Last week, people across the planet took to social media to celebrate #WorldOceansDay. While not everyone had the opportunity to make it to the coast and see the ocean first hand, people everywhere are feeling the benefits of a healthy ocean:

• Oceans regulate global weather and temperature.
• Oceans produce half of the world’s oxygen.
• Oceans provide 200 billion pounds of food a year.
• Oceans are the destination for one in 10 vacations worldwide. People everywhere enjoy visiting or living near the ocean.

Just as the ocean’s benefits reach every corner of the Earth, so does the task of protecting them. Every action you take to lessen your carbon impact, protect local waterways, and beautify your community has ripple effects all the way to the sea.

This World Oceans Day, we saw people taking amazing and unique action in their communities:

• My wife, Ashlan Cousteau, & I planted dune grasses with LaMer’s Blue Heart initiative in New Jersey.
• Boy Scouts across the country engaged with their local waters with World Water Monitoring Challenge.  
• Classrooms in the mid-Atlantic wrapped up the school year and installed their rain barrels with help from Barrels by the Bay.  
• An 11-year old from Costa Rica asked people everywhere to take the “No Straw Challenge.”

What are you doing to help protect our water planet? Share your stories with us using our Project Reporting Form or on social media using #OurEcho.  

Sincerely,

Philippe Cousteau Jr.

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