July 20, 2009
Oceans Are the Answer
BY: CaitlinF
Oceans have always been, and still are, the solution to many of Earth’s problems, argues Sam Waterston, an esteemed actor currently in Law & Order and also on Oceana’s board of directors, in an op-ed piece in Friday’s The Miami Herald. The oceans have been a source of food and wealth, a barrier to unwanted threats, and a sink for our waste and carbon dioxide. But the seas are also giving us a clear warning sign that something’s seriously wrong: ocean acidification. Fortunately, Waterston argues, “the oceans are ready to be a solution.” From offshore wind power to tidal power, the oceans offer, once again, a stable answer to our problems. “Carbon dioxide in the sea is the front line of climate change,” he writes. “Reverse the trend toward ocean acidification, and we will have made a giant stride in addressing the impacts of climate change. The sea is warning us to change course and calling us to seize enormous opportunities. Now.”