<i>It has often been said that we know more about the moon than we do about our oceans…Scientists know that our actions today are shaping the oceans and climate of tomorrow – and that if we continue to act recklessly, the consequences will be dire.</i>

It is perhaps our belief that we know so little about the oceans and their importance to the planet and everything on it and how our actions affect them that allows us to continue our destructive ways. In his book The Oceans: a Deep History, Eelco J Rohling, professor of ocean and climate change, explains the 4.4-billion- year history of the oceans and how they affected climate in the past and how they continue to affect it in an effort to dispel our ignorance of one of earth’s most important resources. I found much of the book fascinating: underwater volcanoes; chemical changes over time eg. the effects of oxygen, once destructive to life, now so important to it; how natural phenomena including the movements of the continents affect them; more importantly, how our actions are affecting them; and how all of this has affected and continues to affect the climate.

As someone with little science background, I would be lying if I said I understood everything. Often I found myself bogged down by technical language and struggled frequently despite Rohling’s explanations but that is my problem, not that of the book. What was clear, however, was the importance of the role of the oceans to the planet and everything on it including us, the damage we are doing to them, and what our future may look like if we don’t stop.

<i>Thanks to Netgalley and Princeton University press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review</i>