Yes, the seas are warming ... and the fish are waning … coral reefs are bleaching, plastic is ubiquitous and industrial mining is a serious threat.

But scientist Helen Scales writes in her new book, “What the Wild Sea Can Be”:

“In the messy midst of the changing ocean, so much has already been damaged and destroyed that discerning what the future may hold requires a careful balance of optimism and pessimism. A worse version of today’s ocean is not inevitable, but underestimating the scale of the problems ... would be unwise.”

Scales’ book is frank and optimistic: some ocean creatures will be lost and some can be saved. She also writes in depth about how some are adapting and where in the planet’s vast seas the most promise lies.

It is late, she reminds us. But not too late.

— Kerri Miller