Much is made of recycling and sustainable practices, and for good reason. Thankfully, many of our foods and commodities (including paper) are to some extent renewable resources. On the other hand, few people are aware that perhaps our planet’s most important resource is being systematically destroyed, with the full support of governments around the world, including our own.

In a talk entitled Fishing the Sea to Death, anthropologist and scientist Joshua Reichert explains that “People don’t mourn the loss of something they never knew existed, nor do they tend to mourn the disappearance of something they never experienced directly. They may regret its absence intellectually, but they don’t feel the loss emotionally.”

Download this talk originally broadcast on the New Dimensions radio series, and I guarantee you’ll be shocked and terrified. The sea is being devastated by commercial as well as personal interests to an extent that may never be reversible. Yes, using recycled paper and other renewable resources is a great idea, but let’s remember that even larger issues may loom outside our direct view.