgot about the ocean and marine life. I was lucky to grow up in a marine biology lab, one that was the result of a decade or more of study, and to know the importance of protecting our oceans.
So when The Star Tribune asked me to write my first piece for their newspaper on the subject of ocean-saving, I was immediately excited. I knew I was the right person to do it. We all are.
At the same time, I have a bit of a different perspective on the subject. I am a ‘blue water sailor’ – at heart I am a sailor on a fishing boat. I have been one for 25 years and I can almost guarantee you that I have travelled to nearly all the ‘blue water’ countries; Mexico, Canada, Alaska and New Zealand to name a few.
I have sailed my entire life, and I have watched the seas change as time and the sea’s cycles have washed away our world. When I look out at the horizon, and see the big blue of the horizon, I see the sea. And I’m always thinking about the ocean.
The oceans are a critical part of life on earth. They are the home of all life. They are the source of fresh water we use for drinking and cooking, the only place where new life can develop, the only place where we will know the beginning of the end to our world. And so, I am not surprised that we should be worried about what we put in the water.
But we must also think about the ocean’s future and how we are impacting it. What is our greatest threat or gift? It is clear to me we are the greatest gift to the ocean. We are