A lot of people attack the sea, I make love to it.
Interpretation
The quote expresses a deep affection and respect for the ocean, contrasting aggression with love.
Jacques Yves Cousteau, a renowned marine explorer, conveys the idea that instead of approaching the sea with hostility or a desire to conquer it, one should embrace and cherish it. His passionate relationship with the ocean emphasizes a respectful coexistence and a profound appreciation for nature's beauty and complexity.
In practice
In a speech about marine conservation, one could use this quote to emphasize the need for harmony with nature.
We must alert and organise the world's people to pressure world leaders to take specific steps to solve the two root causes of our environmental crises - exploding population growth and wasteful consumption of irreplaceable resources. Overconsumption and overpopulation underlie every environmental problem we face today.
No aquarium, no tank in a marine land, however spacious it may be, can begin to duplicate the conditions of the sea. And no dolphin who inhabits one of those aquariums or one of those marine lands can be considered normal.
It's terrible to have to say this. World population must be stabilized and to do that we must eliminate 350,000 people per day. This is so horrible to contemplate that we shouldn't even say it. But the general situation in which we are involved is lamentable.
The impossible missions are the only ones which succeed.
The sea, the great unifier, is man's only hope. Now, as never before, the old phrase has a literal meaning: we are all in the same boat.
The best way to observe a fish is to become a fish.
As a kid, I was going to be a marine biologist or an actor. When I became successful as an actor, I said, 'Well, maybe I can lend a voice to this with an equal passion.' You realize how lucky we are and how destructive we've been and what little regard we have for the natural world.
The Everglades is a test. If we pass it, we may get to keep the planet.
In this sequestered nook how sweet To sit upon my orchard seat And birds and flowers once more to greet. . . .
You can only get really unpopular decisions through if the electorate is convinced of the value of the environment. That's what natural history programmes should be for.
If people think nature is their friend, then they sure don't need an enemy.
I just wish the world was twice as big and half of it was still unexplored.
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