8 June - World Oceans Day 2011

The oceans are essential to food security and the health and survival of all life, power our climate and are a critical part of the biosphere.

World Oceans Day is an opportunity to raise global awareness of the current challenges faced by the international community in connection with the oceans. This years theme is "Our oceans: greening our future."

The Empire State Building will be lit on the evening of 8 June for World Oceans Day in white, blue and purple, representing the different layers of the ocean. White at the top represents the shallowest, sunlit waters and also the polar ice cap. The blue represents the slightly deeper ocean waters, and the purple even deeper waters in the ocean. The unlit portions, or black, represent those parts of the ocean where the sun does not reach. The overall representation covers all aspects, and all parts, of the ocean, not just the surface that we can see.