Yes, Oceans Matter

“It is a curious situation that the sea,

from which life first arose

should now be threatened by the activities of one form of that life.

But the sea, though changed in a sinister way, will continue to exist;

the threat is rather to life itself.”   

 

    Rachel Carson, The Sea Around Us 1951

This is World Oceans Day, so I have to write about it as a Groundling and a...Waterling?

There has been only a couple of years in the past 25 when I haven't visited the ocean somewhere, and I feel blessed. We have enjoyed snorkeling in coral reefs in Cuba, and meandering along the Pacific shore in both Costa Rica and British Columbia. The North Atlantic in Iceland was astonishing, but the majority of our trips have been to the Canadian Atlantic in Quebec, New Brunswick, PEI, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. Last summer we rented a house for a month on Change Islands, NL, and paddling our kayaks out to icebergs was magical. We have fond memories of whale-watching with our kids and getting close enough to humpbacks to feel their moist, fishy breath.

Breath. There is something about the inhalation and exhalation of the planet, twice a day, which is a deeply spiritual experience for me. The tides, mysteriously governed by the moon, have always fascinated humans and Canada experiences some of the highest tides on Earth in the Bay of Fundy and the Ungava Bay region of Quebec. We misjudged the outgoing tide at the Hopewell Rocks one year and had to haul our kayaks across the gooey red mud for quite a distance!

                                          Ruth Iceland

There is great concern about the amount of plastic being discarded in our oceans, so much so that it may outweigh fish by the year 2050. Sonic testing for oil development is messing up the whales of the deeps and the oceans have absorbed so much carbon scientists are convinced we are at the crisis point.

We have to change this, and perhaps the G7 Conference currently underway in Quebec will result in some meaningful action. There is talk of a Plastics Charter being developed by these nations, although I imagine is could only be six, given the regressive policies of the Trump administration.

Yes, we will get to the ocean again this year, God willing. Here are a couple of verses from a Norman Habel hymn based on Psalm 104

3. View anew the dark blue ocean,
Whales cavorting, spraying foam;
God at play with deep sea monsters,
Feeling very much at home.
Sing a song of laughing waters,
Pulsing through the veins of Earth. 
4. Feel the breath of God move softly,
Gentle mists that brush the skin;
Earth is breathing God’s own spirit,
Life renewed from deep within.
Sing a song of living waters,
Pulsing through the veins of Earth.
 

Words: © Norman Habel 2001

Tune: Praise My Soul The King of Heaven