You're listening to TED Talks Daily. I'm your host, Elise Hugh. Today, a reminder about the oceans, which often get overlooked as we search for solutions to stop the warming of the planet. In her talk at the countdown summit in 2021, ocean expert Susan Ruffo takes us beyond the idea of saving the ocean

and instead highlights all the ways the ocean is a powerful ally in helping us fight climate change.

So what do you think of when you think of the ocean?

Maybe you think of a visit to the beach or whales or sharks or coral reefs.

I think of the San Juan Islands in Washington State. They jut out of an expanse of deep, dark water and they're filled with life and mystery and opportunity.

But whatever you think of, the ocean is much more. It is a complex, physical, chemical, and biological

system that takes up 70% of our planet. And yet we are still really just beginning to understand it.

What we do know is that the ocean is a vital part of our life support system on the planet.

It produces at least 50% of the oxygen that we breathe.

So more than one in every two breaths. It also regulates temperature for the planet. So without the

ocean, the poles would be unbearably cold and the equator would be unbearably hot.

And it would be a lot harder to live here. Now, we think about saving the ocean from plastic

or from oil and oil spills or from overfishing.

But really, we should be thinking about how the ocean is saving us.

And what is it saving us from?

It's saving us from the climate change that we are creating,

essentially ourselves.

And so what does that mean?

Basically, what we need to do is think about not how to save the ocean,

but instead how the ocean can actually help us in this fight against climate change.

Already the ocean is absorbing 25 to 30% of the CO2 that we release into the atmosphere. It is the world's

largest carbon sink. The ocean has also absorbed 90% of the excess heat trapped by greenhouse gases.

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