International OCEAN FILM TOUR Volume 5 | Key Note Dr. Sylvia Earle
What. An honor it is to be here. At. This international ocean, film, tour, what. A concept, let's share the ocean with the world, with. Films, such. As you, have just witnessed those. Big, waves and. That. Beautiful, reef around, the music I mean, we. Are so privileged. Thank. You, ocean. Film. Tour for making this, possible for bringing, us together and to, reflect, on. The, big questions. Who. Are we, anyway, where did we come from where are we going the big big. Deep. Questions. Imagine. In. All of the, history of life, on Earth. Here. In, the 21st century we, can look at the Stars. We. Know, what. They are, our. Long ago ancestors. Could. Look but they did not know. Other. Creatures, elephants. Dolphins whales. Big. Fish can, look up and, and. Dream. But they do not know what, we know. We. Know earth is. Blue. In. A universe, of. Unfriendly. Options. We, have a place. Blessed. With, an ocean filled, with life. Our. Sister, planet Mars. Is. Beautiful. But. We. Can't live there without a lot, of effort. Maybe. Someday, humans. Will be living, on Mars, but. Now we have 7 billion, of us on this. Magical. Amazing. Wondrous. Miracle. Of a planet, nothing. Like, it in, the universe, and. It's. Filled with life not just us. But, all of those gazillions. Of other creatures. Most. Of them still. Unknown. Unnamed. And most. Of them in, the, ocean. We're. Beginning to explore. It's never before, we. Have a chance, we. Lucky. To be here, in, the. 21st, century as. Humans. Measure time, and. We. Humans, have. This gift of, learning. Things, of. Passing. It along learning, things passing, it along so now we. You, know, as, none. Of our predecessors. Could. No could. Not measure, the changes. That. Are taking place. On. The planet that is, our. Home in that, universe. Now. We. Know what. I. Could. Not know as a child we did not have. The capacity to, be, high in the sky or. Deep in the sea would. You be able to look at, our. Polar areas, or look. At the land and, see how we. Have. Altered. The. Nature of. Nature. The. Nature of the world that keeps us alive. We. Are gifted. With an opportunity that, has never been possible before, and. If. We wait. Much longer may. Never come again. This. Is the moment when we can see, that. Our. Influence. On, our. Home. May. Lead. To, a planet, so changed. That. We cannot. Survive. Polar. Bears. Have. A. Possibility. Of not, surviving. This. Century. Now. We know, what. We're putting, into the ocean what we're taking out of the ocean what we're putting into the skies. What. We're taking from nature. Is. Changing. This. Little blue. Miracle. In the, universe in, my. Lifetime I've, been a witness to, these, changes, so. The view I've. Been around a little bit longer so I've seen a little more change than most of you. When. I began exploring, the ocean in the. 1950s. The. World was so different, already. Our, impact, was obvious, but, nothing, like, what, has happened, since, the. 1950s. When. People ask me and they often do what is the best place, to go diving I say, almost. Anywhere. 50. Years ago. So. You, know we. Have the evidence, did. Not have the evidence when I was a child. Or any, who preceded, those. Who lived in, Prior, times, and, all. Of those other smart, animals, on the planet and. I think about, albatrosses. Big-brained. Manta. Rays they're really smart but. They do not know. What. The kids are children. Of today, understand. That. We, have. We, are altering. The. Natural, world that keeps us alive, we. See that what we put into the atmosphere, through. Burning fossil, fuels, is warming, the planet. Acidifying. The ocean. Altering. The, nature of the ocean, the. Warming. The changes, generally, or. Fostering. Storms, of greater frequency and. Greater. Intensity. Our. Requirements. Are we think of them as needs most, often. They are choices, about our, use of energy. It. Has propelled, who, we were a thousand. Years ago five. Hundred years ago, even. 50, years ago to. New levels of prosperity. But. There has been a, cost. A cost, that, we're now beginning to recognize. And. Say wait if, we continue. Doing. What we're doing our, future, is. At risk. So. It's. All. About knowing, which. Is why I am so pleased to be here with you now this is about, knowing, these.
Films, That you are witnessing, give. Us a glimpse of the, state, of the world and you every, one of you becomes. An ambassador. A voice. To. Spread to others who don't know what, you know don't see, what you see share the. Evidence of. What. We're putting into the ocean what we're taking out of the ocean how, we're taking. Too much out of the natural, systems without accounting. Or. Really. Acknowledging. The cost. So. Yes. There are oil spills. But. One. Of the biggest problems, we now face is. That other kind, of oil, spill. The. Plastics, made of. Petroleum. If, you will, of. The same material, that we burn for, our, energy. Sources. We. Turn into these gorgeous. Wonderful. Universally. Accepted. Products, that. Have facilitated. And made. Our lives so. Convenient. But. The great inconvenience. To life, in, the sea. That only, now are we able to. Dive. In and see the consequences. Look at the evidence what is the real cost of our, prosperity, can we have. Our prosperity. Without. Damaging. Fatally. The, nature of the world oh the. Answer is yes, but. First you have to know. What. The issues are you look at the evidence and then you change according, to what, you know. Now. We know yeah. With, every, breath we take. We. Say or, should say thank you oh she Thank You phytoplankton. Thank. You photosynthesis. Because, that's. How oxygen, is generated. Mostly. By the tiny. Beautiful jewel-like. Organisms. In the sea that capture. Sunlight capture. Carbon dioxide. Generate. Food generate, oxygen and they've, been doing it for literally. Billions. Of, years, and. Here. We are the. Beneficiaries. Of all. Of that action over a long period, of time, building. Creating. A world that is just right. For us and for. A lot of other creatures that, depend. On, all. Of that action. Starting. With microbes, starting. With sunlight, starting. Four-and-a-half. Billion years ago. But. In a few decades we. Human, beings we greedy, human, beings who, didn't know. We're. Cutting. Through, consuming. Degrading. Those, amazing. Assets, in ignorance. Not understanding. There are limits to what. We can put into the sea limits, to what we can take out of the sea the. Good news. Now. We know. We. Can see what. I didn't, know as a child the, ocean too-big-to-fail. Right. No now, we know it, is failing. This. Image. Of the fins of a. Few of, the, hundreds. Of millions of, sharks that have. Been sacrificed. In, recent. Times. Because. Of a luxury, taste that. Humans, have, developed for. Soup made, of their fins the, Sharks have no idea. That. Their greatest enemy, could. Be a, terrestrial. Creature, a primate, us they've, been around for more than, 300. Million, years. And. Then along we come and we. Just get this idea. That. Cutting. Off their fins making soup is just. One of those things that we should do right. Well. Maybe. We need to rethink that. Tuna. Fish when I was a child nobody, ate, tuna it was, well a few people did especially in. The, Mediterranean. Sea in. Coastal. Areas in islands. Where. The, big tuna, like these blue fins would come sailing. Past and they'd take a few and they'd help sustain the prosperity, of, those, communities, of those people. But. Today. Tuna. Is, available. In supermarkets, in. Restaurants. Far. Inland, far from where they actually live people have no idea. What. A tuna, looks like they think the. Tuna, might look like something, round and, you, know with. A metallic cover that you open, like, a can. Or. They see tuna. All nicely, displayed and, presented. As sushi. Or sashimi. Those. Of us who've been privileged. To. See tuna. Think. Cheetah. Eagle. A, magnificent. Creature it. Is worth. Saving. For their own magnificence. What. Right do we have to eliminate, them from the, planet, just because we, have decided in recent. Years that, they taste good go. Figure it takes. Thousands. Of pounds of, tiny, little phytoplankton. Organisms. Over. Years. To make one, pound of a. Bluefin tuna and, we. Think nothing it just tastes, good. We. Used to think whales were simply commodities. When. I was a child, whalers were, still being celebrated, as great heroes. But. We began to see whales, with. New eyes new, values. New appreciation, to. Realize. Whales. Communicate. With one another we, do too. They. Have families, so. Do we, they. Have a brain. Some. Of us have dreams too. But. The whole idea that these. Incredible. Creatures that we do not know how to cultivate. We. Can't put one back together once, they're gone but we, knew they there. Was a market for whales and we. Took whales from where they were a thousand.
Years Ago five hundred years ago a. Hundred. Years ago and then. It, was pretty obvious that, if, we continued, doing. What we were doing. We. Would see a time with no whales whether, you like them alive or dead if, we kept killing them the way we were nations. Around the world people who. Got into the ocean divers, who got the sea whales with new eyes could. See them differently. Well now. We're beginning to see fish. And. Other sea creatures not, just as. Seafood. But. As sea, life. They're. Speaking to us those fish if only they could if, they could just be. Here tonight and I'd give them the microphone, and say well what do you think. What, do you think about primates. Taking. Your. 33. Thousand, or so variations. On the theme of fish, and. Turning. Them into nothing, more than just pieces, of meat I. Think. They would be. Willing. To, stand, up and try. To convince us that there's another way, to. Look at their value as, living, creatures not. Just dead. Meat. Well. So they can't be here but, they'd be in trouble if they were here in, this error atmosphere, they they, need oxygen but they get it surrounded. By the ocean. So. I am, here to speak for them and to. Encourage you. To. Speak for life in the sea in all of its many varied forms. You. Who, could out there down there see, what's there or at least look vicariously. As you are tonight, at, this, at, this occasion. Where, the, best and brightest, and those, who are ambassadors for the sea with cameras, with their voices are. Sharing, the view I have. Been privileged, to spend thousands, of hours under the sea sometimes. Ten, times living. For. Days even weeks at, a, time, getting. To know fish getting, to know lobsters, all. The diversity of life on, their, own terms. And to. Enjoy. The technologies. That have come along in my lifetime did, not exist a hundred. Years ago, but. Now we have, access. To, new technologies. New ways of seeing the sea little. Submarines, that can take us below. Where we can go. Holding. Our breath or using, scuba, or rebreathers. Below. A thousand, feet below, 10,000. Feet into the deepest, part of the ocean, it. Is now within our grasp, although. Only, three, people so. Far. Have made a descent, to the deepest, part of the ocean and, come. Back. Probably. A lot of us still, down there. But. The idea and. Most of us I certainly. Have. Flown. 11. Kilometers, high in the sky, eating. Lunch watching, films taking a nap. Three. People have been the equivalent distance, in the, deepest part of the ocean. But. You know that's our gift right, now early. In the 21st century we can dream of. Accessing. The sea with technologies. That will enable divers. To. Put on a submarine, instead, of a diving suit and. Take. Charge fly, into the ocean. Explore. Bring. Back evidence, of what's happening. Do. What scientists, do observe, carefully report, honestly, what you see, everybody.
Anybody, Can, do this everyone. Should. Do it we're. Just at that point like early, days of aviation when, people are longing, to go up in the sky and they've. Succeeded, really. Much, better than we have in terms of gaining. Access to the sea but this. Is the moment when. New technologies. New visions, for ocean access are, coming to, reality and I. Want. To be around long enough to see. Submersibles. With spheres, of glass, to. Take anybody, who's out there who wants to go kids. CEOs. Ministers. Presidents of corporations. Anybody. You, know what do you do are, you a lawyer a teacher you're a mom you're a dad wouldn't, you like to go out deep in the sea and a submarine and come. Back of. Course come. Back. All. Right, count. Your blessings. Instead. Of thinking doom and gloom woe, is us and we can there's plenty, of that. To. Be, concerned, about. But. If you have to be born, anywhere, in time. Choose. Now. Now. We know. We. Know that we, have a chance, you. Still have, ten, percent of the Sharks a little. Less. Than that of the bluefin, tuna we, have at least half, of the coral reefs in pretty good shape, bad. News they're, like this they're dying but they're, not all gone we. Still have a chance to, individually. And together. Do. What it takes to turn things from. This, to a new time. So. That by the end of this century. We. Can see, this. Positive. Change. Take. Place. Last. Week I was in Cancun. Mexico. Attending. The Economist. World. Ocean. Forum, The. Economist. For, heaven's sake you, would, think that those. Business. Blokes. Would be thinking about how do we use the ocean how do we. Embrace. The blue economy in. Terms, of extracting. Everything, we can every penny every pound. Every. Ounce so, whatever. We can put in the bank from the ocean. No. Those. Hard-headed. Businessmen. Those. Ministers. Even. The President, of Mexico came. To. Salute the, importance, of, finding the balance. Respecting. Nature realizing. That the economy, is owned. By, the environment. We. Derive the, benefits, that we. Believe. Are. Important. For our prosperity, where does it come from. It. Comes from the natural, systems, that keep us alive and we've been taking, taking. Taking. But. Now we can see the consequences. And, we. Realize if, there. Are to be sharks. We. Have to stop killing them every. Shark is, precious, every, shark. Has the potential, for making more sharks, we. Have a chance to. Restore, what has been lost if we take it seriously if we. Realize. Sharks. Need a healthy, ocean we, need a healthy ocean if they. Are prospering, there's, a better chance that, we too will, prosper. The. Great news is that kids. Care. This. Picture. Was taken in, Hong. Kong, the. Great place for marketing. Sharks, and shark fins. But just look a thousand. School kids. Raising. Their arms. Saying. With, their voice using. Their power to say we love sharks, we. Want to take care of sharks, kids, are out there picking up the trash that. All preceding, humans. Have put into the ocean especially those, who have been around in recent, times. Discarding. Those things that we thought would. Somehow. Go, away, a big. Percentage. Of what. Is now floating. Around in, the ocean and. Continuing. To kill and, poison. The ocean actually. Comes, from. The. Extravagant. Activity. Known as industrial. Fishing. Taking. On a scale, that is. What. No matter how you look at it look, at the evidence it's. Not, sustainable. People. Can take some. For. Choices, or even for necessity. Of life. From, the sea but. The scale at which we're currently extracting. Wildlife, from the ocean is. Killing, the ocean and. Not. Very good for us when you think that, it comes back to, us through the food chain the. Auxins we're putting into the ocean good news. Good. News that. Leaders around the world are, beginning, to realize that the prosperity, of their people, depends, on taking care of the. Natural. Systems, that make our existence, possible. Make. Our, economy. Possible, make our prosperity, our health our. Security. In a, world of, really. Unfriendly. Options. Would. You like to set up housekeeping on, Mars yeah, good. Luck with that maybe. It'll happen but for seven billion, of us not. Anytime soon so here, I have, the privilege, of, watching. The. President, of the United States at the time George, W Bush, was. Not widely so, but celebrated, for his environmental. Ethic. But. He. Did with. A stroke of his pen protect. What. Was the largest area. Of the, ocean at the time, were.
Even The fish were safe what, a concept. A. Few. Years later I got. To be a witness again. With. President, Obama. Who. Quadrupled, the size of, that great gift not. Just to the country where I live but to the world and to, life on Earth. Safeguarding. Our. Life-support. System, and. You know what it's, an idea that's catching, on, so. Last, November, I, witnessed. The, President, of Mexico. Make. A gift to the world the. Largest marine protected, area in North America, aside, from the offshore. Hawaiian. Activity. Around. The. Area. In, the, West Coast it's. Amazing. He seems like the right thing the good thing to do a. Few. Weeks ago in Chile. The. Woman that, you see at the podium, is. An. Individual, who with her husband, Doug. Tompkins, acquired. Personally, using their wealth. To. Buy land. It's. Hard to bide the ocean, we. Can use the ocean you can get, leases, but can you buy the ocean, well, you. Can buy the land and give. It and that's what the Tompkins have done in Chile. We're. Looking at hundreds. Of thousands, of acres, given. Back as green. Parks. Protecting. The land protecting, the wildlife. Protecting. Creatures, such as this. That. Are becoming increasingly rare. Like. Sharks, in, the ocean, we. Have the capacity to, kill everyone. If. We choose to, or. We. Have the choice to, protect. Them and in so doing protect, ourselves. Just. Last week I witnessed, the president, of Brazil. Contemplating. Actions. That. Are imminent. Maybe. In the, next few weeks if, enough. Voices. Come. His way. To. Implement, the big plan to present protect. A large part, of the waters of Brazil, what. A concept. Leaders. Of countries around, the world stepping. Up and saying we have the power backed. By the power of the people to. Take action, while. We have time before we. Have killed the last shark before. We have lost the, last Turner before. The last coral. Reef falls. Into a state of disrepair. Just. A year ago a. Number. Of nations got together and, agreed, to. Establish. The largest, marine. Protected area so far on the planet the, Ross Sea, in, Antarctica. It's. Part, of that, vast area, known as the global Commons, half of the world belongs. To everyone if it belongs to anyone the. Fish think that belongs, to them the. Whales would probably argue with that they'd say no the whale of the ocean is ours. And the, little, phytoplankton organism, say you've got to be kidding, we. Own the ocean if anybody does because, without us I think you, don't exist. We. Have the power for, now. At, least to. Take action. Each. Of us has. The capacity to. Do. Something. To. Embrace the wild, the. Places, that are still in, pretty, good shape on, the, land and in, the sea, hope. Spots, it's, the idea behind mission, blue to. Get people to nominate places. That. They cherish, that. They will commit. To doing, something, to. Bring about protection. Ultimately. It takes governments. But. Governments, can't act unless the, people are behind, them and. Half the world the high seas is right now on the chopping, block are. We going to protect our global, Commons, from. Deep-sea mining from. Aggressive, fishing, by a dozen, nations are we going to say whoa wait a minute we. Need the ocean because, I like to breathe, we. Need the ocean because, the ocean governs. Climate. It. Holds, most of Earth's water, it. Holds most of Earth's life. And, now. Early. In the 21st century, we, get it we. Did not know no one could know a hundred. Years ago even 50 years ago I don't really blame them but I will be, blamed. By. Those. 50. Years, in, the, future if. We. If I of, all of us fail, to. Do everything. In our power to, take. Action, while we can to. Safeguard, the. Natural, systems that. Keep us alive, provide. Hope, for. All, of, the future hope. For us thank. You.
2018-04-13 14:29
