A Reckoning for Our Blue Planet

As Oceans Month 2025 unfolds under a U.S. administration dismantling environmental protections, the need for unwavering advocacy, resilience, and collective action has never been more urgent.

I wish this year’s Ocean Month was simply about celebrating the beauty and importance of our seas. I wish we could focus solely on the incredible biodiversity they hold, the way they regulate our climate, the deep cultural connections the ocean inspires. But here we are — June 2025 — facing a grim reality.

An orange reality.

With the return of a Trump presidency, we are witnessing the rapid unraveling of hard-fought environmental protections. From gutting marine conservation policies to reopening waters for drilling, this administration’s actions are not just political decisions, but existential threats to the world’s oceans.

For decades, scientists and conservationists have sounded the alarm on what is happening to our blue spaces. We have shown the data, told the stories, and pleaded for action. The ocean absorbs nearly a third of the carbon dioxide we produce, its currents regulate weather patterns, and its ecosystems — already fragile from overfishing, pollution, and climate change — are at a breaking point. And yet, here we are, watching policies regress instead of progress.

It’s infuriating. It’s exhausting. And it’s terrifying.

I think back to the protections that once stood as safeguards for our waters: the expansion of marine sanctuaries, the limits on offshore drilling, the regulations against destructive commercial fishing practices. Some of these were imperfect, but they were at least a start. They were something. Now, they are slipping away, piece by piece, under an administration that prioritizes profit over preservation.

But here’s the thing: the ocean has survived mass extinctions, shifting continents, and the rise and fall of entire civilizations. It is resilient… but only to a point. It cannot withstand the continued onslaught of human greed and negligence without consequence. And neither can we. This Oceans Month, the stakes feel higher than ever. We cannot afford despair, even when the weight of this fight feels unbearable. We must channel our anger into action, our grief into determination. We must support organizations fighting to protect marine life. We must demand accountability from leaders who think short-term gains outweigh long-term survival. We must amplify the voices of Indigenous communities and coastal nations whose very existence is at risk.

We must educate, we must vote, we must resist.

The ocean is more than a resource. It is life. It is legacy. It is home. And no administration — no matter how reckless — can take away our resolve to fight for it.

This Oceans Month, I wanna make it abundantly clear: we are not backing down.