Earth Day and World Oceans Day

In November 1962, Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin wanted to bring environmental issues into the political agenda. The first task was to persuade President John Kennedy to give visibility to this issue by going on a national conservation tour. President Kennedy liked the idea and began a five-day, eleven-state conservation tour in September 1963. This was the seed that ultimately flowered into Earth Day.

In that era of protests against war and social injustice, millions rallied to the first Earth Day and demand a change. The public demonstration of love for nature led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts. Now, every year in April, people across the world are celebrating the beauty of nature, our rivers and mountains, and wildlife.

Now fast forward about forty years: millions of acres have been established as national parks and wilderness areas and over all the air quality has improved. Nevertheless, over half of our oxygen comes from the ocean. Fish feed millions and the beauty and complexity of marine life leave us in awe. Yet today, a year after the ravages in the Gulf from the BP Oil spill, 90% of large pelagic shark species are going extinct from overfishing and for their fins. Whales and seals have been hunted to a genetic bottle neck and are hunted still. The wolves of the sea and the bluefin tuna are being fished to the vanishing point. And where is our outrage?

New oil wells are being considered along our coast while nuclear power plants hum along our shorelines vulnerable to Tsunami and earthquakes.

The ocean needs our help.

After a week of celebrating the Earth, the people decided that it's time to celebrate our ocean with World Oceans Day. This day had been unofficially celebrated every June 8 since its original proposal in 1992 by Canada at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It was officially recognized by the United Nations in 2008. Since then, WOD has been coordinated internationally by The Ocean Project and the World Ocean Network with greater success and global participation each year. World Oceans Day is an opportunity every year to honor the world's ocean, to celebrate the all marine life.