OUR LEGACY
A Widow Bit – June 26, 2011
By Mary Koch

            “Ocean View!”

            Those two words add up to untold millions of dollars in the real estate market, even today’s market. As I enjoyed the Oregon Coast for a few days last week, I pondered our passion for seascapes.

            Walking mile after mile on wide-open beaches, I was as intrigued by the architecture on one side as I was awed by the spectacle of endless ocean on the other. Every building, whether tiny cabin, luxury resort, or mega-mansion, had windows strategically placed to drink in the view. For those whose lots were not ideally situated, the building design is elevated and contorted to afford at least a peek at the ocean.

            I, too, was careful to choose a motel unit where I could sit at the table and work on my computer while gazing out the window at water and sky. That’s exactly what I was doing when I came across an essay from Time Magazine entitled “A Scary Report Card on the World’s Oceans.”

            Environmental journalist Bryan Walsh cites a recent “shocking” report from the International Programme on the State of the Ocean, which claims we are "at high risk for entering a phase of extinction of marine species unprecedented in human history."

                “It's not just about overfishing or marine pollution or even climate change,” writes Walsh. “It's all of those destructive factors working cumulatively and occurring much more rapidly than scientists had expected.” But the biggest problem, he asserts, is that the sad state of the oceans is not getting the attention it needs and deserves. The reason?

            “… [O]n the surface,” he says, “a living sea and a dead one look much the same.”

            There we sit on our million dollar real estate, blissfully gazing at a disaster area.

            Lest I destroy your next visit to the beach, let me mention a conversation I had with a young man who was staying with his parents in a neighboring cottage. He’d just graduated from the University of Washington, majoring in chemistry, and will continue his studies in Colorado, specializing in environmental issues. As we watched rolling waves, he excitedly described the myriad opportunities he and other scientists see for solving our equally myriad problems.

            I thought of my grandchildren, also members of the emerging generation and excited about their futures despite the legacy of problems being dumped on them. One grandson, ironically, was just accepted into the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Corps, which means his career at sea will focus on the problems of our ailing oceans. Two others, aeronautical engineers, envision a future I can’t imagine. Another two – a nurse and an EMT – are devoted to service on the most human and challenging level, healthcare. And there is one artist, gainfully employed, which cheers me because the future will require the soul of art as much as the insights of science.

            I cannot solve the problems this generation is facing, but my generation could try harder to stop creating more of them.