TIME Magazine named Dr. Sylvia Earle the First Hero of the Planet in 1998. Her lifetime devotion to the study of the Earth’s oceans — and the creatures within them — has been a calling she couldn’t ignore. She’s spent thousands of hours under the sea as a scientist and is committed to sharing what she has seen and learned so everyone can benefit from her knowledge. “Because once you know, you can’t ignore it,” she tells host Tony Chapman, citing the decline of the oceans she has seen first-hand.
She recounts to listeners her remarkable experience of standing on the ocean floor and seeing the sparkle and glow of bioluminescent creatures. She talks about the technology and teamwork that has enabled deep-sea exploration and the amount of discovery that has taken place within the last fifty years (more than during all preceding history). She also talks about the indiscriminate destruction of ocean trawlers, the impact of fishing for choice and luxury, and the consequences of treating our oceans as a “free grocery store and garbage dump.”
This is a time like never before, she tells Chapman, saying that the world has to figure out how to make peace with the oceans and with nature — and must hurry. What is done in the next ten years, she says, will affect life on this Earth in the future. “We live because the ocean is alive.”
Dr. Earle encourages people, communities, regions and countries to come together and take action for change. Despite differences, she urges people to find common ground. “We all like to breathe,” she says. “It’s one thing we can all agree on.”
Dr. Sylvia Earle has been one of the most influential explorers and scientists of our time — and her conversation today is sure to influence action and effort to secure the Earth for generations.
Tony Chapman created the Chatter That Matters podcast to counter the storm of negativity and impossibility with true stories of ordinary people who do extraordinary things. He chats with Olympians, Advocates, Celebrities, Leaders, and people who battled what seemed like insurmountable odds.
In doing, listeners hear life lessons that inspire all of us to do more and to be more, to help us get to where we need, want and deserve to go. RBC is the presenting sponsor.
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