I haven't created a Groundling blog entry in a long time, but World Oceans Day demanded my attention. I have enjoyed the ocean, wherever I have encountered it. I have walked beaches on both sides of the Atlantic, the Pacific coast of Canada and Costa Rica, the Mediterranean and the Caribbean. We have "swum with the fishes" in reefs in Cuba and Costa Rica. We've kayaked off Grand Manan Island, the Magdalen Islands, the Bay of Fundy, Chesapeake Bay, and the Saguenay Fiord. We love the rawness of the waters of Northeast Newfoundland, where we once lived and later this year we will experience the Icelandic North Atlantic.
When I look at what I've written I'm amazed at a lifetime of experience around and on and in oceans and seas and I'm deeply grateful for these opportunities. We've seen a variety of whale species on many occasions (never narwhals), often close at hand, as well as a great variety of marine life, all of which was cause for delight.
When I read that by 2050 there will be more plastic in the world's oceans than fish, by weight, I am appalled. When I hear that the Great Barrier Reef, one of the natural wonders of the world, is dead in large portions I want to weep. When we're informed that human-made sound is probably driving sea creatures, including cetaceans, mad, I am ashamed.
Where is our respect for Creation? How can we be so callous and destructive? Despite my disappointment and discouragement, I will not despair. Somehow we must become part of the solution. I now ask myself whether I must take the steps to simplify my consuming Western lifestyle to the degree that I no longer visit the oceans and seas I love. It's not enough to lament. We also need to act, and Jesus did call us to simplicity.
What are your thoughts about this on World Oceans Day?
