“…. the sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in it’s net of wonder forever.” Jacques Cousteau
Cormorants perch on the cliffs above the stormy Cape of Good Hope.
While I write the sea growls along the coastal edge after a week of stormy weather. It reminds me of it’s power here at the south western end of Africa. The Atlantic sweeps in unhindered, a fetch of a few thousand miles from the Antarctic and crashes into the headlands with a strong booming heartbeat. For ten years I lived at sea, sailing through the Pacific and into the Caribbean, and I learned of natural rhythms and the lore of elemental forces. The sea can grip one in it’s moods and become intoxicating in command of both fear and fascination.
” Whether we like it or not, we’re all impacted by the troubles our oceans are facing.
For this challenge:
Keep in mind what we want to preserve: Share a positive experience, feeling, or impression of the ocean;( photos are good).
Then, choose or describe a commitment you are ready to make that will work toward reducing ocean stressors to keep the oceans the way we want them to be.
The UNESCO and Ocean Project information provide points for reflection… they are very BIG ideas.
I hope we will learn of other ocean-related calls-to-action that you have heard about- Please add on to recommend other resources.”
Our oceans are choking with plastic trash and I’d like to add to Jane’s and Maggie C’s suggestions in the reduction of plastic by eliminating the use of bottled water and instead using filtered stored in glass or Tritan BPA-free reusable bottles.
Use filtered water stored in glass bottles or reusable Tritan BPA-free bottles.
i stopped using shower gels a couple of years ago and now buy soap made with natural ingredients that comes in a paper bag, instead of plastic – its better for my skin as well!
Liz, your writing and photography take my breath away. I hope we end up with a big audience for the contributions to this Challenge.
The three things folks can do to decrease present and future plastics load into the oceans are so easily accomplished. To summarize suggestions to date:
– switch from one-use plastic bags to use over-and-over bag. ( OAO, hum, that could catch on!)
– avoid micro plastics in toothpaste and hygiene products
– stop use of one-use water bottles in favor of OAO glass bottles or Tritan BPA-free bottles
Nature on the Edge 
i stopped using shower gels a couple of years ago and now buy soap made with natural ingredients that comes in a paper bag, instead of plastic – its better for my skin as well!
You raise a good point, Gilly on looking at alternate packaging. Going to investigate products here and see what’s available.
Liz, your writing and photography take my breath away. I hope we end up with a big audience for the contributions to this Challenge.
The three things folks can do to decrease present and future plastics load into the oceans are so easily accomplished. To summarize suggestions to date:
– switch from one-use plastic bags to use over-and-over bag. ( OAO, hum, that could catch on!)
– avoid micro plastics in toothpaste and hygiene products
– stop use of one-use water bottles in favor of OAO glass bottles or Tritan BPA-free bottles
~Jane
Hi Jane, this is a great way to raise awareness; will certainly look more closely now for products which may include micro plastics – that’s such an insidious ingredient.
On a different tack, have you been following the new invention which has just been launched to suck up plastic in the gyres? See link – http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2415889/Boyan-Slat-19-claims-invention-clean-worlds-oceans-just-years.html Need more of this type of innovative technology!
Oh well, I just Goggle searched OAO… it already means “over and out” so re-usable, it is 😉
Too bad, it would have worked well!