Puerto Escondido, Baja California Sur
“Eventually man… found his way back to the sea… and yet he has returned to his mother sea only on her own terms. He cannot control or change the ocean as, in his brief tenancy on earth; he subdued and plundered the continents.”
- Rachel Carson, “The Sea Around Us” (1951)
Change in this remote area of the Baja peninsula is evident. We do control the ability to alter this pristine sea. Major growth has seemingly missed much of this hidden ocean oasis with development prospering at the extreme northern and southern areas of the peninsula. Make no mistake about it; these are the good old days in Baja.
Early this afternoon the National Geographic Sea Lion embarked upon the final expedition here in Baja California this season. For the past four months the Baja peninsula brought remarkable encounters with a myriad of wildlife. The diversity and abundance of life here where the Sonoran desert meets the nutrient rich waters of the Gulf of California has to be experienced to be believed.
This evening, in an inspiring forum, Dr. Sylvia Earle, a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence, reminded us that we are responsible and capable of preservation and protection of the one ocean we all share. The belief we once held as true, that the seas were beyond man’s ability to alter, has proved to be myopic. Sylvia shared with us that 90% of many of the fish species have been over-exploited to the point of commercial extinction. And that by extracting these natural assets seemingly without limits, while at the same time dumping toxic waste back into the ocean, we are altering the very future of our planet.
But Sylvia’s message was one of hope, not despair. We hold the knowledge and ability to turn back the damage we have already done. Our generation finds itself in a unique situation as the first to face the challenges of how to feed and fulfill almost 7 billion humans here on this blue planet. Much of the protein needed for all of these folks must come from the sea, so of course alternative fishing methods must be developed and be sustainable as well. The future is ours to design, but we must take a pro-active role now if we wish to guide how it will look for coming generations.
We would like to close with this thought: There is water on this planet with no life in it, but nowhere on this planet is there life without water. The future of the oceans is the future of mankind. For more about Dr. Sylvia Earle's life-long work with the ocean, we invite you to view Ocean in Google Earth (click here).
“Eventually man… found his way back to the sea… and yet he has returned to his mother sea only on her own terms. He cannot control or change the ocean as, in his brief tenancy on earth; he subdued and plundered the continents.”
- Rachel Carson, “The Sea Around Us” (1951)
Change in this remote area of the Baja peninsula is evident. We do control the ability to alter this pristine sea. Major growth has seemingly missed much of this hidden ocean oasis with development prospering at the extreme northern and southern areas of the peninsula. Make no mistake about it; these are the good old days in Baja.
Early this afternoon the National Geographic Sea Lion embarked upon the final expedition here in Baja California this season. For the past four months the Baja peninsula brought remarkable encounters with a myriad of wildlife. The diversity and abundance of life here where the Sonoran desert meets the nutrient rich waters of the Gulf of California has to be experienced to be believed.
This evening, in an inspiring forum, Dr. Sylvia Earle, a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence, reminded us that we are responsible and capable of preservation and protection of the one ocean we all share. The belief we once held as true, that the seas were beyond man’s ability to alter, has proved to be myopic. Sylvia shared with us that 90% of many of the fish species have been over-exploited to the point of commercial extinction. And that by extracting these natural assets seemingly without limits, while at the same time dumping toxic waste back into the ocean, we are altering the very future of our planet.
But Sylvia’s message was one of hope, not despair. We hold the knowledge and ability to turn back the damage we have already done. Our generation finds itself in a unique situation as the first to face the challenges of how to feed and fulfill almost 7 billion humans here on this blue planet. Much of the protein needed for all of these folks must come from the sea, so of course alternative fishing methods must be developed and be sustainable as well. The future is ours to design, but we must take a pro-active role now if we wish to guide how it will look for coming generations.
We would like to close with this thought: There is water on this planet with no life in it, but nowhere on this planet is there life without water. The future of the oceans is the future of mankind. For more about Dr. Sylvia Earle's life-long work with the ocean, we invite you to view Ocean in Google Earth (click here).
