Ian Angus

Triple crisis in the Anthropocene Ocean

By Ian Angus

November 19, 2020 — Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal reposted from Climate & Capitalism — It is impossible to overstate the importance of the ocean to life on Earth. Covering 71% of the planet’s surface, it contains 97% of the world’s surface water and is central to the great biogeochemical cycles that define the biosphere and make life possible. Marine plants generate half of the world’s breathable oxygen.

Millions of species of animals live in the ocean. Seafood is a primary source of protein for three billion people, and hundreds of millions work in the fishing industry.

The ocean’s metabolism — the constant flows and exchanges of energy and matter that have continued for hundreds of millions of years — is a vital part of the Earth System. As famed oceanographer Sylvia Earle writes, our fate and the ocean’s are inextricably intertwined.

A vision of democratic ecosocialism

 
 
Hans Baer: “Democratic eco-socialism rejects a statist, growth-oriented, productivist ethic and recognize