Hold up a mirror and ask yourself what you are capable of doing, and what you really care about. Then take the initiative - don't wait for someone else to ask you to act.
Sylvia EarleRead
I'm haunted by the thought of what Ray Anderson calls 'tomorrow's child,' asking why we didn't do something on our watch to save sharks and bluefin tuna and squids and coral reefs and the living ocean while there still was time. Well, now is that time.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the urgency of taking action to protect ocean life and the environment for future generations.
Sylvia Earle reflects on our responsibility to protect the ocean's ecosystems for the sake of future generations, referred to as 'tomorrow's child.' She urges that the time to act is now to ensure that critical marine species like sharks, bluefin tuna, and coral reefs do not become extinct due to our inaction. This quote serves as a call to recognize and fulfill our duty to conserve the environment before it’s too late.
Themes
OceanEnvironmentConservationFuture GenerationsAction
In practice
Example use cases
During a keynote speech at an environmental conference, one might quote this to emphasize the urgency of marine conservation.
More from Sylvia Earle
All quotes →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.
Sylvia EarleRead
There is a terribly terrestrial mindset about what we need to do to take care of the planet-as if the ocean somehow doesn't matter or is so big, so vast that it can take care of itself, or that there is nothing that we could possibly do that we could harm the ocean...We are learning otherwise.
Sylvia EarleRead
No water, no life. No blue, no green.
Sylvia EarleRead
I have come up at the end of a dive, and the boat was not where I left it. I had to take care of a buddy who did panic. But I was confident the boat would come back.
Sylvia EarleRead
Nothing has prepared sharks, squid, krill and other sea creatures for industrial-scale extraction that destroys entire ecosystems while targeting a few species.
Sylvia EarleRead
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