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Sustainable

Development Goal 14

‘Life below Water’ –

We contribute to accelerating

its realization.

Read more about ‘SDG 14’…
In Your Face
The time to save the ocean is NOW!

Real change comes with the impact level.

In Your Face – The Exhibition

Ocean. Now! leverages the power of art to strengthen engagement for SDG 14 “Life below water” on all levels of society. Our goal is to rebuild a thriving marine ecosystem.

PRESS RELEASE

This way to download

About our Kids Workshops

WHY THE OCEAN?

50% of all oxygen on earth is generated by the ocean

The ocean absorbs 90% of our global warming

The ocean accounts for 17% of protein at the global level and exceeds 50% in many least-developed countries

PROJECTS

Campaign #banmicroplastics – EU level

Stakeholder in UNESCO program “Education for Sustainable Development” (ESD)

Ocean. Now! + Swaantje Güntzel

project “IN YOUR FACE”

50 beaches – 50 faces

We have to convince the people in the world that they should tell the politicians that they’re concerned.

- David Attenborough

sign our petition

Wir sagen JA zum Volksentscheid! 🖋 🗳️

Ocean. Now! schätzt diese Initiative der Projektgruppe Klimaneustart sehr - es ist Zeit für radikale Transformation. 🌎

Mit einem einzigen Kreuz kannst du direkt ein Gesetz ändern und so die Berliner Politik verpflichten, die 1,5°C-Grenze einzuhalten. ✅

Alle großen Studien der letzten Jahre zeigen: Ein bezahlbares Leben für alle, eine zukunftsfähige Wirtschaft und ehrgeiziger Klimaschutz sind keine Widersprüche. Mit dem Volksentscheid setzt sich Berlin das gleiche Ziel wie über 100 andere Städte in Europa. So übernehmen wir Verantwortung für uns und zukünftige Generationen. 👈🏼👈🏽👈🏾

🏁 #Klimaneutralität 2030 und nicht erst 2045
✅ Klima-Verpflichtungen statt Klima-Ziele
🛡️ Sozial gerechter Mieten-Ausgleich

Lasst uns Klimagerechtigkeit in Berlin voranbringen! 🙌🙌🏼🙌🏽

Klimaschutz bedeutet Ozeanschutz und Ozeanschutz bedeutet Klimaschutz. 🌊

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We say YES to the referendum! 🖋 🗳️

Ocean. Now! greatly appreciates this initiative by Projektgruppe Klimaneustart - it's time for radical transformation. 🌎

With a single cross, you can directly change a law and thus oblige Berlin's politicians to adhere to the 1.5°C limit. ✅

All major studies in recent years show: An affordable life for all, a sustainable economy and ambitious climate protection are not contradictions. With the referendum, Berlin is setting itself the same goal as over 100 other cities in Europe. In this way, we are taking responsibility for ourselves and future generations. 👈🏼👈🏽👈🏾

🏁 #Climate neutrality in 2030 and not only in 2045.
✅ Climate commitments instead of climate targets.
🛡️ Socially just rent equalization

Let's advance climate justice in Berlin! 🙌🙌🏼🙌🏽

Climate protection means ocean protection and ocean protection means climate protection. 🌊

#Berlin2030 #DuMachstDasGesetz

💡LIGHTS OUT: It’s Earth Hour tonight ↘️ Unlike these glowing jellyfish, we can dim our lights in a show of commitment to our beautiful planet. And that's exactly what people all around the world will do from 8.30 to 9.30 PM this evening.

🌍 Of course, commitment to the Earth takes more than turning a light or two off for an hour. But now, more than ever, we need as many of us as possible to recognise (and reverse) the damage humans have caused and continue to do.

👉🏻As other species wink out one by one, consider this hour 60 minutes of luminescent silence. And choose to reflect, to care and to help in any way you can.

Will you join us?

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📸 Matthias Götzke on Unsplash

🌊🐦PLASTICOSIS: THE PLASTIC DISEASE 🐥🔬↘️ We’ve known for decades that seabirds are dying from consuming plastic. A bellyful of plastic can injure the birds or trick them into thinking they’re full when they’re actually starving.

Now, scientists at the Natural History Museum in London have also discovered ‘plasticosis’: a fibrotic disease caused by eating plastic. It inflames seabirds' digestive tracts and causes scarring and malformation. Sadly, plasticosis affects birds' digestion, growth and ultimately, their survival.

Did you know that up to 90% of seabirds are thought to have plastic in their stomachs? We need to act to protect our ocean birds from plastic. Now!

Some things you can do:

👉🏻Avoid single-use plastic
👉🏻Write to your local representative to demand action against plastic pollution
👉🏻Volunteer or donate to organisations fighting plastic pollution so they can elevate their efforts

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📖 Ocean.si.edu and Theguardian.com
📸 Ed Dunens (CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons)

👩‍🦰👩🏼‍🦰👩🏾‍🦰👩🏿‍🦰 IT’S INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY 🌊 so let's celebrate 5 amazing women working hard to protect the seas. From poets to marine biologists, here are five ocean heroines who inspire us every day:

📸 1: Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner, poet and co-founder of @jo_jikum (a non-profit empowering Marshallese youth to fight environmental threats) and Aka Niviâna, an Inuk poet who writes about climate change and indigenous rights. Find their hauntingly beautiful poem here: https://350.org/rise-from-one-island-to-another/ (pic: 350.org)

📸 2: Dr Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, co-founded the non-profit think tank @urbanoceanlab, the climate initiative The @allwecansave Project, and co-creates the @how2saveaplanet podcast. (pic: ayanaelizabeth.com)

📸 3: Francesca Trotman, founder of marine conservation organisation @lovetheoceans, which protects Mozambique's Jangamo Bay. (pic: @francescatrotmanphotography)

📸 4: Sylvia Earle, record-breaking marine biologist, oceanographer, author, and founder of @mission_blue/Sylvia Earle Alliance. (pic: missionblue.org)

🎉FANTASTIC NEWS: We have a High Seas (#BBNJ) Treaty!👏🏻

Last night (after nearly 20 years of talks!) UN member states finally agreed on a legal framework to protect international waters.

Before this agreement, it wasn’t possible to create Marine Protection Areas (MPAs) outside of national borders (=200 nautical miles from the shore). But, now we can. This means we have a chance to safeguard 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030.

With MPAs, marine life can be better protected from overfishing, shipping traffic, deep sea mining, noise pollution and much more.

The treaty is yet to be ratified by the countries and we are crossing our fingers for this process! But the groundwork has been made and this is cause for celebration indeed.

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Research sources: http://BBC.com and http://theguardian.com
Fab ‘smiling’ fish image by Carley Friesen on Unsplash

🌊OCEAN PROTECTION IS CLIMATE PROTECTION🌍(and climate protection is ocean protection!)
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@fridaysforfuture.berlin’s #globalerklimastreik was brilliant today. Over 18,000 of us hit the streets to call for climate justice: for us, for the ocean and for the whole planet. 🫶💪🏻

✨PLANKTON POWER✨  Hot on the heels of World Whale Day comes World Plankton Day. No wonder, really, as these two species are so closely connected.

The word plankton actually means 'drifter' in Greek, which is exactly what these little creatures do. They drift on oceanic tides, too small to swim around on their own merit. There are two major groups of plankton: zooplankton (which are animals) and phytoplankton (which are plants).

Phytoplankton, in particular, are incredibly important to our biosphere – it's estimated they generate as much oxygen as all the plants on land! They also absorb carbon dioxide and form the basis of the ocean food chain. Our note for today: even the smallest living creatures on our planet have a *huge* part to play.

As small as plankton are, they're not too minuscule to be affected by factors like climate warming and microplastic pollution. This means they urgently need our protection too.

What you can do:
🚫 Shun toxins. Use biodegradable products! The fewer artificial chemicals in the ocean, the better
🌍 Live climate-friendly, so the plankton's habitat can regain its health
🫙Avoid plastic. Think: the less microplastic in the sea, the more oxygen on our planet

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Research credit: nationalgeographic.org
Photo of bioluminescent plankton: Kevin Wolf on Unsplash

🐋HOORAY FOR WORLD WHALE DAY!

From the giant Humpback to the ocean's top predator: the Orca, there's something about whales we can't help but fall in love with. But did you know that they also do a lot for their marine environments – and the whole planet, actually?

These marvellous marine mammals:
• Help produce up to 50% of the air that we breathe (by supporting the production of phytoplankton)
• Act as incredible carbon sinks
• Sustain fish stocks
• Circulate nutrients in the ocean

Sadly, major threats like marine pollution, climate change, habitat loss and entanglement in fishing gear threaten the future of these amazing creatures. So, let’s help them to help us – by protecting them and their ocean home.

What you can do:
• Boycott krill nutritional supplements (and fish in general), so they have enough food
• Contribute to lower CO2 emissions, so their habitat regains its health
• Live as Zero Waste as possible, so their home is less polluted

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Research credit: ifaw.org
Photo source: Dmitry Osipenko on Unsplash

💙 AN IMPORTANT REMINDER ⁠
.⁠
On this fourteenth of February⁠
Love yourself, as you love the sea.⁠
.⁠
(Background photo by Silas Baisch on Unsplash)⁠
.⁠
#oceanlovers #oceanlover🌊 #loveyourselfmore #oceanheart #savetheocean #savetheoceans #lovetheocean #savethesea #lovethesea #marineconservation #natureloversofinstagram #oceanquotes #valentinesday2023 #natureloverforlife

FINALLY there’s a deal on #biodiversity. 🙌🏼🙌🏽🙌🏾 We feel relieved that 200 countries agreed to this historic agreement to reverse decades of environmental destruction at #COP15.

With this deal, reducing pesticides, plastic waste and to protect 30% of land and 30% of the ocean is "officially" on the international agenda. 🌍🌊

Now we wonder... what exactly will this protection look like? Will industrialized countries finally listen to indigeneous communities? Our biggest hope is that nations are able to start letting go their endless economic greed for the sake of life on this planet, fragile mother earth.

#cop15 is a moment of humanity “admitting” that it needs to turn the tide. It is a major step but the real work only starts now. 💙💚♥️

Picture: Aurore Murguet, Pexels

#ocean #oceanprotection #sdgs #un #sdg14

Over decades, the ocean has been seen as a vast place where things can be dumped (in the 60s and 70s, the ocean was systematically used for waste disposal). In recent years, there has been some movement in understanding the ocean...#UN conferences (list in this clip) started integrating the ocean as an integral ecosystem playing a crucial role for life on earth. 🌎

At the same time, humans living in the industrialized society are so at the beginning - the ocean is overfished, suffers from our greenhouse gas emissions, it is polluted with noise and ends up being a dump (even more than before - due to our plastic consumption).

At the #GlobalPlasticsTreaty #INC1 conference in Uruguay last week, large petrochemical companies presented the plastic problem as a "recycling issue", whereas their very own production is the actual problem ❗Ocean. Now! will contribute to the next #INC2 in Paris in 2023. We will be gearing up for action soon! 💪💪🏼💪🏽💪🏾

This week, we spiritually stand by the participants of the #CBD #COP15 happening in Montreal until the end of the week. The crucial #30x30 negotiations are happening right now - we must protect 30% of land and ocean by 2030. 🍃🐝🪳🌍🌊🐋

#oceanprotection #sdgs #sdg14 #ocean

Our pledge today: ditch the #blackfriday madness! Make it a #bluefriday. 🌊 🙂Consume less!, consume wisely, vote for the right political party, raise your voice for the ocean. 📣

It is absolutely not understandable that humans are still after #blackfriday - by now it must be clear, where the idea of growth and profit has led us: mother earth is in bad health (and so are we). 🌎 We need to turn the tide (fast).

According to the #oecd, global plastic waste set to almost triple by 2060. ❗😡Our blue planet suffers, the ocean and its inhabitants are literally choking on the waste we produce.

Consuming less is a first step, and on a day as today, we can make our own choice - still, we believe, that first and foremost, we need strong regulations on the political level, to lever impact. The #globalplasticstreaty is on its way, a second meeting will be happening next week in Uruguay and we re keeping our eyes on it. We are mentally participating and continue pushing for change - this summit must show a better result than #COP27!

We at Ocean. Now! are still working with politics behind the scenes on the national and EU level, maintaining the pressure - for an effective ban on #microplastics in cosmetics and cleaning products. It has been 3,5 years but we will not give up on protecting the ocean. 💙

Source: oecd.org

#banmicroplastics #breakfreefromplastic #globalplasticstreaty #sdg14 #ocean #protecttheocean

We’ve recently had the honour of working with photographer @henriettepogoda. This extract of a portrait series shows Ocean. Now!’s founder @meikeschuetzek. A stormy in the cold North Sea (on the island of Sylt) had just passed, light came through the clouds and it was a chance to dip into the ocean. 🌊💙 Thanks so much for the beautiful pictures, Henriette! 🙏🏽👌🏽

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#Repost @henriettepogoda with @use.repost
・・・
Mitte September hatte ich die Ehre, Meike Schützek (@meikeschuetzek) , Gründerin von Ocean. Now! (@ocean.now ) in der wilden Nordsee zu portraitieren 🌊 #ozean #berufungfinden #berufungleben #meer #oceannow #ozeanschutz #nachhaltigkeit #lebenunterwasser #zumwohlunseresblauenplaneten #veraenderungschaffen #dasmeertraegtdich #wasser #quelleallenlebens #henriettepogoda #portraitphotography

A study by Standford University found out that blue whales 🐋 ingest around 10 million particles of #microplastics daily. That’s roughly 43.5 kilograms of plastic. ❗️

With this, blue whales are by far the species most exposed to microplastic pollution. The reason for blue whales being particularly exposed is that they feed at depths of 50-250 meters, which coincides with the highest measured microplastic concentration in the open-ocean ecosystem.

This news is shocking. Whales contribute to our climate by storing carbon and generating oxygen (their 💩feeds the phytoplankton that again produces oxygen, in fact about 50% of the oxygen we breathe). Everything is connected and we, the human species, depend on a fully functioning ecosystem. 📣 Wake up, humans! Let’s put an end to this madness. 🌍

#banmicroplastics

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#Repost @byebyeplastiksylt_headquarter with @use.repost
・・・
Blauwale, und andere Bartenwale, fressen JEDEN TAG bis zu 10 Millionen Teile Mikroplastik! Das sind ca. 40 kg! Das hat jetzt ein US-Forscherteam herausgefunden. Damit sind die Blauwale, deren Bestand von ehemals 350.000 auf derzeit schätzungsweise 10.000 - 25.000 dezimiert wurde, massiv bedroht. Zwar ist noch nicht erwiesen, was diese Plastikteilchen in den Meeressäugern macht, doch auch ohne weitere Untersuchungen und viel Fantasie, kann man sich vorstellen, dass diese Mengen Plastik in den Organen und Zellen und für die Nachkommen nichts Gutes bewirken kann... Und die Bedrohung der Großwale bedroht auch uns. Denn die Großwale sorgen für die Produktion von 50 Prozent unseres Sauerstoffes auf der Erde. Mit ihrem Kot, den sie in den Ozeanen hinterlassen , düngen sie das Phytoplankton in den Meeren, das die Hälfte unseren Sauerstoffbedarfs produziert. Und wenn sich der Bestand der Großwale noch mehr dezimiert, gerät das Gleichgewicht des Ökosystems Ozean und damit auch die Sauerstoffproduktion endgültig aus der Balance.
Den Blogartikel findest du in der Bio.
#wale #blauwal #buckelwal #plastikflut #mikroplastik #plastikreduktion #byebyeplastik #plastiksparen #ozeane #meer #savetheplanet #savetheocean #savethewhales

What a amazing movie! We warmly recommend “The North Drift”, a beautiful documentary by Steffen Krones. We found it is a very well balanced, funny, exploratory and questioning, it shows stunning pictures of nature, it’s is deep as well as wise, looking at our connection with nature, also with the contributions and inspiring indigenous knowledge of the protagonist, Chris. And seeing and feeling the friendship between Steffen and Chris is just beautiful. Thank you for inviting Ocean. Now! to the premiere.

Everyone, go and watch the movie! (From Oct 27)

@thenorthdrift
@kerndesganzen
@mindjazzpictures

🙏🏽🌊💙

🎥 Premiere von @thenorthdrift in Berlin am 18.10. 🎞

Wir freuen uns sehr, als Partner von @mindjazzpictures und @KerndesGanzen am 18.10. bei der Premiere der Doku "The North Drift - Plastik in Strömen" dabei sein zu dürfen. 🌊

18. Oktober
18:00 - Film und Q&A mit Regisseur Steffen Krones
94 Minuten, OmeU
Delphi Lux, Charlottenburg

https://thenorthdrift.com/

...wir verlosen 4 Tickets 🙂 - schicke uns einfach eine Nachricht, warum Du den Film gern sehen möchtest und gewinne ein Ticket! 💙

Wir freuen uns, Euch vor Ort für einen kleinen Plausch anzutreffen (wir werden mit einem Stand dabei sein).

Today, on #WorldOctopusDay, we're celebrating one of the most fascinating species in the ocean! 🦑

The word "octopus" is a Latinized form of the Greek word októpus, which translates to “eight foot.”

Did you know that there are 300 species within the class Cephalopoda? These are the kind of animals as squids, cuttlefish, and nautiloids, also called "inkfish", referring to their common ability to squirt ink. Their siza range is huge, from 10 mm to 14 m (colossal squid). 👀

With the two rear arms, octopuses walk and the other six arms are used to forage for food. The mouth of an octopus, located underneath the arms, has a sharp hard beak.

Those of you who have watched the movie "My Octopus Teacher" know that octopuses are highly intelligent and very sensitive creatures. Maze and problem-solving experiments have shown evidence of a memory system that can store both short- and long-term memory. We're glad to hear that people to stop eating octopuses by the way. In case you have not watched the movie, we highly recommend it! It is heart-warming. Our pledge: let's leave the octopuses as food to the other animals in the ocean. It's time to let the ocean recover! 💙

Picture: John Turnbull, Flickr

Sich auf ein paar wenige Lieblingsbilder zu einigen ist nicht einfach. 🙂 Darum ging es auf dem Rückweg vom Strand. Die Fotos der Teilnehmer*innen waren beeidruckend kreativ. Sie spiegelten die verschiedensten Perspektiven wieder, wie Mikroplastik in der Atmosphäre auftaucht. 🌍🌊

Im letzten Teil des Workshops kamen wir zusammen, um die Favoriten Fotos zu besprechen, wobei @maximilian_goedecke_photo sie mit Einbezug wichtiger Aspekte der Fotografie kommentierte. Wie wurde das Licht eingefangen? Weches Motiv ist im Fokus? Inwiefern taucht Mikroplastik im Bild auf? Wie schaut die Bildkomposition aus? Über diese Details zu sprechen war sehr hilfreich. Die Lieblingsbilder konnten die Teilnehmer*innen ausdrucken und mit nach Hause nehmen.

Wir denken, dass es in Zukunft noch viele mehr dieser Workshops geben wird, denn die Kombination von Bildung und kreativem Ausdruck durch Fotografie ist großartig. 💙

Danke @sony.deutschland, @unsersylt, @byebyeplastiksylt_headquarter, @henriettepogoda und @maximilian_goedecke_photo! 🤝🤝🏼🤝🏾

Fotos: @henriettepogoda

#banmicroplastics #workshop

Zu fotografieren und in die Beobachterrolle zu schlüpfen machte großen Spaß. Wie Ihr Euch denken könnt gibt es für uns keinen besseren Ort als den Strand. Wir experimentierten mit dem Thema "Aus der Perspektive eines Mikroplastikpartikels", wobei Quallen, Möwen und auch die Quellen von Mikroplastik geeignete Motive waren. 📸🐙🐦🌊

Wie wir die Exkursion abgeschlossen haben, erfahrt Ihr im nächsten Post.

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Dieses Projekt konnten wir dank unserer großartigen Partner @sony.deutschland, @unsersylt, @byebyeplastiksylt_headquarter, @maximilian_goedecke_photo und @henriettepogoda durchführen. Henriette dokumentierte den Workshop mit diesen Bildern. 🙏

#banmicroplastics #workshop

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