“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 Source: Sea Change: A Message of the Oceans
“Why does evolution matter? There is so much about the evolution of life, the development of life on Earth that should rivet the attention of everyone to understand where we've come from and where we might be going. We need to understand the world around us if we are to succeed as a species on the planet.” IfsWorldNeedsShouldDoeMatterMightEarthAttentionPlanetsDevelopmentEvolutionSucceedSpeciesEvolution Of Life Author:Sylvia Earle
“The observations that have developed over the years have given us perspective about where we fit in. We are newcomers, really recent arrivals on a planet that is four and a half billion years old.” YearsGivenHalfFourPlanetsPerspectiveFitBillionsObservationArrivalsNewcomers Author:Sylvia Earle
“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
“With respect to the ocean being the heart of our blue planet: We are often asked, 'How much protection is enough?' We can only answer with another question: How much of your heart is worth protecting?” HeartEnoughAnswersPlanetsOceanBlueProtectionBlue Planet Author:Sylvia Earle
“We have the capacity to alter the nature of nature. No, we don't have just the capacity - we are altering the nature of nature, the natural systems that cause the planet to function in our favor.” CausesNaturalPlanetsCapacityFunctionFavors Author:Sylvia Earle
“We're still under the weight of this impression that the ocean is too big to fail, that the planet is too big to fail.” StillsBigsFailingPlanetsOceanWeightImpression Author:Sylvia Earle
“We are depleting this immense diversity and abundance of life, and it matters tremendously for the future of the planet.” MatterPlanetsDiversityAbundanceImmense Author:Sylvia Earle
“The ocean governs the climate and the weather, it is taking care of the temperature and it is shaping the chemistry of our planet.” CarePlanetsOceanClimateWeatherChemistryOur PlanetTemperature Author:Sylvia Earle
“We are not only warming the ocean and the planet as a whole, but we are also acidifying the ocean and changing its chemistry.” WholePlanetsOceanChemistry Author:Sylvia Earle
“We don't have to be that greedy generation that just continued to take down the underpinnings of what makes the planet work in our favor.” GenerationsPlanetsFavorsGreedy Author:Sylvia Earle
“I hope that someday we will find evidence that there is intelligent life among humans on this planet.” HumansInspirationMotivationSeaPlanetsOceanEvidenceIntelligentSomedayConservationIntelligent LifeOcean Conservation Author:Sylvia Earle
“People ask: Why should I care about the ocean? Because the ocean is the cornerstone of earth's life support system, it shapes climate and weather. It holds most of life on earth. 97% of earth's water is there. It's the blue heart of the planet - we should take care of our heart. It's what makes life possible for us. We still have a really good chance to make things better than they are. They won't get better unless we take the action and inspire others to do the same thing. No one is without power. Everybody has the capacity to do something.” PeopleShouldHeartStillsCareActionEarthAsksWaterChanceSupportSeaInspirePlanetsShapesOceanCapacityBlueClimateTake CareWeatherGet BetterShould II CareCornerstonesInspire OthersGood ChanceSupport SystemsSea WaterOcean Conservation Author:Sylvia Earle
“There is a terribly terrestrial mindset about what we need to do to take care of the planet-as if the ocean somehow doesn't matter or is so big, so vast that it can take care of itself, or that there is nothing that we could possibly do that we could harm the ocean...We are learning otherwise.” IfsNeedsMatterBigsCareEnvironmentPlanetsOceanTake CareMindsetHarm Author:Sylvia Earle
“We are all together in this, we are all together in this single living ecosystem called Planet Earth. As we learn how we fit into the greater scheme of things, and begin to understand how the system works, we can plan ahead, we can use the resources responsibly, to show some respect for this inheritance that goes back 4.6 billion years.” YearsUseShowsEarthTogetherResponsibilityGreaterPlansPlanetsFitResourcesBillionsSchemesInheritancePlanet EarthEcosystems Author:Sylvia Earle
“Why is it that scuba divers and surfers are some of the strongest advocates of ocean conservation? Because they've spent time in and around the ocean, and they've personally seen the beauty, the fragility, and even the degradation of our planet's blue heart.” HeartWaterSeaPlanetsOceanBlueStrongestConservationOur PlanetDegradationFragilitySurferScubaOcean ConservationBlue OceanScuba Divers Author:Sylvia Earle
“We are all together in this, we are all together in this single living ecosystem called planet earth.” EarthTogetherPlansPlanetsPlanet EarthEcosystems Author:Sylvia Earle
“Ten percent of the big fish still remain. There are still some blue whales. There are still some krill in Antarctica. There are a few oysters in Chesapeake Bay. Half the coral reefs are still in pretty good shape, a jeweled belt around the middle of the planet. There's still time, but not a lot, to turn things around.” StillsBigsTurnsHalfSeaMiddlePlanetsShapesTenPercentRiversBlueFishesBoatLakesFishingBeltsWhalesOystersReefsAntarcticaBig FishCoral ReefsChesapeake Bay 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.” TwoSituationPlanetsBillionsWildlife 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.” SeaPlanetsAmountShapesStoresAtmosphereYieldChemistrySteadyOrganismsCarbonOxygenCarbon Dioxide 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 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.” HumansTurnsInfluencePlanetsOceanImpactRateCurrentsVulnerableAtmosphereRealmsExcessCarbonHuman HistoryTemperatureMeltingStunningArcticIcyCarbon DioxideOcean Currents Author:Sylvia Earle
