Today is World Oceans Day, a United Nations-recognized day of ocean celebration and action. This year’s theme is simple—Healthy oceans, healthy planet—with a focus on the problem of marine plastic, a topic I recently wrote about for Popular Science.
Around the internets, World Oceans Day has been making a lot of waves, with lots of great articles about the importance of marine environments and what all of us can do to make them healthier. It’s heartening to see the attention that this day is receiving, including the flood of posts using the hashtag on Twitter*.
Here are some of my favorites ocean posts from today:
Plankton. #AThankYouWouldBeNice for #WorldOceansDay https://t.co/ZPffQ0L9iR
— BBC Earth (@BBCEarth) June 8, 2015
How one company is turning ocean pollution into wearable fashion http://t.co/AqpRUI8wAz #WorldOceansDay pic.twitter.com/jUS8oaOhn1 — Mashable (@mashable) June 8, 2015
Explore life beneath the waves in honor of #WorldOceansDay http://t.co/pmbmb2Bwgu #WOD2015 via @googlemaps pic.twitter.com/2FONaBb3ji — Blue Ventures (@BlueVentures) June 8, 2015
Give sea creatures a break! Take the #BetterBagChallenge for #WorldOceansDay & ditch plastic http://t.co/c4nCIb4dzK pic.twitter.com/ZyLJb5EyNt — The Ocean Project (@theoceanproject) June 8, 2015
Check out my short film on the #aquarium trade, from #Philippines to NYC, Bringing the Ocean Home: https://t.co/JuGi7Ve6ha #WorldOceansDay — Kelvin D. Gorospe (@kdgorospe) June 8, 2015
Happy #WorldOceansDay! We just discovered 100+ new species in 1 of them—may we introduce you? http://t.co/rDYrOCsjjg pic.twitter.com/9lxMLAKfHB — CA AcademyOfSciences (@calacademy) June 8, 2015
On #WorldOceansDay, let @UNESCO know that you want the #GreatBarrierReef protected. http://t.co/x80fEmBFyo pic.twitter.com/2EUq5c5XEq — Stephen Fry (@stephenfry) June 8, 2015
What can you do to help make healthier oceans? NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program has some simple suggestions, as does Smithsonian’s Ocean Portal. 
Happy #WorldOceansDay @PLOS readers! #citizenscience put together 7 ocean-based projects that need your support: http://t.co/Jvf3nqGVRY — PLOS Blogs (@PLOSBlogs) June 8, 2015
Ocean optimism for #WorldOceansDay http://t.co/VqwdxBT9Bq — Jessica Carilli (@jess_carilli) June 8, 2015
*but it’s also slightly sad and sobering that it takes an international effort to draw attention to the importance of the waters that cover nearly three quarters of our planet. Shouldn’t every day be World Oceans Day?!
