The ocean is dying, and we have no place to escape to if this experiment doesn't go in our favor. Sylvia Earle More Quotes by Sylvia Earle More Quotes From Sylvia Earle There's a vested interest in trying to keep people smoking cigarettes. Sylvia Earle smoking trying people 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." Sylvia Earle campaigns facts looks Ice ages have come and gone. Coral reefs have persisted. Sylvia Earle ice age gone 'Green' issues at last are attracting serious attention, owing to critically important links between the environment and the economy, health, and our security. Sylvia Earle issues serious important It's a fact of life that there will be oil spills, as long as oil is moved from place to place, but we must have provisions to deal with them, and a capability that is commensurate with the size of the oil shipments. Sylvia Earle size oil long It's mainly the high-end luxury market now that drives much of the fishing in the sea. It's not feeding the starving millions. It's feeding a luxury market. Sylvia Earle luxury fishing sea Look at the bark of a redwood, and you see moss. If you peer beneath the bits and pieces of the moss, you'll see toads, small insects, a whole host of life that prospers in that miniature environment. A lumberman will look at a forest and see so many board feet of lumber. I see a living city. Sylvia Earle cities feet forests Our insatiable appetite for fossil fuels and the corporate mandate to maximize shareholder value encourages drilling without taking into account the costs to the ocean, even without major spills. Sylvia Earle fossils cost ocean The Arctic is an ocean. The southern pole is a continent surrounded by ocean. The North Pole is an ocean, or northern waters. It's an ocean surrounded by land, basically. Sylvia Earle ocean land water The Exxon Valdez spill triggered a swift and strong response that changed policies about shipping, about double-hulled construction. A number of laws came into place. Sylvia Earle strong law numbers When I write a scientific treatise, I might reach 100 people. When the 'National Geographic' covers a project, it communicates about plants and fish and underwater technology to more than 10 million people. Sylvia Earle technology writing people Photosynthetic organisms in the sea yield most of the oxygen in the atmosphere, take up and store vast amounts of carbon dioxide, shape planetary chemistry, and hold the planet steady. Sylvia Earle yield oxygen sea By the end of the 20th century, up to 90 percent of the sharks, tuna, swordfish, marlins, groupers, turtles, whales, and many other large creatures that prospered in the Gulf for millions of years had been depleted by overfishing. Sylvia Earle sharks turtles years Humans are the only creatures with the ability to dive deep in the sea, fly high in the sky, send instant messages around the globe, reflect on the past, assess the present and imagine the future. Sylvia Earle sea sky past America gains most when individuals have great freedom to pursue personal goals without undue government interference. Sylvia Earle government goal america All through college, I had frequently been the only girl in a science class - which wasn't such a bad deal. Sylvia Earle girl college class Health to the ocean means health for us. Sylvia Earle humankind ocean mean I am not in any hurry to grow up. Sylvia Earle growing-up grows If somebody dumps something noxious in my back yard, the dumper is the last one I would call on to repair the damage. Sylvia Earle yards damage lasts In terms of personal choices, let's all think more carefully about where we get our protein from. Sylvia Earle protein choices thinking