By Jane Bauer

How inappropriate to call this planet Earth when it is quite clearly Ocean. Arthur C. Clarke

Unless you live in a place where you not only have ocean view but you can actually get in, it is pretty easy to forget about the ocean. Growing up in Montreal- an island in the middle of the St-Lawrence’s river, I cannot think of an instance where my life was inconvenienced by roaring seas- just snow and ice storms.

The ocean was merely a scalloped edge across a page with a boat floating on the surface. You might think that history classes with tales of Columbus, Jacques Cartier and Champlain ‘discovering’ the new world would have touched upon the magnitude of the big blue- but nothing prepared me for the awesomeness of it.

It wasn’t until my Mexican life that I began to experience the grandiose sweeping Ocean. Body surfing the Zipolite waves was an eye opener to just how small we are, seeing a pod of dolphins a reminder of how much we share this planet with other creatures and snorkeling the shores near my home was like falling down the rabbit hole.

It is one of the saddest things when I see those pictures of ocean damage; marine animals covered in garbage, oil slicks and the islands that serve as monuments to human consumption that float out in the deep. So what can we do to live better? What can we do to honor and take care of our Oceans? Like the ad campaign for responsible dog ownership which said ‘A dog is for life, not just for Christmas.’ so we must treat the Oceans- not just something to be concerned about when we are on holiday but for our lifetime and beyond.

We hope this issue will inspire you to care. Not just care a little bit where you think it is interesting and worthy, but to really care. See our tips on how to immerse yourself in the ocean….