Quotes by Sylvia Earle

As a child, I was aware of the widely-held attitude that the ocean is so big, so resilient that we could use the sea as the ultimate place to dispose of anything we did not want, from garbage and nuclear wastes to sludge from sewage to entire ships that had reached the end of their useful life.

I hope for your help to explore and protect the wild ocean in ways that will restore the health and, in so doing, secure hope for humankind. Health to the ocean means health for us.

We need to respect the oceans and take care of them as if our lives depended on it. Because they do.

Any astronaut can tell you youve got to do everything you can to learn about your life support system and then do everything you can to take care of it.

With every drop of water you drink, every breath you take, youre connected to the sea. No matter where on Earth you live. Most of the oxygen in the atmosphere is generated by the sea.

We have become frighteningly effective at altering nature.

I love music of all kinds, but theres no greater music than the sound of my grandchildren laughing; my kids, too.

I have heard endlessly that fish are so resilient that there is no way that you could exterminate a species. We are learning otherwise.

Ten percent of the big fish still remain. There are still some blue whales. There are still some krill in Antarctica. There are a few oysters in Chesapeake Bay. Half the coral reefs are still in pretty good shape, a jeweled belt around the middle of the planet. Theres still time, but not a lot, to turn things around.

The best scientists and explorers have the attributes of kids! They ask question and have a sense of wonder. They have curiosity. Who, what, where, why, when, and how! They never stop asking questions, and I never stop asking questions, just like a five year old.

Since the middle of the 20th century, more has been learnt about the ocean than during all preceding human history; at the same time, more has been lost.

The Arctic is a place that historically, during all preceding human history, has largely been an icy realm with an impact on ocean currents. That, in turn, influences the temperature of the planet. The Arctic is now vulnerable because of the excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, with a rate of melting that is stunning.

Earth as an ecosystem stands out in the all of the universe. Theres no place that we know about that can support life as we know it, not even our sister planet, Mars, where we might set up housekeeping someday, but at great effort and trouble we have to recreate the things we take for granted here.

Health to the ocean means health for us.

Why is it that scuba divers and surfers are some of the strongest advocates of ocean conservation? Because theyve spent time in and around the ocean, and theyve personally seen the beauty, the fragility, and even the degradation of our planets blue heart.

I love my Force Fins, which are the kind of fins Special Forces use and really are adapted from the fins of fish. Theyre very efficient. They are so beautiful, a pair is in the Museum of Modern Art. The set I have are ruby red. I call them my ruby flippers.

No water, no life. No blue, no green.

Every time I slip into the ocean, its like going home.

For humans, the Arctic is a harshly inhospitable place, but the conditions there are precisely what polar bears require to survive - and thrive. Harsh to us is home for them. Take away the ice and snow, increase the temperature by even a little, and the realm that makes their lives possible literally melts away.

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.