Resource Sheet 1: Gifts From the Ocean

The big drink. The briny deep. The bounding main. Call it what you will, the ocean is vital to all life on Earth. No one who has seen our planet from space would call it "Earth," but, rather, "Oceania," since water and ice cover nearly three-quarters of its surface. The continents we live on are islands in the midst of vast, flowing currents. Wherever we live — big city, prairie, mountain, forest, riverside, tundra, or coast — we could not survive without the ocean and its living communities. What gifts do we get from ocean communities?

• Multitudes of ocean plants, particularly tiny algae called phytoplankton, provide almost half the oxygen we breathe; they remove more carbon dioxide — the main cause of global warming — from the air than all the Earth's rain forests combined.
• The ocean is a submarine supermarket, nourishing us with fish, shellfish, and many other edible products. For example, carrageenan from red algae is used to thicken milk shakes and to make peanut butter spreadable.
• The ocean is a floating pharmacy, helping us with antibiotics from marine fungi, anti-leukemia drugs from sea sponges, and anti-infection agents from kelp. They provide a laboratory for medical research. For instance, researchers are investigating sharks because of their immunity to diseases like cancer.
• Ocean habitats, especially coastal zones, support an amazing array of plants and animals, which we need to maintain the Earth's biodiversity, of biological diversity. The ocean supports many species well known to people in the interior of the continent. For instance, numerous fish and bird species migrate between ocean and inland habitats. Ocean biodiversity contributes to the ability of all ecosystems to resist and recover from the pressures humans place on them.
• The ocean provides us with recreational opportunities, such as fishing and scuba diving.
• The ocean is a huge weather machine. Its waters evaporate in the sun's warmth to form water vapour, which falls to the Earth as rain, fog, or snow. This water, which living things need to survive, then flows back to sea. The ocean absorbs huge amounts of heat and prevents the Earth's temperature from rising or falling too drastically. Ocean currents, always on the move, control climate too. Extreme heat waves, droughts, and snow storms can also be traced to the ocean.
• Add to this list such miscellaneous gifts from the sea as diatom shells used in swimming pool filters and sea bird "guano" (feces), sometimes used to fertilize crops.
• And let's not ignore the ocean's ability to satisfy our spiritual needs, soothing us and inspiring creativity.