1st of March 2024. Wait… are we in March already? Time is slipping away. Regardless of the month, I keep thinking is 2024, we are almost halfway through the Ocean Decade [2020-2030] and that’s scary. If you haven’t heard of it, we are in a key decade to make radical changes to preserve the ocean and reverse a planetary crisis. It sounds like a science fiction disaster film (Wow! Long film category). The Day After Tomorrow, Ocean Risins, The Wave… better to keep those titles on the IMDb rating than tomorrow’s papers.

We should seriously care about the ocean. Way further than contemplating it and taking selfies at crystal clear beaches. The ocean provides half the oxygen we breathe, plays a crucial role in climate stability, keeps ecosystems functioning, we rely on it to grow food plus other million reasons. I do not intend to replicate an episode of Sir David Attenborough, just to tell a simple message: oceans make our planet habitable.

The first time I heard of the Ocean Decade was back in 2020, when our dynamic duo Martha&Lucy worked on our first project. While doing my research, I discovered ‘Nature is speaking‘, an amazing campaign by Conservation International (CI) launched in 2014. Ten years later the message is still powerful. Nature doesn’t need people, People need nature.

Julia Roberts, Harrison Ford, Edward Norton, Penélope Cruz, Robert Redford… great casting there. A big list of celebrities joining forces to give the planet a voice. All the executions of the campaign are faultless, you should click on all of them.

We call out many companies for greenwashing; nevertheless, as individuals, we are not making big changes either. We want to help the world but can’t be bothered washing that plastic before recycling it. We want to walk instead of driving but then we are always in a rush. We talk about reusing items but we keep ordering new clothes online. We worry about the future but prefer planning for the next holiday with plenty of CO2 emissions. Don’t take me wrong, I’m using ‘WE’ as I’m telling you the truth and realizing we can do more is the next step.

I wonder how many people truly take action after watching an environmental campaign. Do we worry for 5 min and then switch to the next tab?