Living currents

MOST OF THE LIFE on our blue planet is swirling and waving, seething and writhing down here, its ever-rippling currents flowing through each fabulous creature and every fantastical plant of the deep. From crabs and corals and starfish to octupus, turtles and whales, the ocean reflects the infinite creativity of existence. So many marvellous life forms in such a rainbow of colours and patterns – all for its own amazement. 

For this display of magnificence was not made for human eyes. Though we sometimes float in fragile vessels upon its sparkling surface, and occasionally descend a while into its mysterious depths, we can never be at home in this watery realm. And yet, as we share with it an ultimate source in the sun, so our land-based existence forms a single web of life with the sea. Our actions affect the part of the web that lies submerged, and it is to humanity's charge that these once abundant living currents are no longer so rich and vital. We, too, are much the poorer for that...