Sylvia Earle Quotes

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

With every drop of water you drink, every breath you take, you're connected to the sea. No matter where on Earth you live.

Our past, our present, and whatever remains of our future, absolutely depend on what we do now.

People ask: Why should I care about the ocean? Because the ocean is the cornerstone of earth's life support system, it shapes climate and weather. It holds most of life on earth. 97% of earth's water is there. It's the blue heart of the planet - we should take care of our heart. It's what makes life possible for us. We still have a really good chance to make things better than they are. They won't get better unless we take the action and inspire others to do the same thing. No one is without power. Everybody has the capacity to do something.

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

The oceans deserve our respect and care, but you have to know something before you can care about it.

Even if you never have the chance to see or touch the ocean, the ocean touches you with every breath you take, every drop of water you drink, every bite you consume. Everyone, everywhere is inextricably connected to and utterly dependent upon the existence of the sea.

Far and away, the greatest threat to the ocean, and thus to ourselves, is ignorance. But we can do something about that.

Everyone has power. But it doesn't help if you don't use it.

If the sea is sick, we'll feel it. If it dies, we die. Our future and the state of the oceans are one.

I suggest to everyone: Look in the mirror. Ask yourself: Who are you? What are your talents? Use them, and do what you love.

Every time I slip into the ocean, it's like going home.

Sharks are beautiful animals, and if you're lucky enough to see lots of them, that means that you're in a healthy ocean. You should be afraid if you are in the ocean and don't see sharks.

We must protect our ocean as if our lives depend upon it, because they do.

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

We are all together in this, we are all together in this single living ecosystem called Planet Earth. As we learn how we fit into the greater scheme of things, and begin to understand how the system works, we can plan ahead, we can use the resources responsibly, to show some respect for this inheritance that goes back 4.6 billion years.

With knowing comes caring.

With respect to the ocean being the heart of our blue planet: We are often asked, 'How much protection is enough?' We can only answer with another question: How much of your heart is worth protecting?

Many of us ask what can I, as one person, do, but history shows us that everything good and bad starts because somebody does something or does not do something.

I have lots of heroes: anyone and everyone who does whatever they can to leave the natural world better than they found it.

You don't have to touch the ocean for the ocean to touch you

I hope that someday we will find evidence that there is intelligent life among humans on this planet.

With care and protection, with safe havens in the ocean, there is still a good chance that we can turn things around.

Everybody can make choices that will make peace with the natural world.

Scientists never stop asking. They're little kids who never grew up.