Can we achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 9 years from now as modern society in 2021 facing the “Three Planetary Crises” of climate, biodiversity, and pollution including chemicals and waste? Can the major countries, starting with Japan, build a carbon neutral society by 2050? I would like to elaborate these questions using “ocean” and “recycling-based economy” as keywords.

Seaweed is a term that denotes the green, red, and brown algae which grow in the ocean. If we follow their lineages, we see that out of the 8 eukaryotic supergroups, green and red algae belong in Archaeplastida and brown algae in Stramenopiles. Green algae have evolved into land plants. Red algae grew quietly in the ocean for one billion years, and brown algae came to play the leading role in marine and coastal ecosystems in the last hundred million years. Seaweed sustains the global environment as a blue carbon producer.

The Tobacco & Salt Museum introduces the history and culture of tobacco and salt which were once monopoly goods (in Japan). The permanent exhibition room on salt features easy-to-understand displays, such as on salts from around the world, the history of salt-making in Japan, and the roles of salt. Salt is indispensable for the survival of not only mankind, but also animals. This article discusses the importance of salt, one of the bounties of the sea, as well as its roles and how it’s produced and used.