The one thing you can do to help save the world's oceans, according to marine ecologist Enric Sala

BY: BRITTANY VANBIBBER

Last week in New York, National Geographic held one of its NatGeoLive talks at the NYU Skirball Center. Aimed at bringing content and projects alive in lively presentations, this particular NatGeo Live series focused on #PristineSeas, the organization's effort to protect areas of the ocean from over fishing and human intervention.

Presenter and explorer-in-residence Enric Sala has a more-than-impressive background working with oceanography and protection of ocean life. He has been published more than 100 times and has been key in helping to save pristine ocean areas around the world.

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Covering over 80% of the planet, the ocean helps sustain all life on Earth. It regulates our climate and supplies us with more than half the oxygen we breathe, according to National Geographic. Not only that, but it supplies jobs around the globe and helps to support the tourism industry.

However, this wonderful, blue stuff is in danger. Problems like pollution, climate change, extinction of species and overfishing have shifted the ocean's ecosystems. That's why Sala wanted to get involved.

Sala did not become a part of National Geographic in the most obvious way -- he worked as a scientist at UC San Diego, for the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. However, he felt he needed a change when he realized he was just "telling his patient [the ocean] over and over again how it was going to die."

Instead, he wanted to be a part of the solution.

This brought him to where he is today -- a part of National Geographic, working towards creating safer waters for ocean life around the globe.

Click through the slideshow below to see some of the amazing images from the presentation:

Not only did Sala discuss his efforts to locate and protect these 'pristine' locations, he also chimed in about how we can personally help make a difference to protect the oceans. So, what can we do? It's pretty simple, actually:

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It's not a request for flat out vegetarianism or veganism, but rather a conscious decision to cut back on the amount of meat we're eating on a regular basis.

SEE MORE:Interactive map shows how scary sea level rise could get

As of today, Sala and his Pristine Seas project have helped protect over 3 million square kilometers of ocean territory (see the map above for a visual). And, this year the world has protected more ocean space than ever before -- a huge milestone.

You can read more here to get an in-depth look at Pristine Seas, and the problems being addressed and the solutions currently in place.

For additional support: Each purchase ofa bottle of Davidoff Cool Water you can help to protect 10,000 m² of ocean (or over 100,000 square feet). Davidoff supports National Geographic's Pristine Seas program through their Love the Ocean philanthropic campaign.

Watch the video below to see how a 20-year-old inventor plans to save our oceans from plastic:

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