What do you think?
Rate this book
Oceans: The Threats to Our Seas and What You Can Do to Turn the Tide
This unique tie-in to the major motion picture Oceans -- coming this April from Disney & National Geographic -- explores the health of our oceans, and what we can do to improve it.
More than 75 percent of the globe is covered by the oceans. It is sometimes difficult to understand why it is called Planet Earth rather than Planet Ocean. Since half the world's human population lives within a stone's throw of an ocean coastline, the oceans' health is increasingly important. Rich with resources and potential -- as a source of renewable energy, new drugs, drinking water -- for years we have treated them as both infinite and undamageable. But they are not.
Over-fishing, climate change, pollution, acidification, and more have put the world's oceans and marine life at great risk.
Oceans gathers some of the most insightful visionaries, explorers, and ocean lovers -- marine biologists, politicians, environmentalists, fishermen, sportsmen, deep divers, and more -- in a unique anthology, in which each speaks to a unique aspect of our world's most dimly understood dimension.
More than 75 percent of the globe is covered by the oceans. It is sometimes difficult to understand why it is called Planet Earth rather than Planet Ocean. Since half the world's human population lives within a stone's throw of an ocean coastline, the oceans' health is increasingly important. Rich with resources and potential -- as a source of renewable energy, new drugs, drinking water -- for years we have treated them as both infinite and undamageable. But they are not.
Over-fishing, climate change, pollution, acidification, and more have put the world's oceans and marine life at great risk.
Oceans gathers some of the most insightful visionaries, explorers, and ocean lovers -- marine biologists, politicians, environmentalists, fishermen, sportsmen, deep divers, and more -- in a unique anthology, in which each speaks to a unique aspect of our world's most dimly understood dimension.
- GenresNonfiction
336 pages, Paperback
First published February 24, 2010
4 people are currently reading
71 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 28, 2010
This book is more than just a collection of beautiful essays by prominent supporters of marine ecosystems. It is a very well edited, and very convincing argument for the protection of our ocean habitats. By taking the reader through a journey of depressing anecdotes and bleak data, and finishing off with a glimmer of optimism, Oceans will undoubtedly turn any reader into a champion of the seas.
Because Oceans is a collection of essays by some very different people, some are obviously more compelling than others. On the one side, there's an interview with Captain Paul Watson of Whale Wars fame, that, while interesting, misleadingly presents his numbers as truth and his tactics as romantic and successful, without any fact-checking. Long story short, by teaming with Animal Planet, it has made anti-whaling into a more prominent issue, but its actual conservation record has not been great. For a much better analysis of this guerilla intervention, check out http://www.southernfriedscience.com/?...
On the other end, there are quite a few scientists and policy-makers who present very pragmatic and long-term solutions to the problem of ocean conservation. The essays by Christopher Mann, of the Pew Environment Group, and Jane Lubchenco of NOAA, are especially cogent and offer solutions that today's political enviroment can stomach.
Everyone should read this.
Because Oceans is a collection of essays by some very different people, some are obviously more compelling than others. On the one side, there's an interview with Captain Paul Watson of Whale Wars fame, that, while interesting, misleadingly presents his numbers as truth and his tactics as romantic and successful, without any fact-checking. Long story short, by teaming with Animal Planet, it has made anti-whaling into a more prominent issue, but its actual conservation record has not been great. For a much better analysis of this guerilla intervention, check out http://www.southernfriedscience.com/?...
On the other end, there are quite a few scientists and policy-makers who present very pragmatic and long-term solutions to the problem of ocean conservation. The essays by Christopher Mann, of the Pew Environment Group, and Jane Lubchenco of NOAA, are especially cogent and offer solutions that today's political enviroment can stomach.
Everyone should read this.
October 2, 2011
...and eye opening anthology (collection of authors)who give you a glimpse into the past / present/ future of our planet..especially if WE (humans) continue to regard the WATER (ocean) as a 'dump site'.
...science has shown that there is a delicate balance between this 'mass' that covers two thirds of the earths surface and our survival...even if science is wrong...why take the chance....!??
...science has shown that there is a delicate balance between this 'mass' that covers two thirds of the earths surface and our survival...even if science is wrong...why take the chance....!??
July 8, 2011
Great book and should be compulsory reading for everyone....the oceans are our life....if they die, we die.
September 6, 2016
Awe inspiring, thought provoking and essential reading for all of us who claim to be conservationists.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews