This week is National Environmental Education Week, the nation's largest environmental education event. It's held every year the week before Earth Day to inspire environmental learning and stewardship among students and the public. This year's theme is "Ocean Connections," highlighting that no matter how far from the coast, water in every stream or river ends up in the ocean.
This year's topics include "Oceans and Weather." The ocean controls weather and climate by dominating the Earth's energy, water and carbon systems. Coastal wetlands, like salt marshes and mangrove swamps, help to shield coasts from hurricane storm surges and flooding.
We'll also learn about "Climate and Ocean Acidification." More acidic waters mean there are fewer carbonate molecules in the water available to the organisms that build their bodies out of calcium carbonate; such as coral, oysters and tiny plankton. All of these organisms are crucial for the health of ocean ecosystems that provide the fish that humans eat.
The ocean is the last and largest unexplored place on Earth — less than five percent of it has been explored. Deep below the ocean's surface is a mysterious world that takes up 95 percent of Earth's living space. It is so deep that it could hide 20 Washington Monuments stacked on top of each other. Scientists estimate that there are at least a million new species to be discovered in the deep oceans.
We'll also talk about biodiversity. The diversity of major groups of organisms is much greater in the ocean than on land. Of the 1.5 million known species on Earth, some 250,000 live in the ocean.
To learn more about "Ocean Connections" and National Environmental Education Week, check out their website at http://www.eeweek.org.
