What's Below the Water?

David Gallo’s talks and videos will make you want to take another look at the world underneath our oceans.

Many cruisers enjoy exploring the underwater world they move over. Some snorkel, some SCUBA dive. The most experienced probably see more of the creatures that dwell on the ocean floor and in the reefs, but this video makes me wonder how much of what is down there we really see. Watching it might change the way you look at things.



And then there is the part of the oceans we know very little about. We may sail over it, but we have no way of seeing the treasures underneath.

Much deeper than we can safely go there is a whole other world of creatures we are just beginning to learn about. The deep seas teem with life, a life that will survive and thrive whether or not we do. It is humbling to realize that even if we, as a species, find ourselves in a world which we does not have the water or food or climate that we need the planet will still be full of life. It’s just that we won’t be there to marvel at it, learn about it - or exploit it.

Why Water?

It’s inevitable that when you cruise on a sailboat you think about water. Sometimes, however, my thoughts about water go well beyond an aesthetic appreciation of the blue waters we have sailed on. This is particularly likely to happen when we are in a place where water is scarce, or where it is produced at great cost, sometimes to both environment and people. For something so necessary, it can be frighteningly scarce and expensive.

Now that I am sitting in an apartment in Canada I can get water simply by turning on the tap. And I am luck enough to be in a place where - at least as far as I know - the water is safe and clean. Not everyone - either here in Canada, or in many other places in the world - can do or expect the same.

So when I wrote this article on water as a basic human right it was not exactly an academic exercise. We need water, clean water, to live. Without it we die. The only question is how.