On Sunday evening I was lucky to get a seat at a sold-out lecture presented by world renowned oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle. The lecture was hosted by the Roaring Fork Cultural Council at the Thunder River Theater in Carbondale, Colorado.
Dr. Earle is currently Expolorer in Residence at the National Geographic Society and was formerly the Chief Scientist at NOAA. She has impressively led more than 70 marine expeditions, logged over 6,500 hours underwater and she hold the worlds record for the deepest untethered walk on the ocean floor at a depth of 1,250 feet below the ocean surface.
Her "Deepness", Dr. Earle illustrated the devastation to our oceans and explained why it matters to humanity. I've listened to a lot of scientists speak over the years, and the talk on Sunday was exceptional to say the least. Albeit, the information Sylvia presented was very scary and real, her passion and dedication to the oceans was undeniable.
Some key points from her lecture:
- We are consuming species from the top of the ocean's food chain at an alarming rate. Tuna, mackerel, swordfish, shark, etc. take many, many years to grow and cannot be replaced at the rate at which we are removing them from the oceans. It can be compared to eating lions, tigers, polar bears and other animals from the top of our food chain.
- There are currently over 400 dead zones in the oceans, none of which existed 50 years ago. The dead zones do not support life because they are deplete in oxygen from high levels of contaminates like fertilizers and pesticides that are dumped into the oceans.
- Over half the coral reefs in the ocean are dead. The good news is that half are still alive and can be saved if we act now.
- Sylvia has not gone on a single deep sea dive to any depth without seeing plastics that were dumped into the ocean.
- The oceans are the life support system of our atmosphere. They control CO2 cycling, precipitation and wind currents. Healthy oceans keep our planet healthy.
Dr. Sylvia Earle asserted how much is still unknown about our oceans and how important it is to keep studying them. Earle was the recipient of the the prestigious TED Award in February 2009. Recipients of the TED Award are granted a wish, which they must present in 18 minutes. The below video is Earle presenting her wish to the public.
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