June 8th is World Oceans Day! 

The planet we call “Earth” is full of water, with about 70% of its surface covered in oceans. Oceans are a major source of life, providing as much as half the world’s oxygen, and are home to the majority of Earth’s wildlife, according to the United Nations.  Additionally, oceans are an abundant food source for millions of people. The UN reports that industries that rely on oceans will employ about 40 million people around the world over the next decade.

Despite the beauty and vast biodiversity of our oceans, their future looks grim. The UN states that about 90% of large fish populations are vanishing and half of coral reefs are dead. Oceans are dying because of human activity. Not only are we polluting our precious oceans, we are also damaging them through overfishing. To save our oceans, we need to develop a more balanced and sensitive relationship with them. 

Want to save our oceans? A great way to start is to take part in World Oceans Day!

What is World Oceans Day? 

The UN founded World Oceans Day in 1992. The goal of World Oceans Day is to educate the public about how humans are impacting the ocean, develop an international movement that advocates for our oceans, and to inspire and unite people around the world to take action to save them.

This year’s theme is “The Ocean: Life and Livelihoods.” The day aims to “shed light on the wonder of the ocean and how it is our life source, supporting humanity and every other organism on Earth.” Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the celebration will be held virtually on June 8th for the second year in a row. 

Check out the full list of virtual events and learn more about World Oceans Day. 

TryEngineering Tuesday: Ocean Engineering

The inaugural issue of TryEngineering Tuesday is all about Ocean Engineering. Hear Brandy Armstrong and Hari Vishnu from IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society talk about oceanic engineering in this IEEE TryEngineering Tuesday.