In March 1940, author John Steinbeck and marine biologist Ed Ricketts sailed to the Sea of Cortez. At the height of World War II in Europe and on the eve of Pearl Harbor, they sought a new understanding of mankind's relationship to the natural world. Can the story of their journey inspire new efforts to preserve the Sea of Cortez, or Gulf of California, and the global biosphere of the oceans?

In March 1940, author John Steinbeck and marine biologist Ed Ricketts sailed to the Sea of Cortez. At the height of World War II in Europe and on the eve of Pearl Harbor, they sought a new understanding of mankind's relationship to the natural world. Can the story of their journey inspire new efforts to preserve the Sea of Cortez, or Gulf of California, and the global biosphere of the oceans?