World Oceans Day: let’s talk about our relationship with water

Hello, world. It’s us. The world’s oceans.

Today (June 8) is the United Nations (UN) World Oceans Day and this year’s theme is Reimagine: Beyond the World We Know, A New Relationship With Our Ocean. So, we figured it’s a good time to talk about that relationship.

After all, you can’t live without us. And we can’t stay healthy without you.

Five fast facts about oceans on World Oceans Day

1. Oceans cover 71 per cent of Earth’s surface area.
2. Oceans make up 97 per cent of all water on the planet.
3. More than 240,000 animal species live in the ocean.
4. Nearly 50 per cent of all oxygen on Earth is produced by the ocean.
5. Less than 10 per cent of the world’s oceans have been explored.

For thousands of years, we’ve lived side-by-side. You’ve built cities along our coasts, where more than half your population now live. You’ve sailed across us to explore the other side of the planet. You’ve relied on us to support everything from culture to industry, and entertainment to recreation.

All that we ask in return is for you to respect us, protect the life that lives within us and to keep us clean.

And well, our relationship is getting…complicated.

What's gone wrong?

We understand. As oceans, we’re big. We cover more than 361 million square kilometres and you can fit all the land on the planet into the Pacific Ocean alone.

We’re endless. But we’re not limitless. And that’s where the disconnect can be found.

For as much as you’ve fished out of us, spilled into us, extracted from us or built atop of us, there was a belief that we could absorb it all. That we could just replenish and restore ourselves forever and ever.

We can’t. We just can’t.

Here’s what’s happening to us every year:

• Up to 12 million tons of plastic are dumped into us.
• We absorb around 90 per cent of excess heat from global warming.
• Approximately 131 million tons of seafood are fished from us.
• Roughly 1.3 million metric tons of oil are spilled into us.

Unfortunately, we don’t see these numbers decreasing unless your behavior changes.

To change how you treat us, you first need to change how you think about us.

• Where is the dirtiest water in the world? Everyone should have access to clean water. However, these 10 countries have some of the dirtiest water in the world. Let’s change that.

It’s not “their water” or “your water”. It’s just water for everyone

The water a child splashes through in the Caribbean may one day drift past Iceland.

The Atlantic wave that knocks down your sandcastle (sorry about that) may eventually carry nutrients to a coral reef in Australia.

The water beneath a surfboard in California is connected to the water beneath a fishing boat in the Philippines.

Technically, there are five named large oceans (from largest to least large):

• Pacific Ocean
• Atlantic Ocean
• Indian Ocean
• Southern Ocean (sometimes called the Antarctic Ocean)
• Arctic Ocean

But we’re all connected. We’d love for you to think of us as one ocean—taking care of everyone and cared for by everyone.

On World Oceans Day, we may be out of sight—but don’t keep us out of mind

Not everyone can live near us or visit us.

However, we must admit that it’s awesome when we’re together.

We love it when you visit us on the beach and dive in for a swim. We’ll gently sing and wave to you as you sit on the deck of a ship. And it’s awesome when you look down on us as you fly between continents.

But we’d really appreciate it if you thought about us when we’re out of sight, too.

Take a plastic bottle, for instance. It gets tossed on the street and may eventually find its way into a storm drain. Then, into a river. And finally, into the ocean. Into us.

• Do you know about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? It’s actually not great at all. It’s a large swirling mess of plastic and other debris that’s bigger than Texas and growing bigger every year.

This goes back to the single, interconnected ocean concept we just talked about. It’s hard to picture a plastic bottle that’s on a sidewalk in, say, Mississauga, where World Vision Canada is headquartered, ending up in an ocean on the other side of the world.

But it can. And it does.

If we could, we’d pick it up ourselves. Unfortunately, we can’t.

However, you can.

About the AI data centre thing

We understand that artificial intelligence (AI) is kind of a big deal right now. Companies are using it to make things more efficient. People are using it to spark imagination.

Even organizations like World Vision are embracing AI to strengthen emergency responses.

Those are all good things.

But we’d just like to remind you that every breakthrough requires resources:

• Wooden ships needed timber.
• Steamships needed coal.
• Airplanes needed fuel.

And AI needs water. Lots of it.

• Insatiable: the truth behind AI's thirst for water. AI is here to stay. That means finding ways to balance responsible AI usage with responsible water consumption and conservation.

By 2030, AI data centres could consume 9.3 trillion litres of water annually.

That’s enough water to meet the needs of 1.3 billion people.

We know that most AI data centres rely on our freshwater cousins to keep their servers cool. But some facilities located near our coasts use seawater in conjunction with freshwater.

But ultimately, rivers, lakes, groundwater, freshwater and ocean water are all part of the same interconnected water cycle. And what affects one eventually affects the others.

We’re not saying that AI is the villain of this story.

We’re just reminding you that every convenience has a cost. And that while your technologies are getting smarter, the resources they depend on aren’t becoming any less precious.

Let’s reimagine our relationship on World Oceans Day

Let’s reimagine our relationship on World Oceans Day

We hope we didn’t come across as too harsh or tough. That wasn’t our intention.

Yet, we felt it important to re-emphasize just how much we rely on each other.

Relationships are built on give and take. Throughout your history, you’ve taken food from us. You’ve established trade routes across us. You’ve had fun with us. You’ve built communities beside us.

And we’ve been happy to do it.

But healthy relationships also require respect, care and responsibility.

This World Oceans Day, we aren’t asking for perfection. We don’t want you to stop innovating or travelling or enjoying what we have to offer.

We’re simply asking you to do two things:

1. Think

• Think about our limits. Think about the connection between your daily choices and the vast ocean that covers most of this world.

2. Act

• Pick up litter. Protect rivers. Help communities access clean water. Use water resources responsibly.

Relationships don't improve overnight. They improve one choice at a time.

After all, you can't live without us.

And we can't stay healthy without you.