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Sylvia Earle

Sylvia Earle Quotes

Explorer

Sylvia Earle, born on August 30, 1935, is a renowned marine explorer. She is known for her in-depth research on marine ecosystems and her advocacy for ocean conservation.

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All Ocean Sea Ifs Planets Earth Knows People Humans Water Years

Famous Sylvia Earle Quotes

“If you think the ocean isn't important, imagine Earth without it. Mars comes to mind. No ocean, no life support system.”

Ifs Thinking Mind Important Earth Support Imagine Ocean Mars Support Systems

Book:The World Is Blue

Source: The World Is Blue

“In terms of personal choices, let's all think more carefully about where we get our protein from.”

Thinking Choices Term Protein Personal Choice

Author:Sylvia Earle

“Like a shipwreck or a jetty, almost anything that forms a structure in the ocean, whether it is natural or artificial over time, collects life.”

Form Natural Ocean Structure Artificial Shipwreck Jetty

Author:Sylvia Earle

“Meat reared on land matures relatively quickly, and it takes only a few pounds of plants to produce a pound of meat.”

Land Produce Plant Meat Pounds

Author:Sylvia Earle

“My parents moved to Florida when I was 12, and my backyard was the Gulf of Mexico.”

Parent Moved Mexico Florida Backyards Gulf Of Mexico

Author:Sylvia Earle

“The end of commercial fishing is predicted long before the middle of the 21st century.”

Long Ends Middle Century Fishing 21st Century

Author:Sylvia Earle

“We have been far too aggressive about extracting ocean wildlife, not appreciating that there are limits and even points of no return.”

Has Beens Return Limits Ocean Appreciate Aggressive Wildlife

Author:Sylvia Earle

“When I arrived on the planet, there were only two billion. Wildlife was more abundant, we were less so; now the situation is reversed.”

Two Situation Planets Billions Wildlife

Author:Sylvia Earle

“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.”

Years Ends Millions Century Creatures Percent 20th Century Sharks Whales Turtles Tuna Overfishing

Author:Sylvia Earle

“Photosynthetic organisms in the sea yield most of the oxygen in the atmosphere, take up and store vast amounts of carbon dioxide, shape planetary chemistry, and hold the planet steady.”

Sea Planets Amount Shapes Stores Atmosphere Yield Chemistry Steady Organisms Carbon Oxygen Carbon Dioxide

Author:Sylvia Earle

“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.”

People Writing Might Millions Technology Projects Plant Fishes Communicate Underwater National Geographic

Author:Sylvia Earle

“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.”

Care Support Take Care Astronaut Support Systems

Author:Sylvia Earle

“As 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 we did not want, from garbage and nuclear wastes to sludge from sewage to entire ships that had reached the end of their useful life.”

Want Children Ends Use Bigs Attitude Sea Waste Ocean Ultimate Nuclear Ships Garbage Resilient Sewage Useful Life Nuclear Waste

Author:Sylvia Earle

“Earth as an ecosystem stands out in the all of the universe. There's no place that we know about that can support life as we know it, not even our sister planet, Mars, where we might set up housekeeping someday, but at great effort and trouble we have to recreate the things we take for granted here.”

Knows Might Earth Universe Effort Support Trouble Planets Granted Someday Mars Standing Out Ecosystems Housekeeping Great Effort Colonizing Mars Things We Take For Granted

Author:Sylvia Earle

“For humans, the Arctic is a harshly inhospitable place, but the conditions there are precisely what polar bears require to survive - and thrive. 'Harsh' to us is 'home' for them. Take away the ice and snow, increase the temperature by even a little, and the realm that makes their lives possible literally melts away.”

Humans Littles Home Conditions Bears Increase Snow Ice Realms Thrive Harsh Temperature Arctic Polar Bears Ice And Snow

Author:Sylvia Earle

“Forty percent of the United States drains into the Mississippi. It's agriculture. It's golf courses. It's domestic runoff from our lawns and roads. Ultimately, where does it go? Downstream into the gulf.”

Doe States Courses United United States Percent Golf Forty Agriculture Drains Lawns Golf Course Mississippi

Author:Sylvia Earle

“'Green' issues at last are attracting serious attention, owing to critically important links between the environment and the economy, health, and our security.”

Important Lasts Attention Economy Issues Environment Security Serious Green Links Owing

Author:Sylvia Earle

“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.”

Humans Practice Amount Ocean Concerned Scales Destructive Fishing Consumption Modest Wildlife Large Scale

Author:Sylvia Earle

“It's a fact of life that there will be oil spills, as long as oil is moved from place to place, but we must have provisions to deal with them, and a capability that is commensurate with the size of the oil shipments.”

Long Facts Deals Moved Size Oil Capability Provision Facts Of Life Spills Oil Spill

Author:Sylvia Earle

“It's mainly the high-end luxury market now that drives much of the fishing in the sea. It's not feeding the starving millions. It's feeding a luxury market.”

Ends Millions Sea Luxury Fishing Feeding Starving

Author:Sylvia Earle

“Look at the bark of a redwood, and you see moss. If you peer beneath the bits and pieces of the moss, you'll see toads, small insects, a whole host of life that prospers in that miniature environment. A lumberman will look at a forest and see so many board feet of lumber. I see a living city.”

Ifs Looks Whole Bits Cities Environment Pieces Feet Forests Boards Host Peers Insects Bark Moss Miniatures Toads Bits And Pieces Redwoods Lumber

Author:Sylvia Earle

“Ocean acidification - the excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that is turning the oceans increasingly acid - 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.”

Together Ocean Consequence Impact Oil Atmosphere Related Trends Excess Carbon Acid Spills Carbon Dioxide Co2 Oil Spill Ocean Acidification

Author:Sylvia Earle

“Our insatiable appetite for fossil fuels and the corporate mandate to maximize shareholder value encourages drilling without taking into account the costs to the ocean, even without major spills.”

Values Cost Ocean Majors Accounts Corporate Fuel Appetite Fossils Fossil Fuel Spills Mandates Insatiable Shareholders Drilling Shareholder Value

Author:Sylvia Earle

“Protecting vital sources of renewal - unscathed marshes, healthy reefs, and deep-sea gardens - will provide hope for the future of the Gulf, and for all of us.”

Sea Source Healthy Garden Renewal Reefs Hope For The Future Marshes Deep Sea

Author:Sylvia Earle

“Santa Monica Bay is less polluted today than when I first moved to the area in the 1970s, because actions have been taken to avoid putting some of the noxious materials into the sea. I think people are more aware than they once were, the air is cleaner, water generally is, in spite of the fact that there are more people.”

People Thinking Firsts Has Beens Facts Today Action Water Taken Air Sea Materials Areas Moved Spite Santa Cleaners Monica Santa Monica

Author:Sylvia Earle

“Some experts look at global warming, increased world temperature, as the critical tipping point that is causing a crash in coral reef health around the world. And there's no question that it is a factor, but it's preceded by the loss of resilience and degradation.”

World Looks Loss Critical Resilience Factors Around The World Experts Global Warming Crash Temperature Degradation Tipping Reefs Tipping Point Coral Reefs

Author:Sylvia Earle

“The Arctic is a place that historically, during all preceding human history, has largely been an icy realm with an impact on ocean currents. 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.”

Humans Turns Influence Planets Ocean Impact Rate Currents Vulnerable Atmosphere Realms Excess Carbon Human History Temperature Melting Stunning Arctic Icy Carbon Dioxide Ocean Currents

Author:Sylvia Earle

“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.”

Water Land Ocean Southern Continents Arctic North Pole

Author:Sylvia Earle

“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.”

People Mind Heart Ends Energy Concepts Concerned Fishes Oil Heart And Mind Peak Oil

Author:Sylvia Earle

“The Exxon Valdez spill triggered a swift and strong response that changed policies about shipping, about double-hulled construction. A number of laws came into place.”

Law Strong Numbers Policy Changed Response Construction Spills Shipping

Author:Sylvia Earle

“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. To lose it means that we will dismember the vital systems that make the Arctic work. It's not just a cost to the people who live there. It's a cost to all people everywhere.”

People Knows Mean Important Loses Chance Integrity Cost Important Things Working It Governance Arctic

Author:Sylvia Earle

“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.”

Two Millions Five Areas Oil Enormous Release Toxic Mexico Quantity Stressed Barrels Gallons Gulf Of Mexico Methane Enormous Quantities

Author:Sylvia Earle

“When I first ventured into the Gulf of Mexico in the 1950s, the sea appeared to be a blue infinity too large, too wild to be harmed by anything that people could do.”

People Firsts Sea Blue Infinity Mexico Gulf Of Mexico

Author:Sylvia Earle

“Sharks are beautiful animals, and if you're lucky enough to see lots of them, that means that you're in a healthy ocean. You should be afraid if you are in the ocean and don't see sharks.”

Ifs Should Mean Enough Beautiful Animal Healthy Lucky Ocean Sharks

Author:Sylvia Earle

“I suggest to everyone: Look in the mirror. Ask yourself: Who are you? What are your talents? Use them, and do what you love.”

Looks Use Asks Talent Mirrors What You Love

Author:Sylvia Earle

“We need to respect the oceans and take care of them as if our lives depended on it. Because they do.”

Ifs Needs Care Our Lives Ocean Take Care

Author:Sylvia Earle

“This much is certain: We have the power to damage the sea, but no sure way to heal the harm.”

Way Certain Nature Sea Harm Heal Damage

Author:Sylvia Earle

“Nearly all of the major kinds of life, divisions of life, phyla of animals, occur in the sea. Only about half of them can make it to land or freshwater.”

Kind Animal Half Sea Land Majors Division

Author:Sylvia Earle

“Nothing has prepared sharks, squid, krill and other sea creatures for industrial-scale extraction that destroys entire ecosystems while targeting a few species.”

Sea Creatures Prepared Species Scales Sharks Ecosystems Extraction Squids

Author:Sylvia Earle

“Places change over time with or without oil spills, but humans are responsible for the Deepwater Horizon gusher - and humans, as well as the corals, fish and other creatures, are suffering the consequences.”

Humans Wells Suffering Creatures Consequence Responsible Fishes Oil Horizon Spills Oil Spill Changes Over Time Suffering The Consequences

Author:Sylvia Earle

“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.”

Humans Has Beens Lost Middle Century Ocean 20th Century Human History

Author:Sylvia Earle

“There's something missing about how we're informing the youngsters coming along about what matters in the world. We teach them the numbers and the letters, but we fail to communicate the importance of our connection to the living world.”

World Matter Numbers Teach Failing Missing Letters Connections Importance Communicate What Matters Youngsters Informing

Author:Sylvia Earle

About the Author

Born: August 30, 1935
Known for: Explorer
Quotes: 192

Related Topics

Ocean Sea Ifs Planets Earth Knows People Humans Water Years

Popular Topics

People Ifs Thinking Knows Men World Way Want Love Life Inspirational Needs Giving Feels Should Writing Trying Years Mind Firsts

Books & Sources

Sea Change: A Message of the OceansRelated source material

The World Is BlueRelated source material

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