Since the middle of the 20th century, more has been learnt about the ocean than during all preceding human history; at the same time, more has been lost.
SYLVIA EARLEI’ve had the joy of spending thousands of hours under the sea. I wish I could take people along to see what I see, and to know what I know.
More Sylvia Earle Quotes
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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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I’m not against extracting a modest amount of wildlife out of the ocean for human consumption, but I am really concerned about the large-scale industrial fishing that engages in destructive practices like trawling and longlining.
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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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The concept of ‘peak oil’ has penetrated the hearts and minds of people concerned about energy for the future. ‘Peak fish’ occurred around the end of the 1980s.
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When I write a scientific treatise, I might reach 100 people. When the ‘National Geographic’ covers a project, it communicates about plants and fish and underwater technology to more than 10 million people.
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Humans are the only creatures with the ability to dive deep in the sea, fly high in the sky, send instant messages around the globe, reflect on the past, assess the present and imagine the future.
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Bottom trawling is a ghastly process that brings untold damage to sea beds that support ocean life.
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The sudden release of five million barrels of oil, enormous quantities of methane and two million gallons of toxic dispersants into an already greatly stressed Gulf of Mexico will permanently alter the nature of the area.
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Meat reared on land matures relatively quickly, and it takes only a few pounds of plants to produce a pound of meat.
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The Arctic is a place that historically, during all preceding human history, has largely been an icy realm with an impact on ocean currents.
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The Arctic is an ocean. The southern pole is a continent surrounded by ocean. The North Pole is an ocean, or northern waters. It’s an ocean surrounded by land, basically.
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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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A lumberman will look at a forest and see so many board feet of lumber. I see a living city.
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People still do not understand that a live fish is more valuable than a dead one, and that destructive fishing techniques are taking a wrecking ball to biodiversity.
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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.
SYLVIA EARLE