Historically, we humans have perceived ourselves as separate from the natural world. But now in the Anthropocene, the era of human consequence upon the natural world, every life form is in our care. The question is whether we will accept and act on that responsibility.
The Seattle Aquarium’s new Ocean Pavilion will be that place to inspire a new generation of ocean conservationists through science, yes, but also through empathy, urgency and agency. The vision of the new, expanded aquarium has at its core an “ocean ethic,” or a declaration about our role in what’s at stake as the Earth warms and the world’s ocean sours. It will be rooted in our home waters but will encompass the whole Pacific Ocean. The expanded aquarium campus will serve as a new education platform that aspires to engage the entire community — including the expected 20 million additional waterfront visitors per year — in conversation about what we value.
Guided by its mission of “inspiring conservation of our marine environment,” the aquarium has reached more than 27 million visitors throughout its history. That includes more than 2 million schoolchildren — 43,000 in 2019 alone and 65% of those with scholarships. The aquarium also mobilizes thousands of passionate volunteers, engages a new generation of ocean leaders and, as a research institution, is focused on critical global issues like climate change, single-use plastics and saving endangered species.
This one-time investment of public funds will provide a unique, not-your-grandparents’ aquarium experience that brings together conservation, education and inspiration. It will serve as the crown jewel of our new waterfront, as a new public space that will reconnect us with our downtown core and with our maritime past. The building itself will “teach” as the new Ocean Pavilion reflects the aquarium’s central value of sustainability. With its pioneering state-of-the-art green technologies, it will be one of the most efficient aquariums in the country and 100% fossil-fuel free.
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It’s time for us to lead. Seattle sits at the cutting edge of global health, innovation and social change. The expanded aquarium will provoke a deep examination of those things that we value, illuminate the connection between ocean health and human health, and will make clear for many Dr. Sylvia Earle’s refrain, “No blue, no green. No water, no life.”
It’s time to embrace this once-in-a-lifetime moment. The clock is ticking.Melissa Mager is the board chair of the Seattle Aquarium and the former president of People for Puget Sound.Martha Kongsgaard is the campaign chair for the Seattle Aquarium’s new Ocean Pavilion and is former chair of the Puget Sound Partnership Leadership Council.