Protecting Marine Diversity in Creationtide

 

 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind:

 “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?

Gird up your loins like a man;
    I will question you, and you shall declare to me.

“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
    Tell me, if you have understanding.
 Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
    Or who stretched the line upon it?

On what were its bases sunk,
    or who laid its cornerstone
 when the morning stars sang together
    and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy? 

“Or who shut in the sea with doors
    when it burst out from the womb,

when I made the clouds its garment
    and thick darkness its swaddling band,
 and prescribed bounds for it,
    and set bars and doors,
 and said, ‘Thus far shall you come and no farther,
    and here shall your proud waves be stopped’?

                     Job 38:1-11 NRSVue 

Tjhree weeks into Creation Time/Creationtide I'm aware of how many discouraging stories and statistics I could share to convince us all that a planetary apocolypse is at hand. There are encouraging signs as well and there was a good news report about oceans last Friday that almost sailed by -- yup, pun intended. Humanity has been pillaging and plasticizing our oceans in a piratical frenzy and the lawlessness is putting us all in peril. Now there is the treaty, endorsed by 60 nations and under consideration by others. 

According to a CBC report:

The first treaty to protect marine diversity in international waters will come into force early next year after Morocco became the 60th nation to ratify the agreement on Friday.

The High Seas Treaty is the first legal framework aimed at protecting marine biodiversity in international waters — those that lie beyond the jurisdiction of any single country. International waters account for nearly two-thirds of the ocean and nearly half of Earth's surface, and are vulnerable to threats including overfishing, climate change and deep-sea mining.

"The high seas are the world's largest crime scene — they're unmanaged, unenforced and a regulatory legal structure is absolutely necessary," said Johan Bergenas, senior vice-president of oceans at the World Wildlife Fund.

Still, the pact's strength is uncertain, as some of the world's biggest players — the U.S., China, Russia and Japan — have yet to ratify. The U.S. and China have signed, signalling intent to align with the treaty's objectives without creating legal obligations, while Japan and Russia have been active in preparatory talks.

Perhaps we'll hold off on the hallelujahs for the moment, but gratitude to the Creator and all those involved seems in order. 

I'll add a quick note about one of our visits to the Anglican Church on Change Islands, Newfoundland this summer. St. Margaret's was built by fishermen well over a hundred years ago but the huge lectern bible predates the building by several decades. When we went in it wasn't visible, tucked away in the vestry. In an act of holy subterfuge I brought it out and placed in on its usual stand at the front of the sanctuary. When I randomly opened it some mysterious force chose the passage above with it's thrillling description of the sea. Amen