MACDUFF EVERTON FOR TIME
SYLVIA EARLE
SEPTEMBER 28, 1998
Call Of The Sea
Her Deepness Welcomes Us Into Her World of Wonders
BY ROGER ROSENBLATT BIG SUR
You have to love it before you are moved to save it," says
Sylvia Earle, the marine biologist known as "Her Deepness" since
the time in 1979, off the coast of Oahu, when she was cut loose
from a submarine and walked freely on the ocean floor, 1,250 ft.
beneath the water's surface. The object of her affection
requires love of a special magnitude and magnanimity. One has to
concede at the outset that the ocean is too vast, deep and
secretive to be completely known. It is capable of casual murder
and filled with structures that make Picasso's dreams seem
ordinary. More demanding still, it does not need you. Nothing on
land can live without the ocean, yet the sea can do fine on its
own.
At the same time, it defines and characterizes the earth--one
flowing body of water, with different names and climates, and
covering almost 75% of the planet. The oceans encompass 97% by
volume of all the earth's living space. Nearly half the world's
population lives within 60 miles of the sea. The thing is in our
forgotten history and our chromosomes, which may explain why
people stare at the ocean with such sweet, vacant yearnings.
Stare long enough, and you can embrace the whole world with your
eyes. Even then, you are taking in only the surface.
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HEROES FOR THE PLANET
heroes gallery
Sylvia Earle
Niaz Dorry
Richard Wheeler
Guy and Neca Marcovaldi
Princess Basma
Hirofumi Yamashita
Legacy: Remembering Jacques-Yves Cousteau
Peter Raven
William McDonough
Russell Mittermeier
Robert F. Kennedy and John Cronin
Yvon Chouinard
Cynthia Moss
OCEAN WEB RESOURCES
International Maritime Organization
United Nation's agency working to improve maritime safety and prevent
pollution from ships
American Oceans Campaign
Committed to protecting and preserving coastal waters, estuaries, bays,
wetlands, and deep oceans
SeaWeb
Public education program designed to raise awareness of the ocean and
the life within it
Ocean Views
VAST
Holding 97 percent of Earth's water, the seas are up to 7 miles deep, with an average depth of 2.4 miles
VIBRANT
Scientists say that 10 million to 30 million species of sea life may still be undiscovered
VITAL
The seas fight global warming by soaking up 7.3 billion tons of carbon dioxide every year
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TIME/Yahoo! Chat
Read the transcript of our online chat with Sylvia Earle, November 5, 1997
Books on Oceans and the environment @barnesandnoble.com
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