I could cut my leg off. I could cut my arm off. I could gouge an eye out. I'd still probably survive. But not very well. And that's what we're doing to the oceans. It's the life-support system of this planet. We've been dumping in it. We've been polluting it. We've been destroying it for decades. And we're essentially maiming ourselves.

Philippe Cousteau, Jr.

Categorized in : Eye Ocean Cutting

I'll never be able to fill my father's or grandfather's shoes, but hopefully I can stand on their shoulders and reach farther.

Philippe Cousteau, Jr.

shoes able father

The great news is that overwhelmingly far more than adults, youth already care about the environment. Young people are recognizing that we have largely made a mess of things with respect to the environment [and] that the burden to fix it will fall on them.

Philippe Cousteau, Jr.

adults people fall

I believe that the only true agents of change on a large scale, in this country or anywhere, are young people.

Philippe Cousteau, Jr.

believe country people

Young people have, truly, the potential to change the world. Not when they get older - today.

Philippe Cousteau, Jr.

today people world

I've seen young people raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to fix a problem in their community. I've seen young people raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to dig wells in Africa. I've seen young people pass laws, largely impacting their communities. They do have the power to change the world.

Philippe Cousteau, Jr.

community law people

I've seen a lot of doom and gloom and depressing things, and it's [the] youth that give me hope.

Philippe Cousteau, Jr.

doom-and-gloom depressing giving

I hate plastic bottles. Just think about it before you buy one. We pay more for a gallon of water than we do for a gallon of gas. I think people will realize that water quality standards in most municipalities are as good or better for the stuff coming out of the tap than bottled water companies. You'll save money and save the environment, too.

Philippe Cousteau, Jr.

good you money water

Don't eat shrimp - it's one of the most unsustainable fish. For every pound that's caught, 10 or 20 pounds of other stuff is killed and dumped back overboard. It's the number one killer of juvenile sea turtles in Mexico. Two good sustainable seafood guides that I'd recommend are from the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Blue Ocean Institute.

Philippe Cousteau, Jr.

good ocean sea blue

I love snowboarding. It's probably my favorite sport. I love sitting on top of the mountain and the snow falling and that silence, that snow silence. That's, like, a very peaceful, happy place for me.

Philippe Cousteau, Jr.

me silence happy love

Our oceans are facing innumerable threats - from overfishing and pollution to ocean acidification and invasive species - yet we haven't had a blueprint for its use and development, incredible as that seems.

Philippe Cousteau, Jr.

oceans pollution ocean development

My grandfather raised me believing in the power of youth to change the world.

Philippe Cousteau, Jr.

me youth change power

As an explorer, I know firsthand there are many places in the ocean so full of life that they should be protected. Coral reefs and mangrove coastlines are stressed already by climate change and ocean acidification, and poor planning will just make their plight worse.

Philippe Cousteau, Jr.

climate-change ocean change life

My grandfather was Jacques Cousteau, a pioneer of ocean exploration and the co-inventor of scuba diving. Back in the 1940s when he tested out his invention which allowed humans to swim freely in the ocean with a portable air source for the first time in history, very little of the ocean had been explored let alone captured on film.

Philippe Cousteau, Jr.

alone ocean time history

Fossil fuels and mining is a short-term gambit. If we develop those resources at the expense of the environmental gold mine that is the Great Barrier Reef, we will all lose in the long run.

Philippe Cousteau, Jr.

great environmental gold long

As our technology evolves, we will have the capacity to reach new, ever-increasing depths. The question is what kind of technology, in the end, do we want to deploy in the far reaches of the ocean? Tools of science, ecology and documentation, or the destructive tools of heavy industry?

Philippe Cousteau, Jr.

end technology ocean science

When you talk to a Republican, many of them just outright say, 'Yeah. Climate change isn't real,' without assessing the facts, and it's a big problem. It's not a red or blue issue, it's a green issue... Not because of facts or science but because of emotion.

Philippe Cousteau, Jr.

you green change science

In many ways, our homes act as one big drain that, through our daily relationship with water, carries many toxic substances into our waterways and the environment.

Philippe Cousteau, Jr.

daily environment relationship water

Since oceans are the life support system of our planet, regulating the climate, providing most of our oxygen and feeding over a billion people, what's bad for oceans is bad for us - very bad.

Philippe Cousteau, Jr.

bad support life people

One of my big pet peeves is single-use plastic bags. I think it's one of the stupidest ideas in the world.

Philippe Cousteau, Jr.

think pet world ideas

Like my father and grandfather, Philippe and Jacques-Yves Cousteau, I've dedicated my life to exploring and protecting our seas, in large part through documentary film.

Philippe Cousteau, Jr.

my-life grandfather life father