Far and away, the greatest threat to the ocean, and thus to ourselves, is ignorance. But we can do something about that.

For humans, the Arctic is a harshly inhospitable place, but the conditions there are precisely what polar bears require to survive - and thrive. 'Harsh' to us is 'home' for them. Take away the ice and snow, increase the temperature by even a little, and the realm that makes their lives possible literally melts away.

There are now more than 4,000 places in the sea around the world that have some kind of protection. The bad news: You have to look hard to find them. What you find instead is destructive fishing, mining, gas and oil exploration.

When I first ventured into the Gulf of Mexico in the 1950s, the sea appeared to be a blue infinity too large, too wild to be harmed by anything that people could do.

The ocean governs the climate and the weather, it is taking care of the temperature and it is shaping the chemistry of our planet.

The most important part is to take on the challenge of protecting the ocean as if your life depends on it - because it does.

If you think the ocean isn't important, imagine Earth without it. Mars comes to mind. No ocean, no life support system.