Her Deepness
Fans of Dr. Sylvia Earle (myself included) so respect her
for her ocean science and advocacy that we call her “Her Deepness” and “The
Sturgeon General.”
Now 80, this diver, scientist, explorer, advocate, aquanaut
was the first female chief scientist for NOAA, Time Magazine’s first Hero of
the Planet (1998) and is currently National Geographic Explorer in Residence.
I heard her speak last week here in Monterey. I highly recommend the film “Mission
Blue” that she made with (and you can see it on) Netflix, about her life and
her work, as well as her many YouTube talks, and her award winning TED
talk.
Not just a world class scientist, she is a tireless advocate
and a fantastic interpreter of ocean issues for the public. And she has her own Lego figure!
I’ll hand the rest of this week’s Blue Theology posting over
to her:
“The most valuable thing we extract from the ocean is our
own existence.”
“No child left dry – get them out there in the ocean!”
“No water, no life.
No blue, no green.”
“I wish you would use all means at your disposal – films!,
expeditions!, the web! new submarines! – to create a campaign to ignite public
support for a global network of marine protected areas, Hope Spots, large
enough to save and restore the blue heart of the planet.”
“I want everyone to go jump in the ocean to see for
themselves how beautiful it is, how important it is to get acquainted with fish
swimming in the ocean, rather than just swimming with lemon slices and butter.”
Earle travels 300 days a year, lectures, lobbies, visits and
dives in the now 50 official Hope Spots in the world’s oceans, large marine
protected areas. She is passionate
and hopeful.
The day after I heard her speak she was on her way to see
Laura and George W. Bush – she wanted to thank Pres. Bush for designating the
then largest Hope Spot, in Northwest Hawaii (Obama has since designated more)
and she intended to encourage them to do more for the oceans.
Get ready, Bushes, to honor and obey Her Deepness.
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