People tend to appreciate the oceans for specific things: the beaches, boating, the abundance of fish or the ease of transporting goods…but we may underestimate the abundance with which these bodies of water, that comprise 70% of our planet, provide. They supply most of our water, through rain. They are the architects of our climates, absorbing the heat of the sun that otherwise would scorch the earth, and moving that heat around the planet, creating warmth in cold climates.
They absorb the carbon in the atmosphere and create 50-80% of Earth’s oxygen through phytoplankton and other plants. More than 3 billion people depend on the oceans for their livelihoods. In the very near future, Seabased and other ocean energy companies intend that the oceans will supply a significant portion of our energy with clean, renewable ocean waves and tides. The Ocean Energy Council states that an average 4-foot, 10-second wave striking a coast puts out more than 35,000 horsepower per mile of coast.
They are the largest and most powerful influence on our planet, and yet we know more about our galaxy than about our oceans. Scientists believe more than 80% of the oceans are unmapped. And roughly 90% of the species in the oceans have yet to be discovered.
World Oceans Day is an opportunity to learn more about this unfathomable resource that, vast though it is, requires our protection.
Seabased hopes to soon be providing clean, utility-scale commercial energy to help people and communities around the world thrive. But we’re doing so in a way that also protects the precious resource that makes this possible. Happy World Oceans Day.