Life in Ocean (by Chun Yu Chen CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 via Flickr).
Life in Ocean (by Chun Yu Chen CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 via Flickr).

– Oceanographic Magazine (05-06-2025)

Excerpt:
For the first time in almost 100 years, Sir David is telling a story like never before because Ocean – a feature-length film and a production atypical to anything that has come before it – is not just a love-letter to the planet’s support system but a direct call to arms to protect it.

“After almost 100 years on the planet, I now understand the most important place on Earth is not on land, but at sea,” says Sir David Attenborough, a man who – having spent his working life documenting the world of natural history – is about to launch what he has called “one of the most important films of his career” on the eve of entering his one hundredth year.Perhaps for the first time in those 100 years, Sir David is telling a story like never before because Ocean, a feature-length film and a production atypical to anything that has come before it – is not just a love-letter to the planet’s support system but a profound and direct call to arms to protect it. Not for the sake of nature. But for the sake of ourselves.

Afforded a cinematic production released this Thursday, May 8 before being rolled out to Disney+ later this year, Ocean meets Sir David reflecting on a lifetime in natural history television and feature production with a blue carpet premiere tonight at the Royal Festival Hall. 

“If we save the sea, we save our world,” says Sir David who this weekend admitted in an exclusive interview with The Times that he “won’t get to see the ocean’s recovery and restoration” but that the ‘young children seen playing on the beach today’ very well may do. At the very least, they will get to witness “perhaps the most consequential time for the human species in the past 10,000 years.”

Sir David will not get to see how that story plays out. But in Ocean – a co-production between the likes of Silverback Studios, OpenPlanet, The National Geographic, Arksen, and many other collaborative partners – he is certainly delivering his final attempt to steer the narrative. Because in Ocean, the world finally gets to see it all; the ocean in all its glory and wonder – the kind of visuals followers of Sir David’s career are already so used to seeing – contrast with the destruction being wrought upon it. All of it, closer than ever before.

Ocean with Sir David Attenborough will take viewers on a breathtaking journey to show there really is nowhere more vital for our survival, more full of life, wonder, or surprise than the ocean that covers 70% of our planet. Through spectacular sequences featuring coral reefs, kelp forests, and the open ocean, Sir David brings home the very reason why a healthy ocean keeps the entire planet stable and flourishing.

“My lifetime has coincided with the great age of ocean discovery,” says Sir David. “Over the last one hundred years, scientists and explorers have revealed remarkable new species, epic migrations, and dazzling, more complex ecosystems beyond anything I could have imagined as a young man.

“In this film, we share some of those wonderful discoveries, uncover why our ocean is in such poor health, and – perhaps most importantly – show how it can be restored to health…”

Disposable Planet (Explore) by Yam Amir CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 via Flickr.
Disposable Planet (Explore) by Yam Amir CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 via Flickr.

– Grist (05-02-2025)

Excerpt:
“The moment you open a plastic water bottle, around 50,000 microplastic particles fall into your beverage – not counting the plastic that’s leached from being stored in heat before it hits the fridge,” says Jane van Dis, an OB-GYN and plastics and health expert…

Microplastics have been found everywhere on Earth and in every part of the human body where scientists have looked.

Even organs that have additional protective barriers – think the blood-brain barrier or the blood-testis barrier – have proved no match for keeping out these tiny particles, which form as larger plastic objects break down or shed into our air, water, and food. 

Even newborns taking their first breath have already been doused in many plastic-related chemicals. Many of these chemicals are endocrine disruptors, meaning they can mimic or interfere with the body’s hormone signals.

It has become impossible to ignore: Tiny fragments of plastic and the chemicals used to make them are everywhere.

We also have mounting evidence that they harm our health.

But it is possible to reduce our exposure. 

“There are safe and simple steps we can all take to reduce exposure that don’t require a Ph.D. in chemistry, and they don’t have to break the bank,” said Leonardo Transande, professor of pediatrics at NYU Grossman School of Medicine during a panel discussion on March 2, 2025, exploring the health impact of plastics at the Medical Society Consortium on Climate Change and Health.

We eat them, drink them, inhale them, and even chew on them every time we gnaw on a piece of gum

It doesn’t take much for microplastics and the chemical additives used to give plastic its flexibility, durability, or color to shed or leach out into the surrounding environment. This can be particularly worrisome when plastic is used to store or cover the food we eat or the water we drink…

Beaches | Coasts of the Month . . .

Photos of the Month . . .

The Santa Aguila Foundation has launched SandKids.org, a website focused on coastal issues specifically designed for younger audiences.

Through character driven and engaging storytelling, this newly launched site seeks to reinforce the natural curiosity and awe that all children have about their physical world, to impart knowledge and wonder, while also inspiring and empowering them act in environmentally conscious ways.

Children will join the SandKids: Sunny, Aguila, Lily, Skylar and Poppy, on coastal adventures full of discovery. The first episode of Sand Tales, “From the Mountain to the Sea” is available to view now.

Additional episodes will follow, and the plan is to create an online library of multilingual and audio-accessible resources that foster a love and connection to the coast that promotes a healthy sense of belonging and encourages sustainable practices and conservation efforts.

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