This morning I braved the chilly San Francisco fog for a Dawn Patrol surf session before work.  The extra motivation paid off as I was filled with awe, inspiration and gratitude for the purple light filtering through the clouds, the half moon still in visible in the sky, and the glassy, shoulder high waves steadily peaking as I paddled out.  Many surfers describe the experience of catching waves as a religious one: we are humbled by the strength of the waves; our spirits are buoyed by the exhilaration and satisfaction of a great ride.  For me, the connection I made with the ocean while surfing was the genesis of the work I do for NRDC. 

Surfers are not the only ones who experience a spiritual connection with the ocean.  Erik Baard's article in the Village Voice describes the many spiritual traditions that go to the water to worship and pray:  Hindus, Shintoists, Native Americans, African Americans of the Yoruba-influenced Spiritual Baptist faith, Wiccans, Zoroastrians, Christians, and Jews.  Some see the powerful ocean as embodying a deity.  For other traditions, water carries away sin and cleanses the spirit. 

African Americans who participate in the Middle Passage or "Maafa"  ceremony go to the ocean to seek healing and to honor ancestors who died aboard slave ships.  (This year's MAAFA celebration in  San Francisco is to take place at Ocean Beach on October 12).

Although the ocean touches us because of its great power and vast expanses, like all other environmental systems, the ocean is vulnerable to human impacts.  Pollution washed into the ocean from land, overfishing, and habitat destruction are just of a few examples of negative human impacts on the ocean.  Baard found that "Believers from each tradition say that energy must come from waters that are healthy and alive."  While the ocean brings us great spiritual and physical gifts, it is clear the we must acknowledge the power that humans collectively have to harm to the sea and other ecosystems.  The good news is that we also have the power to make a big difference in cleaning up and improving the sad state of so much of our seas!  Here are some things we can do to help the oceans.

Grist covered this topic in greater depth in a special series on God & the Environment.