Oceans: and the Future of the Human Race

ABOUT THE BOOK:- We have lived with the Oceans and utilized its services since time immemorial. We are drawn to the sea, for the coasts offer many benefits to local communities. Indeed we don't need to live near the beach to be connected to the Ocean. Oceans, a critical player in the basic elements we need to survive, affect our lives every day in various ways, around the world. Ocean plants produce half of the world's oxygen we breathe. The single Ocean (with its many named parts) harbors an enormous amount of the planet's biodiversity; it's the largest habitat on Earth, yet we know so little about it. The Oceans cover 71 per cent of the Earth's surface and contain 97 per cent of the planet's water. Logically, our planet is misnamed - it should be called Planet Ocean and not Planet Earth. No matter what we say about it, there is always that which we can't. The influence of the vast Oceans on the Human Race is a fascinating subject for analysis and insights derived from intellectual inquiry. This diverse and complex subject necessarily requires a blending of knowledge from different disciplines. Human well-being as it relates to the condition of the Oceans spread across the globe and its nexus with social issues is very much part of the Human Race. Very basic and simple concerns relate to food and nutrition that are derived on a large scale from the Ocean resources. The history of the world has itself been shaped essentially by the ability of the Human Race to master transportation across the Oceans and the ability to access and utilize a range of resources from marine structures, including hydrocarbons, minerals and a wealth of other resources, which in a variety ways have become a part of daily human existence. Oceans can also take lives. Coastal civilizations can be wiped out as is witnessed in many ancient parables, myths and religions. It means, Oceans are, at the same time, both master and servant to the Human Race. Unfortunately, today we are also altering, a