What the ocean does for us and what can we do for the ocean

Life began and evolved in the ocean: About 4 billion years ago, life started in the ocean in the form of anaerobic bacteria, that is - bacteria that do not use oxygen to make energy. They didn't use oxygen, since there wasn't any oxygen on the planet. 

Oxygen came along, only through its production by photosynthetic marine organisms, millions of years ago. This oxygen generated the ozon layer that protected earth from the sun radiation and enabled life to get out of the ocean and inhabit the land.

Today, 50% of our oxygen is produced by marine organisms. The oceans absorb the heat and life within it uptake greenhouse gasses from the atmosphere and by that, they slow down global warming and climate change.  

Yet the increasing temperatures of the water reduce the oxygen in the ocean which endangers marine life. We, at the department of marine biology investigate life in the ocean so we can protect them and maintain the ocean healthy.

But we must all change our ways to maintain life in the oceans. Don't wait for governmental decisions and rules - start today: walk instead of driving, share the drive, reduce the use of plastic, reuse and recycle it, talk to other people and affect them. Tick tock it, Instagram it: together we can save the oceans and by that, save ourselves!  

Smadar explains about what the oceans do for us and what we can do for the oceans