“The image of Earth from space transformed our view of ourselves. It is maybe the most important image that exists - because we can see ourselves in context in a way that otherwise would be really hard to explain. It should inspire us to wonder about it, to want to know everything we can about it and do everything we can to take care of it.” KnowsWayWantShouldImportantHardWould BeCareEarthSpaceViewsWonderInspireTake CareTransformed Author:Sylvia Earle
“If Darwin could see what we now see, what we now know about the ocean, about the atmosphere, about the nature of life, as we now understand it, about the importance of microbes - I think he would just beam with joy that many of the thoughts and the glimpses of the majesty of life on Earth that he had during his life, now magnified many times over.” IfsThinkingKnowsEarthJoyOceanImportanceAtmosphereGlimpseMajestyBeamMicrobes Author:Sylvia Earle
“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
“Ironically the very energy, the very basis of how we know what we know, has been reliant on having an energy source [necessary] to build rockets to go to the moon and Mars, to support airplanes that fly, and satellites to give us our communication.” KnowsGivingHas BeensEnergySupportCommunicationSourceMoonBasesAirplaneMarsRocketsSatellitesEnergy Sources Author:Sylvia Earle
“Throughout all of human history we've enjoyed certain benign circumstances: an envelope of atmosphere, an envelope of temperature. A kind of resilience that if you cut down trees, then they'll grow back. You take fish, they recover. You put stuff into the atmosphere that you know is not good for us, but we can still breathe. We haven't awakened, generally, to the sense of urgency that does exist.” IfsKnowsHumansKindDoeStillsCertainGrowsStuffCuttingTreeHavensCircumstancesFishesBreatheResilienceEnjoyedAtmosphereOver YouHuman HistoryTemperatureAwakenedUrgencyEnvelopesBenignSense Of Urgency Author:Sylvia Earle
“Even our rules and regulations, our laws, our policies, favor the destructive nature of taking too much from the ocean and using techniques that are horribly destructive. We know they don't work. We know it's not sustainable.” KnowsLawToo MuchPolicyOceanTechniqueFavorsDestructiveRegulationRules And Regulations Author:Sylvia Earle
“It isn't too late to shift from the swift, sharp decline of ocean systems in recent decades to an era of steady recovery. There is time, and there is a growing awareness, which is the best way to counter indifference. People who know might care.” PeopleKnowsWayMightCareGrowingAwarenessOceanLateDecadesBest WayRecoveryErasIndifferenceToo LateSteadyDecline Author:Sylvia Earle
“I am driven by what I know; that the world I love is in trouble.” KnowsWorldLove IsTroubleDriven Author:Sylvia Earle
“Fortunately, we know more about the problems that we have than in all preceding history. We know now the consequences of the things that we put into the air, into the water - of the way we treat life on Earth.” KnowsWayProblemEarthWaterAirConsequenceTreats Author:Sylvia Earle
“You should know what is taken out of the ecosystem in order to give you a moment's sustenance.” KnowsGivingShouldMomentsOrderTakenEcosystemsSustenance Author:Sylvia Earle
“The oceans deserve our respect and care, but you have to know something before you can care about it.” KnowsCareKnowingSeaOceanDeserveEnvironmentalExplorersOcean Conservation Author:Sylvia Earle
“I'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.” PeopleKnowsJoyWishHoursSeaSpending 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.” KnowsMightEarthUniverseEffortSupportTroublePlanetsGrantedSomedayMarsStanding OutEcosystemsHousekeepingGreat EffortColonizing MarsThings We Take For Granted 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.” PeopleKnowsMeanImportantLosesChanceIntegrityCostImportant ThingsWorking ItGovernanceArctic Author:Sylvia Earle
