The Secret Between the Ocean & Us.
{Vintage French Beach via Tumblr}
By Constança Belchior
I grew up in a country where the sea is an intricate part of our culture and lives.
The sea and how we set out to explore the world through it more than 500 years ago has carved our history and spirit. It is also what nurtures us.
Anywhere you go in Portugal, you are likely to find some type of seafood available on a menu. For many of us, the sea actually runs in our veins. Not because we see it or are in it everyday; many aren’t. Rather, because we feel the presence and power of the Atlantic waters literally embracing us.
I was always connected to the sea since I was a small girl. Most of my long summers were spent on the beach and, later on, the winters as well as I took up bodyboarding. I was passionate about the sea but also intimidated by its vastness and creatures. Sharks in particular, thanks to the movie Jaws.
This fear actually grew to the point where I couldn’t go into water deeper than my knees. That was until I learned how to scuba dive at 14 and had a chance to dive alongside sharks.
I still remember passing the written exam of my first diving course sitting on a rotten pier around sunset in Bora Bora, in the French Polynesia. The next day, I was in the water with those beautiful beings and couldn’t get my eyes off them. Their gaze and movement fascinated me.
My fear slowly turned into a mixture of excitement and respect. I was fortunate enough to have parents that loved the sea and traveling.
So, for some years to follow, my brother and I experienced first hand the explosion of colored life breathing underneath many warm water paradises on our planet. And luckily, many sharks as well.
I eventually became a marine biologist. However, after having witnessed the beauty of our oceans and its offspring, understanding how humans were disturbing it made me stay on land.
I wanted to help avoid the harm we were causing to marine life, especially after living in Brazil for some years, where the conflict between human development and nature conservation is dramatic.
Not only due to the magnitude of the challenges, but also because the resulting environmental degradation has a direct impact on many people’s lives. People still live in and feed off many natural areas that are increasingly contaminated or degraded.
I saw with my eyes how their health and well-being was affected. I actually felt it myself after living over three years in Sao Paulo and experiencing a number of minor eye and sinus-related diseases due to high air pollution levels.
Pollution is affecting our environment in many ways but, more importantly, our health. We know a lot about the effects of air pollution on us but much less about the chemicals that growingly make up part of our daily lives.
Used in our food, in our clothes and toys, or in cosmetics to name a few, research is finding many of these substances may be carcinogenic, or disrupting our endocrine and reproductive systems. Women and children are particularly vulnerable. Many of these chemicals find their way into our seas.
By doing so, they can contaminate marine life and may end up on our plate again.
Our scientific knowledge on these issues is emerging, and with it so should our daily conversations and concerns. Today, back in Europe, I am working with European marine policy and its links to the state of our marine environment.
Little is still discussed on the connection between ocean and human health.
That is why I have decided to join a sailing expedition, together with another 13 women coming from different fields and life experiences, to cross the Atlantic Ocean and ‘make the unseen seen’. That is, from the toxics in our bodies to the toxics in our seas.
We call it eXXpedition and we set sail on Nov 16.
By sampling our blood for toxics, then the water and fish for plastics along the way, we will engage in a shared journey of scientific research, self-discovery and empowerment on the issue of chemicals in our personal and shared environment. In many ways, what we are attempting is unique.
A radical new form of activism, adventure, science and advocacy to help understand the nature of a complex problem. Personally, I really miss being out in the big blue. More importantly, after so many years writing about it, I need its touch. I need to see and hear what it has to tell me.
My shipmates and me will be sharing our experiences and discoveries throughout our journey. I will also be bringing them here over the next weeks.
The quality of our children and grand-children’s future depends on each of us following up on our individual responsibility as stewards of our planet.
I hope that our stories will inspire you, and in particular, women, to engage in self-discovery about the environment and health, and empower you with the knowledge to make better choices.
*****
Fascinated by life, and life at sea in particular, Constança is a marine biologist turned into an environmental and sustainability worker at the crossroad of science, policy and society. Copenhagen, Denmark is where she is currently anchored, working with European marine policy. She is passionate about the interrelation between natural and human systems, and the illusion of separateness and disconnection we have created. A strong believer in Buckminster Fuller’s wise words — “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” — she is committed to connect, support and co-create with those who want to transition to a life of human well-being within the planet’s limits. And also those who are friends with Peter Pan. Life is too short to have your feet on the ground all the time.
#TakenByTheSea
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