" The boy is surrounded for miles on all sides by millions of scattered, dying starfish that have washed ashore with the tide. The boy is picking the starfish up and throwing them back into the water. The academic approaches and asks, “What are you doing?” And the boy tells him that the tide is going out and the starfish will die. Confused, the academic says, “But there are so many, millions even, how can it matter?” The boy leans down, picks one up, and throws it far out into the ocean. He smiles and says, “It matters for that one. "

― Michelle Richmond , The Marriage Pact