MES II Excel Practice

Miss Colden's Flounder data

The Ocean is Broken

As we sit in our classrooms, dry and safe on land, it is hard to imagine what the ocean is like, especially if you have never been out to sea.  I wish that I could take a field trip to the Gulf Stream so you could  experience the bluest blue you could ever see, and the feeling of total isolation from land.  It is hard to understate how much we take the oceans for granted.  Earth's oceans moderate our climate, they literally create a homeostasis through the slow churn of deep ocean currents moving heat around the planet, downwelling cold, briny polar water and upwelling later as nutrient rich soup at the equator.  This process in turn fuels the productivity from the tiniest plankton to mighty blue whales and the majestic albatross that wander endlessly over the ocean expanse.  It is magic, and it is messed up.  Read the attached article by a long distance sailor who has traversed the Pacific many times.  How would you feel if you walked outside and did not see or hear any birds or squirrels, saw rubbish everywhere and drove to school continually swerving to miss piles of trash and debris in the road?  It is easy to forget the ocean, being a landlubber, when you are vaguely aware of its existence. let's try to heighten our awareness of all of our globe this year.

Mr. Hudson's Excel data sheet