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  • 6/7/2024
Every year on June 8 since 1992, World Ocean Day increases awareness of the importance of Earth's oceans, which make up 70 percent of the planet's entire surface.
Transcript
00:00World Ocean Day every year since 1992.
00:03June 8th has been devoted to protecting what covers
00:0670 percent of our oceans.
00:09Dr. Lisa Hoops is Senior Director of
00:12Research and Conservation for the Georgia Aquarium,
00:15the largest aquarium in the US.
00:18Dr. Hoops, what is the significance of World Ocean Day?
00:21What's the origin and what's the mission?
00:24Well, good morning and thanks for having me.
00:27I'm here to talk about something that's
00:29near and dear to my own heart.
00:31So thank you.
00:32As you just mentioned, the oceans
00:34cover more than 70 percent of the surface of our planet.
00:38They're really vital to regulating
00:40our weather and our climate, providing the air we breathe,
00:43and they're a key part of our water cycle.
00:45Oceans provide jobs, livelihoods.
00:48They help feed us.
00:49So we really need a healthy ocean in order
00:52to survive on planet Earth.
00:55World Ocean Day really celebrates our planet's oceans
00:59and catalyzes collective action toward a healthy ocean.
01:04So we're really here to spread the word
01:06and bring as many people along with us on this journey.
01:10Well, what dangers and threats are oceans facing
01:12and what can we do to protect the oceans?
01:16Yeah, we've got quite a few challenges ahead of us
01:19when we think about how we get to and maintain healthy oceans.
01:23We're battling things like climate change and overfishing,
01:26pollution, ocean noise, vessel strikes, ecosystem loss,
01:32oil spills.
01:32So those really feel like big challenges
01:36that we need to work toward and get better at managing.
01:40And how do you all at the Georgia Aquarium
01:42simulate ocean environments and educate those who visit?
01:45Well, thank you.
01:46I think Georgia Aquarium is really
01:48a place that captures the hearts and minds of our guests.
01:52We hope to inspire them to make small changes
01:55in their everyday life that can really
01:57have a big impact on our oceans and the animals that
02:01inhabit them.
02:02We do this by sharing some messages of hope
02:05and sharing some of the research and conservation
02:07efforts that we're involved in that we really
02:10hope inspire our guests to make small actions
02:14in their own lives that can help protect our oceans.

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