The living ocean drives planetary chemistry, governs climate and weather, and otherwise provides the cornerstone of the life-support system for all creatures on our planet, from deep-sea starfish to desert sagebrush. That's why the ocean matters. If the sea is sick, we'll feel it. If it dies, we die. Our future and the state of the oceans are one.

We have become frighteningly effective at altering nature.

There is not a well-funded campaign among scientists to say, "Look, here's the evidence. You can read it yourself. Here are the facts. We're not making this up."

I want to get out in the water. I want to see fish, real fish, not fish in a laboratory.

Childcare is a huge issue for young women whose work may require them to leave their families for weeks at a time.

This much is certain: We have the power to damage the sea, but no sure way to heal the harm.

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.