We don't have to be that greedy generation that just continued to take down the underpinnings of what makes the planet work in our favor.

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.

By the end of the 20th century, up to 90 percent of the sharks, tuna, swordfish, marlins, groupers, turtles, whales, and many other large creatures that prospered in the Gulf for millions of years had been depleted by overfishing.

We still have 10 percent of the sharks. We still have half of the coral reefs. However, if we wait another 50 years, opportunities might well be gone.

Most of life on Earth has a deep past, much deeper than ours. And we have benefited from the distillation of all preceding history, call it evolutionary history if you will.

'Green' issues at last are attracting serious attention, owing to critically important links between the environment and the economy, health, and our security.

Give the ocean a break. Give yourself a break.