Going Down Into the Sea, to Save It

 HENRI LeMer grew up on the north shore of the Mediterranean, watching Jaques Cousteau documentaries and staring out at the blue infinity in wonder. He learned to scuba dive at eighteen, and pursued a career in academia, studying and teaching oceanography. he discovered firsthand that the Mediterranean he so loved was barren beneath the waves, bereft of all life in large sections of . he had learned from Cousteau that this ought not to be, and wouldn't be were it not for human profligacy. Increasingly alarmed over the years, he at last realized that he was spending his time teaching the obituary of the world's oceans, and resolved to start doing something  instead of just talking about it. He resigned the academy, joined National Geographic, and began work on the Pristine Ocean Project. That's when his education, both learning and teaching, really began. the pristine ocean project, he found out, is the greatest thing since the slicing of bread. It persuaded the Mexican government, for example, to turn a large of ocean off its coast into a wildlife sanctuary, free from all human interaction. The region, long over fished and devoid of life, a wasteland,  suddenly left alone, rebounded and became flourishing area of abundant life within an amazingly short time, which shocked and amazed scientists. This game plan, because of its immense success, is rapidly gaining popularity as many nations are doing similar projects, but the projects are gaining momentum too slowly; as of now only about seven percent of the ocean area of the world is similarly protected wilderness. We need much more than that. Henri LeMer is happier now that he is helping to save the planet rather than talking about is destruction, and the rest of us would be too, he assures us. I still feel a sense of accomplishment at having planted twenty saplings when i bought a vacant lot and built a small house on i sixteen years ago.t. they are now huge forty foot trees. I feel I've made a small but meaningful contribution. Maybe it would have been better to have planted even more trees and omitted the house, but, better than nothing. In each of us in an Henri LeMer ,a good person dedicates to saving the oceans, the land, and ourselves. If we can do it in the oceans, we can do it on land, because the land has shown us that it can and will heal equally fast, if only we allow it.