There is a way of seeing the ocean as the separate — the place beyond the shore, the world apart from the land. The seeing is common, and it is false.
The ocean is the planet’s life support. The oxygen that comes from the sea, the climate that the ocean shapes, the food that it provides and the carbon that it stores — the ocean’s systems are the conditions of the life on land, and the conditions are the support. The ocean is not apart; it is the foundation.
The oxygen of the sea
The ocean makes the oxygen, and the oxygen is the air.
The phytoplankton that turns the sunlight into the oxygen — the ocean produces a large share of the oxygen that the land breathes, and the producing is the air. The breath that is taken is the ocean’s gift, and the gift is the support. The ocean is not only the water; it is the source of the air, and the source is the life.
This is why the oxygen matters: it is the air, and the air is the life.
The climate of the ocean
The ocean shapes the climate, and the shaping is the weather.
The heat that the ocean absorbs, the current that distributes it and the weather that results — the ocean shapes the climate of the land, and the shaping is the weather. The ocean is the planet’s thermostat, and the thermostat is the climate’s condition. The land that warms or cools does so by the ocean, and the by is the dependence. The ocean is the climate’s engine.
This is why the climate matters: it is the weather, and the weather is the land’s condition.
The food of the sea
The ocean provides the food, and the food is the protein.
The fish that the world eats, the food web that produces them and the coasts that host them — the ocean provides a share of the world’s protein, and the providing is the feeding. The food is the ocean’s support of the land, and the support is the sustenance. The ocean is the world’s larder, and the larder is the food.
This is why the food matters: it is the sustenance, and the sustenance is the support.
The carbon of the ocean
The ocean stores the carbon, and the storing is the service.
The carbon that the ocean absorbs, the depth that buries it and the life that banks it — the ocean stores a large share of the carbon, and the storing is the service. The service is the moderation: the ocean that absorbs the carbon is the ocean that moderates the warming, and the moderating is the land’s protection. The carbon is the ocean’s deepest service.
This is why the carbon matters: it is the service, and the service is the protection.
The system of the systems
The ocean is the system of the systems, and the systems are the connection.
The oxygen, the climate, the food and the carbon are not the separate; they are the connected — the one system that produces the oxygen, shapes the climate, provides the food and stores the carbon. The system is the connection, and the connection is the life support. The ocean is the planet’s integrated system, and the integrated is the foundation.
This is why the system matters: it is the connection, and the connection is the foundation.
The pressure on the support
The life support is under the pressure, and the pressure is the risk.
The warming that stresses the system, the acid that weakens it and the taking that depletes it — the ocean’s life support is under the pressure, and the pressure is the risk. The risk is the support’s weakening: the oxygen that lessens, the climate that shifts, the food that thins and the carbon that is stored less. The pressure is the life support’s danger, and the danger is the land’s exposure.
This is why the pressure matters: it is the risk, and the risk is the exposure.
The honest conclusion
The ocean’s systems are the planet’s life support, and the support is the foundation of the life on land.
The oxygen of the sea, the climate, the food, the carbon, the system and the pressure — the ocean is not the place apart; it is the planet’s life support, and the support is the condition.
The ocean makes the oxygen, shapes the climate, provides the food and stores the carbon. The systems are the connection, and the connection is the foundation. The life on land is lived by the ocean’s support, and the support is under the pressure. The ocean is the planet’s life support, and the keeping of it is the keeping of the life. The ocean is not apart; it is the foundation — and the foundation is the condition of everything that lives on the land.