An Encounter with Dr. Sylvia Earle
Ann Keibler Apr 21, 2011
Stephanie and her
family with Sylvia Earle
This year, my family and I and other members of the Oceanic Ventures team were fortunate to meet an extraordinary individual, Dr. Sylvia Earle, who has a deep commitment to protecting and conserving the marine environment. Sharing a few impressions from our encounter will, I hope, show how we can all work toward having a lasting positive impact on oceanocean conservation.
You might ask why this topic is of any importance, and how protecting the oceans will affect you or your family. Simply put, the human race depends on the oceans for life. And as divers, we rely on the oceans for our recreation and exploration.
The oceans are responsible for the production of a major portion, up to 50-70%, of atmospheric oxygen. Oceans also sequester carbon dioxide that we produce but are unable to metabolize. Billions and billions of tiny microorganisms living in the ocean use photosynthesis to produce oxygen by capturing carbon dioxide and energy from sunlight. Furthermore, oceans support the essential water cycle that brings rain and freshwater to land, allowing us ample water resources for agriculture and recreation.
The oceans are already showing the stress of human activities. If we fail to take action to further protect these vast and wonderful environments, we risk facing a world with insufficient oxygen, an altered water cycle with unknown consequences, and further buildup of toxic carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
But the news isn’t entirely grim. Sylvia Earle emphasizes that we are living in the very best of times. We have the knowledge and resources to protect and conserve our marine environments, while also sustaining important activities for humans, including fishing, drilling for oil and oceanic shipping.
Sylvia is an oceanographer and a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence. Many of us would know her through her diving history. Sylvia holds the record as having made the deepest untethered dive to a depth of 1000 meters (3300 feet) for men or women, an amazingly impressive feat. Sylvia has logged over 6000 hours underwater, on par with Ann and Eric! She’s been diving all over the world, but has a deep passion for the Gulf of Mexico, where she first dove and spent many hours enjoying as a child.
Sylvia spoke on April 5 at the Progressive Forum in Houston. Her message was loud and clear. We must take action to protect and conserve our marine environments, while also finding better ways to utilize the oceans for human needs. Sylvia reported that we are seriously overfishing, particularly large ocean fish such as bluefin tuna and sharks. Beyond the absolute beauty and impressive size of these creatures, they are critical for maintaining the balance of life in the oceans. As animals near at or near the top of the food chain, they keep smaller fish species in check, which is important for the health of the rest of marine ecosystems such as coral reefs. Other long-lived and slowly reproducing species such as orange roughy are also threatened by overfishing.
What you can do: become more aware of how our lifestyle might inadvertently contribute to overfishing. The Monterey Bay Aquarium in California is a great place to get started.
Sylvia also emphasized that we must invest time and effort into finding better methods to better utilize the oceans for human activities. An obvious example was brought to light last year during the Deepwater Horizon drilling disaster. This accident took the lives of 11 people and countless numbers of marine species. We still don’t understand the ecological ramifications of the oil that was spilled, or the dispersants that were used, particularly their effect at deep depths in the Gulf. A major impact may be on the tiny photosynthetic organisms that produce oxygen for our atmosphere, as well as larger marine and bird species. As the Deepwater Horizon disaster revealed, we need to ensure that we develop cutting-edge technologies to explore and drill, and contain unanticipated oil leaks. One mile (or 161 ATM in diver terms) or more beneath the ocean surface prneudes extraordinary challenges. Sylvia pointed out that the oil industry and Houston itself were leaders in developing the needed technology.
What you can do: support investments in education and technology development that prneude the most efficient methods of extracting and using energy resources such as oil.
A third point Sylvia discussed is to develop a system of protected marine environments, similar to the National Parks on land that prneude areas for human recreation and conservation of thousands of terrestrial species. President George W. Bush designated three Marine National Monuments within the last few weeks of his presidency that will prneude much needed protection for coral reefs in the Pacific Ocean. But more work is needed to protect areas in the Pacific as well as other oceans, and our own backyard, the Gulf of Mexico.
What you can do: become informed about conservation efforts through agencies such as the Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund and Sylvia’s own Mission Blue.
Mission blue logoMission Blue is specifically aimed at conserving and protecting the oceans. We are all capable of contributing to this effort, on large or small scales, depending on our resources, expertise and time. Protecting the oceans for our use, the vast numbers of marine species, the health of the planet, and future generations, is within our grasp. Here are a few ways to get started:
- Learn about sustainable seafood.
- Let your government representatives know that you support agencies that conduct marine research.
- Support marine conservation agencies.
- Support educational efforts about marine environments and their protection; let your government representatives know that you think education is vital.
- Help locally with beach clean-ups.
- Think about what you put on your lawn, and the fact that it will eventually end up in the Gulf of Mexico.
- Reduce waste, reuse and recycle.
