We’re keeping the ocean wild — and you can join us | Sylvia A. Earle
6/8/202639 min
In 2009, marine biologist Sylvia Earle stood on the TED stage and made a wish: to build a global network of "Hope Spots" and protect the ocean before it's too late. Seventeen years later, she's back to report on what's happened since — and the picture is both more urgent and more hopeful than you might expect. From 100,000 fur seals saved from near-extinction to coral reefs rebuilt clam by clam, Earle says we already know exactly what needs to be done; the only thing left is to find the will to do it.
(Following her talk, Elise Hu, host of TED Talks Daily, interviews Earle on how she uses AI to gather data on the ocean and what she saw in a one-person submarine surfacing off the coast of Hawaii during a storm.)
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsElise Hu· Host0:00
[intro jingle] You're listening to TED Talks Daily, where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day. I'm your host, Elise Hu. Today is World Ocean Day, recognized by the UN as a day dedicated to raising awareness about the crucial role oceans play in our lives and to mobilizing a worldwide movement for its protection. There's arguably no one better to mark this day than with ocean scientist and deep sea diver Sylvia Earle. She has spent more than seven thousand hours underwater. Yes, you heard that number right. She's witnessed the ocean at its most breathtaking and has watched it change in ways most of us will never see firsthand.
Sylvia Earle· Guest0:42
I was told 50 years ago to be afraid if I saw sharks. Now I'm afraid because I don't see sharks when I go diving. We've eliminated more than half of them since I began diving.
Elise Hu· Host0:55
Sylvia, who's known in the ocean and diving communities as Her Deepness, is a marine biologist, National Geographic Explorer At Large, and founder of Mission Blue, the organization behind a global network of ocean-protected areas called Hope Spots. In 2009, she was awarded the TED Prize and used her wish to call for a global movement to protect the ocean's blue heart. Seventeen years later, she returned to the TED stage to take stock of what's been lost, what's been saved, and why it's still imperative to protect the oceans.
Sylvia Earle· Guest1:27
We can stop trashing the ocean.