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.
SYLVIA EARLEAmerica gains most when individuals have great freedom to pursue personal goals without undue government interference.
More Sylvia Earle Quotes
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If we could magically transport ourselves back to the young Earth, when it was only a billion years old or two billion years old or three billion years old or four billion years old.
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Far and away, the greatest threat to the ocean, and thus to ourselves, is ignorance. But we can do something about that.
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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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The most important thing for people to know about the governance of the Arctic is that we have a chance now to act to maintain the integrity of the system or to lose it.
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Ten percent of the big fish still remain. There are still some blue whales. There are still some krill in Antarctica.
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Nothing has prepared sharks, squid, krill and other sea creatures for industrial-scale extraction that destroys entire ecosystems while targeting a few species.
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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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I’ve always said, ‘Underwater or on top, men and women are compatible.’
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Every time I slip into the ocean, it’s like going home.
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My mother was known as the ‘bird lady’ of the neighborhood.
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Is a slow but accelerating impact with consequences that will greatly overshadow all the oil spills put together. The warming trend that is CO2-related will overshadow all the oil spills that have ever occurred put together.
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Take away the ice and snow, increase the temperature by even a little, and the realm that makes their lives possible literally melts away.
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We have become frighteningly effective at altering nature.
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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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And there’s no question that it is a factor, but it’s preceded by the loss of resilience and degradation.
SYLVIA EARLE