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Sylvia Earle

Sylvia Earle Quotes

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Famous Sylvia Earle Quotes

“The living ocean drives planetary chemistry, governs climate and weather, and otherwise provides the cornerstone of the life-support system for all creatures on our planet, from deep-sea starfish to desert sagebrush. That's why the ocean matters. If the sea is sick, we'll feel it. If it dies, we die. Our future and the state of the oceans are one.”

IfsFeelsMatterStatesDiesSupportSeaPlanetsCreaturesOceanSickClimateWeatherDesertChemistryOur FutureOur PlanetCornerstonesSupport SystemsDeep SeaStarfish
Book:Sea Change: A Message of the Oceans
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“When some people look at a shrimp they think, "Hmm. Delicious." When I look at a shrimp I think, "You're a miracle, absolutely incredible. Your ancestors have gone back hundreds of millions of years." And to develop a thing as simple as a shrimp cocktail, you have to calculate the hundreds of millions of years that have preceded that moment where you're sitting there with your sauce and fork poised.”

PeopleThinkingYearsLooksMomentsSimpleMillionsGoneSittingMiracleIncrediblesThat MomentAncestorDeliciousSauceCocktailsForksHmmShrimp
Author:Sylvia Earle
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“The diversity of life on Earth, generally, is astonishing. But despite those large numbers, it's also important to recognize that every species, one way or another, is vulnerable to extinction. And in our time on Earth... our impact on the diversity of life has been profound.”

WayHas BeensImportantEarthNumbersDiversityImpactProfoundSpeciesDespiteVulnerableOne WayOur TimeExtinctionAstonishingLarge NumbersTime On EarthDiversity Of LifeOur Time On Earth
Author:Sylvia Earle
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“This is a living planet. Look around. Mars, Venus, Jupiter. Look beyond our solar system. Where else is there a place that works, that is just right for the likes of us? It has not happened just instantly. It is vulnerable to our actions. But it's the result of four and a half billion years of evolution, of change over time. And it changes every day, all the time. It would be in our interest to try to maintain a certain level of stability that has enabled us to prosper, to not wreck the very systems that give us life.”

GivingTryingYearsLooksWould BeActionCertainInterestLevelsResultsHalfFourHappenedPlanetsEvolutionBillionsLikesVulnerableStabilityMarsOur ActionsWrecksVenusSolar SystemJupiterChanges Over Time
Author:Sylvia Earle
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“People I know who succeed don't mind working. Those who are competent seem to like doing things well -- not stopping because they haven't accomplished what they wanted to on the first go-round. They're willing to do it twenty times, if necessary. There's an illusion that the good people can easily do something, and it's not necessarily true. They're just determined to do it right. I was impressed by hearing one of the women at Radcliffe talk about writing a poem, how many revisions a single poem sometimes has to go through -- fifty or sixty revisions to come out with a poem sixteen lines long.”

PeopleIfsKnowsWritingMindFirstsWellsLongSometimesSeemsWantedLinesHavensWillingSucceedIllusionTwentiesRoundsHearingDeterminedAccomplishedFiftyGood PeopleSixtyImpressedStoppingCompetentSixteenRevision
Author:Sylvia Earle
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“My first breath was just...it just seemed impossible that you could actually breathe underwater. I knew in my mind it was possible, but actually experiencing it was such a gulp of joy and I feel it every time I go under the ocean. I love doing it, to be able to feel weightless, to spin on one finger, to do somersaults, to be like a graceful ballerina - even with a huge tank on your back you can do the most extraordinary things.”

FeelsMindFirstsAbleJoyCan DoImpossibleHugeOceanBreathsFingersExtraordinaryBreatheTanksExtraordinary ThingsBallerinaUnderwater
Author:Sylvia Earle
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“The burning of fossil fuels has altered the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere so rapidly and so abundantly that now, we are driving not just the warming trend, not just the sea level rise that is a consequence of the warming trend that is melting polar ice and alpine ice, but also [ocean acidification].”

LevelsSeaAmountOceanConsequenceDrivingIceBurningAtmosphereFuelTrendsCarbonFossilsMeltingAlteredFossil FuelCarbon DioxideAlpineSea Level RiseOcean Acidification
Author:Sylvia Earle
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