It has taken these many hundreds of millions of years to fine-tune the Earth to a point where it is suitable for the likes of us.

If the sea is sick, we'll feel it. If it dies, we die. Our future and the state of the oceans are one.

Evolution is not something to be feared. It's to be celebrated, embraced, and understood.

There is an enormous amount to be learned about the sea; like most wildernesses, it has great potential.

Great attention gets paid to rainforests because of the diversity of life there. Diversity in the oceans is even greater.

We couldn't go to the moon on whale oil. We don't have the capacity yet to consider doing such things as harnessing current sunlight. We're burning ancient sunlight in order to get us to where we now are. But it's costly.

Protecting vital sources of renewal - unscathed marshes, healthy reefs, and deep-sea gardens - will provide hope for the future of the Gulf, and for all of us.