Before I begin, let me warn you, I do not have an affinity with the written word. Imagination may come naturally to me but writing comes from somewhere different, somewhere harder to reach. I wrestle with my words and words almost always win, tidying themselves back to that hard-to-reach place, forever a secret to the world.
But there are days that I do win. Sometimes I feel the pressure of a deadline bearing down upon me, anticipation will fill my chest and I can’t sleep until I get the words out right… and I suppose that brings us to the present, T minus two hours (as Lucy would say) until it’s time to drive to the airport. But it makes me worried that I respond only to the pressure of an imminent deadline (in this case, having a plane to catch).
It makes me worried because our oceans have a deadline.
The state of our oceans affects every human on this planet, yet most of us do nothing to help protect it, many are even actively harming our oceans without realising it. As a global nation when will we feel the pressure to work together to protect our ocean? Do we have to wait for it’s complete collapse? When all our coral reefs are bleached? When our fish stocks are depleted entirely? Are these the watery equivalents of a university paper that’s due tomorrow morning? I hope not.
I want to start acting before it’s too late. And that’s my reason for attending this year’s Ocean Conference.
I don’t want to wait until the deadline for our oceans.
It could be deadly.
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All posts by Institute delegates reflect their own thoughts, opinions and experiences, and do not reflect those of the Institute.