Ayana Elizabeth Johnson’s first love was and is the ocean. As a marine biologist, writer, and climate activist, it’s something she thinks about all the time even though the trajectory of her career, and her climate work , has shifted beyond dives and field research .

“The ocean is such a critical part of our climate system,” Johnson says. Not only does it absorb carbon dioxide , but the currents drive weather patterns that are shifting as the water warms. Increasingly, people are recognizing its importance as another tool in the fight against climate change.

Comprehensive climate solutions will need to do more than electrify technologies that oil and gas used to fuel, she notes, “there's lots of really important work happening on the salty side of things too.” Johnson is on the b

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