World Oceans Day 2015

To my loyal ocean supporters,

You know how important and vital the oceans are to our survival.

So this is the day, World Oceans Day, that we have the honor and obligation to share this message with the rest of the world. It is time for action.

The oceans drive climate and weather patterns, generates more than 70% of our oxygen we breathe, feeds the clouds so it can rain, provides food for millions of people and is a deep inspiration to our spirits. Most importantly, the oceans sustain all life on this planet. But we are using up the water planet’s natural resources faster than nature can replenishes itself. It now takes approximately 18 months for the Earth to regenerate what we use in one year. The urgent threats we are facing today - most notably climate change, but also biodiversity loss, shrinking forests, declining fisheries and freshwater stress - are symptoms of this trend. We are going towards bankruptcy when it comes to the available raw materials given to us by nature.

In Paris this December, world leaders are coming together for the UN Climate Change Conference to discuss the consequences of human accelerated climate change. Before this happens in December, we need our leaders to commit to concrete actions to reduce global carbon emissions, set tangible carbon reduction goals, and create energy policies that use nature’s renewable energies from the sun, the winds, and the tides. It can be done. It needs to happen now.

It starts with each one of us. It’s our love and passion that motivates change. Talk to your friends, your neighbors, and your families. Every single one of us can take action TODAY.

Let us all be that change and move towards a bluer, more sustainable future and come together and celebrate all the treasures the oceans provides and do everything we can to make sure our futures generations have the same privilege today.

The latest oil spill at Refugio beach near Santa Barbara, California, reminds all of us that dangerous spills will continue to happen every day if we remain dependent on fossil fuels. Oil spills not only harm the environment and its valuable resources, but also endanger people, cleanup workers, and local communities for decades to come. Our good friends at the NRDC have set up a petition to President Obama to end our dependence on fossil fuels. Please stand with us to make real changes to protect our future.

Another way OFS is taking action today is by actively participating in what we feel is an invaluable way of connecting the dive industry with ocean experts through the Blue Ocean Business Summit and discussing opportunities to embrace ocean protection. A healthy dive industry is fundamentally linked to a healthy ocean.

Protect the Ocean and You Protect Yourself

Warm regards,