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Quote by Sylvia Earle

“We have an atmosphere that is roughly 21% oxygen. The rest of it is largely nitrogen. There's just enough carbon dioxide (CO2) to drive photosynthesis. That has been, throughout the history of our species, pretty stable. Until recently.”

Quote by Sylvia Earle

Author

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. more

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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].”

Levels Sea Amount Ocean Consequence Driving Ice Burning Atmosphere Fuel Trends Carbon Fossils Melting Altered Fossil Fuel Carbon Dioxide Alpine Sea Level Rise Ocean Acidification

Author:Sylvia Earle

“We woke up some years ago about the consequences of ozone depletion, the hole in the atmosphere. You can't see it. You can't taste it. You can't smell it. But now we do regard that as a key issue. It's a scientific finding.”

Years Issues Keys Taste Findings Consequence Years Ago Regard Smell Holes Atmosphere Ozone Ozone Depletion

Author:Sylvia Earle

“It's baffling why the issues relating to climate change - [which] have far more obvious and tangible and much more clear-cut evidence about the cause - have been slower for people to accept as a given.”

People Has Beens Given Causes Accepting Issues Clear Cutting Evidence Climate Climate Change Obvious Tangible

Author:Sylvia Earle

“The climate has been changing. Of course it [has]. Evidence throughout history, [which] we can assess, especially during human history, shows there have been ups and downs. But the last ten thousand years have been relatively stable compared to now.”

Years Humans Has Beens Shows Lasts Courses Thousand Ten Evidence Climate Stable Thousand Years Human History Ups & Downs

Author:Sylvia Earle

“There's a vested interest in trying to keep people smoking cigarettes.”

People Trying Interest Smoking Cigarette Vested Interests Smoking Cigarettes

Author:Sylvia Earle

“I've put in so many enigmas and puzzles that it will keep the professors busy for centuries arguing over what I meant, and that's the only way of insuring one's immortality.”

Way Writing Century Busy Arguing Immortality Professors Puzzles Enigma Busy Life

Book:Ulysses

Source: Ulysses

“There is not a well-funded campaign among scientists to say, "Look, here's the evidence. You can read it yourself. Here are the facts. We're not making this up."”

Wells Looks Facts Evidence Scientist Campaigns

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.”

Stills Bigs Failing Planets Ocean Weight Impression

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.”

“There is this sweet spot in time when we have an opportunity to stop killing sharks and tunas and swordfish and other wildlife in the sea before it's too late.”

Opportunity Sea Sweet Late Killing Spots Too Late Wildlife Sharks Before It's Too Late

Author:Sylvia Earle