My mother was known as the ‘bird lady’ of the neighborhood.
SYLVIA EARLEAs a child, I was aware of the widely-held attitude that the ocean is so big, so resilient that we could use the sea as the ultimate place to dispose of anything.
More Sylvia Earle Quotes
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There is a terribly terrestrial mindset about what we need to do to take care of the planet.
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And there’s no question that it is a factor, but it’s preceded by the loss of resilience and degradation.
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Anything injured, or any unusual creature somebody found, they would always come to our doorstep.
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When I arrived on the planet, there were only two billion. Wildlife was more abundant, we were less so; now the situation is reversed.
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We need to respect the oceans and take care of them as if our lives depended on it. Because they do.
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With every drop of water you drink, every breath you take, you’re connected to the sea.
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Look at the bark of a redwood, and you see moss.
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That, in turn, influences the temperature of the planet. The Arctic is now vulnerable because of the excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, with a rate of melting that is stunning.
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Any astronaut can tell you you’ve got to do everything you can to learn about your life support system and then do everything you can to take care of it.
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If you think the ocean isn’t important, imagine Earth without it. Mars comes to mind. No ocean, no life support system.
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No matter where on Earth you live. Most of the oxygen in the atmosphere is generated by the sea.
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We have become frighteningly effective at altering nature.
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We wouldn’t be able to survive. We would have a hard time surviving if we were transported to the time when dinosaurs were around.
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By the end of the 20th century, up to 90 percent of the sharks, tuna, swordfish, marlins, groupers, turtles, whales, and many other large creatures that prospered in the Gulf for millions of years had been depleted by overfishing.
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For heaven’s sake, when you see the enemy attacking, you pick up the pitchfork, and you enlist everybody you see.
SYLVIA EARLE