The oceans might be scary, but they’re delightful, too

Regarding the July 11 Style article Waving goodbye to the ocean this summer : There are wild and scary things about the ocean. And there are wild and wonderful things about the ocean. It is this push and pull that has horrified, delighted and fascinated us for millennia. Take a moment to delight in the oceans indescribable wonders. Think of the bioluminescence (the emission of light by living organisms) that has astounded us off the coast of Australia, for example. Or the giant ocean currents that act like the worlds slowest and oldest conveyor belts, moving water around our incredible ocean planet and taking 1,000 years to complete a cycle . And the lifesaving uses of things that live in the ocean, such as Icelandic cod skin being used to treat burn victims. You dont have to dip a single toe in the water to delight in these things. In his April 2 op-ed, When doom is in fashion, joy becomes countercultural , David Von Drehle wrote that well never solve our many crises without one ingredient. That one ingredient is delight, or joy. There is so much to delight in about the ocean, and, equally, there is so much that is threatening the ocean, from climate change to plastic pollution. My hope is that everyone this summer finds a moment or two to delight in a trip to the beach, because we have to love something to want to save it. Janis Searles Jones , Portland, Ore. The writer is chief executive of Ocean Conservancy.