FOCUS: WATER
"What we do to the world's waters, we do to ourselves. All life needs water. We need water. Any harm we do to the ocean or the fresh water really comes back to us. And anything we can do to take care of the water means that's good for us, too."
- Dr. Sylvia Earle, Ph.D., aka "Her Deepness," American oceanographer, 1935 - present
There are those who believe water isn't merely a substance, that it is also a sacred being, an elemental spirit. Some believe Planet Earth itself is alive, and its health depends on the health of its "organs"—the deserts, mountains, forests, jungles, wetlands, rivers, oceans, and all the flora, fauna, and funga that live in each. What links all of Earth’s living and non-living parts together is water. We must learn to treat water accordingly, as Water is Life.
For this reason, our priority at Explorer At Large will be to take a look at the water cycle—rivers, lakes, marshes, wetlands, etc.—and track its health and progress into the oceans. From there, we'll follow the water back up into the atmosphere on its journey to the mountains and forests, then to the soil and sand, and finally back to the rivers, lakes, and marshes. Along the way, we'll explore ecosystems and technologies to learn what can be done to improve ecological health and mitigate polluting forces.
In time, we will explore other strands of the web but to start—for our "first season" so to speak—we'll be focusing on water, looking at it through scientific and sacred lenses.