It was 1972 and I was ten years old when I decided to be an astronaut. This decision was triggered by a photo with the weird number code AS17-148-22727, commonly known as The Blue Marble Shot. It was the first photograph taken of the whole “round” Earth and the only one ever snapped by a human being. The crew of Apollo 17 was responsible for that photo shot. My parents later explained to me that only the Americans can reach the moon. This was perhaps the first “faked news” because the original photo was shot upside down and later published for better recognizability the other way around, as we know it nowadays.
What has the blue marble shot got to do with the Blue Economy?
The most evident first impression is what you see at first glance: Our world is blue. 72% of our world’s surface is covered by ocean and seas, and with most of that being deep, very deep ocean, our world appears blue, seen from the depths of space. There is little doubt that the survival of humankind will depend on the productive and sustainable management of oceans and the resources they provide. Oceans and seas account for 72% of the world surface, but only 10% of the ocean has been explored. Mankind has had ten man walking on the moon, but so far only three men on the deepest spots of our oceans floor. Oceans are the world’s single largest ecosystem. Every second breathe we take comes from the ocean. Oceans absorb most of the global extra heat. Oceans absorb more than 30% of humankind produced carbon dioxide. Therefore, the Ocean is one of the biggest factors in our battle with climate change.