🌊 National Oceans Month 🏖

More than 70% of our world is covered in oceans, and 80% of those oceans are unexplored--frontiers that have yet to be reached. Do some sea creatures look like alien beings? That may be because they come from a world not yet seen by human eyes. Explore the creatures that we can identify in Reef Creature Identification or The Encyclopedia of Aquatic Life, or the fantastical Monsters of the Sea.

The oceans are precious resources that humans need for food, travel, salt, and most importantly, the oxygen we breathe. Believe it or not, seaweed produces the majority of the oxygen that we use. These benefits are now threatened by a changing climate and pollution that finds its way into the oceans. Check out Ocean's End that demonstrates the state of our oceans and those that are trying to push back against the damage that is being done. 

As long as humans have been sailing, they have known that the sea is the master--we are at her mercy. In The Perfect Storm, learn about the true story of the Andrea Gail and her crew, a swordfishing ship that was caught in a horrific storm in 1991. Or go back in time to 1819, with the true story of the whaleship Essex, which was sunk by an angry whale (not too different from what is happening now in Gibraltar with some angry Orcas) and the crew that was forced into cannibalism in the book In the Heart of the Sea.

The ocean can be hard mistress, but without the benefits that the sea provides, humans would not exist. This month we want to draw attention to protecting our oceans, keeping them clean, and respecting the creatures that live beneath the surface.