Pray in gratitude and awe for the gift of the oceans and their wonders. Ask for more awareness in the nation and the world of how pollution and overfishing are connected to the suffering of coastal peoples, the rising ocean levels, intensifying tropical storms, and more. Ask for help in changing our ways and crafting policies to be more caring and sustainable now and for generations to come.

Fight Fossil Fuel Pollution (causing ocean acidification, rising oceans swamping coasts, dying coral reefs, shifting currents and more frequent, intense storms, chaotic climatic changes, and more). Learn about ocean acidification and other fossil fuel damages to the oceans and coastal communities.

• Reduce your carbon footprint and that of your faith or spiritual community. In addition to walking, bicycling, carpooling, and turning off lights,  Interfaith Power and Light (A Religious Response to Global Warming) has many more suggestions and faith congregation resources. You can also take the St. Francis Pledge to act to slow climate change in the name of caring for God's creation and the poor.

• Use alternative energies, as much as is possible. Start solar gardens and rooftops!

• Divest from fossil fuel based investments and invest in alternative energies.

• Plant trees yourself, with your family and friends and faith community

Support Fishing Limits and Work Against Overfishing and Wasteful, Cruel Fishing, and Human Slavery in factory fishing fleets -- help stop the slavery and drastically declining populations of commercial species  from unsustainable fishing practices.

• Be wise consumers by using the Monterey Bay Seafood Watch app and consumer guide for sustainably caught seafood without slave labor, supporting their sustainable partners.

• Avoid purchasing seafood from companies buying from factory fishing fleets with human slavery -- get the Greenpeace app. 

• Avoid eating non-sustainable ocean species -- ones not sustainably raised or caught (ask your fish market or restaurant). Go to Seafood Watch on your computer or download their app, for the list.

• Support sustainable catch limits and bans on bottom trawling and dredging in the name of caring for God's creation. The Magnuson-Ferguson fishing bill is an important one for the U.S. to keep strong and active. Learn more about the campaigns of The Ocean Conservancy on fisheries and do your part and encourage your community to too.

• Push to stop all commercial whale fishing.

• Visit and support Marine Sanctuaries, Wilderness, and Protected Areas- which are essential for preserving marine species now declining. For more on these essential areas in the U.S.,  see the NOAA site. For more on the global marine wilderness movement, go to WILD's Marine Wilderness 10+ 10 Project.

Clean Up Plastics & Other Garbage in the Seas, killing wildlife and toxifying food chains and seafood.

• Avoid disposable one-time use plastics, such as plates, straws, netting, balloons for releasing, and more.

• Reuse, recycle, and restore items, and when buying, avoid over-packaging or over-processing.

• Participate in an coastal clean up or river clean up day (since all rivers lead to the sea), especially as a faith community. Join the Trash-Free Seas Campaign and the local and national Clean Up Days. Get your faith community involved in these great events!

• Use reusable cloth bags when you can and support a plastic bag ban (for one-time non-food uses) in your community and state. Here's a short video on the movement of the plastic bag to the sea "The Majestic Plastic Bag" by Heal the Bay.

Stop Sewage, Chemical, and Nuclear Run-off and Wastes

• Advocate against undersea oil and gas drilling and mining.

• Avoid chemicals on lawns, fields, cleaning supplies, paints, and other toxic chemicals whenever you can for they wash into the rivers and then into our bays and oceans. Urge your faith community and its members to do the same. Don't ever put oil or kitty litter down drains or toilets!

• Eat organic and local foods as much as you can and serve these foods at your faith community whenever you can. Shop at the farmers market and make friends with your local farmers!

• Push for higher standards in waste water treatment and non-fossil fuel and non-nuculear energy solutions.

Protect Biodiversity & Prevent Harm of Species (avoiding cruelty) and Invasive Species

• Support bans on shark finning and fishing, bottom trawling and dredging (predators keep other fish in balance, maintaining diversity).

• Support bans on wild caught species for aquariums, zoos, and sea entertainment venues, especially of large mammals. Do not buy wild caught tropical fish for aquariums or empty aquariums into rivers and oceans so as not to bring in invasive species.

• Support conservation organizations for threatened species -- such as sea turtles, whales, sharks, dolphins, manatees, sea otters, and others -- and habitats -- such as coral reefs, mangrove forests, tidepools, and kelp forests, and more. Pick your favorites as individuals and as communities of faith and do something for them! And make others aware of their plights.

Restore Habitats--get yourself, your family and friends, and community of faith active in habitat restoration projects (such as mangrove forests, sea grass, oysters, and more!) -- in the name of healing God's creations and communities. There are opportunities through local organizations, Nature Conservancy, Ocean Conservancy, NOAA, US Fish and Wildlife, state and local department of natural resources, Riverkeepers and other river organizations, and so many more.

Prevent Sensory Pollution (sea traffic, noise, explosions, sonar, radar, drones, light pollution -- all causing beachings, extreme distress, stress, and confusion among sea life, especially whales and dolphins). For example, read this story on whales and sound.

• Listen to "Lethal Sounds" on YouTube about noise under sea.

• Urge Navy to stop high intensity sounds and drones near migration, feeding, and calving areas of whales, dolphins, sharks and other marine species.

• Urge U.S. government and other nations to seek national and international restrictions on guidelines and restrictions on sensory pollution, including ship traffic, sonar, and drones.

Protect Coasts from Harmful Development causing run-off and loss of wildlife habitats.

• Take care with all beaches and watersides-- for oceans and rivers-- protect or plant buffer vegetation.

• Stay away from all birds, marine creatures, and wildlife on beaches. Keep your pets from bothering wildlife. Leave shells with anything in them in the water.

• Push for building codes and zoning that protects the coastlines and marine areas, including tidepools, mangrove forests, and tidal wetlands.