Dr. Earle weighs in from the ‘Friends of Dr. Sylvia Earle’ Facebook page,

“The Midway Island trip gives me reason to hope for the future of Planet Blue. I highlight more good news in my interview on ABC Hawaii.”

Click here for ABC Interview!

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Santo Domingo, 9/11/2011

On Saturday, September 10, 2011 guests at the first Dominican Republic Environment Film Festival (DREFF) joined with marine mammal conservation experts to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Dominican Republic’s historic Marine Mammal Sanctuary. The people of the DR formed the very first marine mammal sanctuary and it has grown over the years to be about equal in size to the land area of the country.  The celebration was organized in partnership with GFDD and FUNGLODE and was held at FUNGLODE’s headquarters in Santo Domingo, preceded by the screening of the documentary film Ocean Voyageurs. The film follows a mother whale and her young calf on their sometimes perilous journey of discovery, and much of the footage presented was captured at the Marine Mammal Sanctuary off the coast of Samaná.…

The legendary oceanographer calls the Arctic a ‘hope spot.’  In other words, she said, we still have time to get it right.

You were part of the Aspen Institute Commission on Arctic Climate Change, which released a report on the Arctic in early 2011. What did the report say?

The report underscores the opportunity that now exists, as never before.  Because never before have we known the risks, never before have we understood the impacts that the Arctic has on the world as a whole, as a driver of climate, related to such broad issues as sea level rise.

The Arctic has a disproportionate impact on the world given its relatively small size. This is a moment in history when we will take actions one way or the other–or inactions–but we humans will influence much that determines the fate and future of the Arctic, the people and the creatures who live there.…

July 16, 2011Long Beach, California
TEDx SoCAL, an independently organized TED event, featured an impressive list of inspiring and innovative people with big ideas, including Dr. Sylvia Earle. Listen as she shares pearls of ocean wisdom as well as a preview of the long awaited film, “Mission Blue.”…

Cloud Sponge off Canada

On the last day of the IMCC2 meeting, an afternoon session was dedicated to discussion of conservation of Deep-Sea Sponge Communities.  This topic has gained attention from the realization they were often habitat for juveniles of commercial fish species, and at considerable risk from human activities, particularly deep-sea trawling.  The discovery of beds of an unusual kind of reef building glass sponge off the west coast of Canada in 1987-1988 brought this issue to broader attention (c.f. Conway, et al., 1991).  These sponges were of a type known only from fossils and believed long extinct.  Much media attention followed the discovery of these “Jurassic reefs” which in places rise to heights as great as 21 meters (Krautter, et al.,…

Today, June 8th, is World Oceans Day. “Wear blue, tell two” is the motto to live by; wear blue clothing and share at least two ocean facts with people around you. Take part in a local event. For a listing near you or to learn more about World Oceans Day, look at worldoceansday.org. Here are just a few examples of the creative activities that thousands of people around the world will join.
England:The department store Selfridges initiated “Project Ocean” on May 11 by sponsoring the creation of a marine reserve in the Philippines. Yesterday, Sylvia Earle joined Queen Noor of Jordan and other women involved in ocean conservation in Selfridges’ forum, “The New Era in Marine Conservation.” Through Project Ocean, Selfridges has raised nearly £90,000 (roughly $150,000 USD) for marine reserves.…

A year ago this week, Mission Blue Voyage set sail. This TED Prize-inspired trip brought together scientists, activists and funders around one of the biggest issues we face: how to stop the degradation of the ocean. Read Chris Anderson’s report on what was accomplished onboard Sylvia Earle, when making her TED Prize wish, asked us to use all means at our disposal to spread the word. Jackson Browne, onboard the National Geographic Endeavor, began writing this song. And he finished in time for TEDxGreatPacificGarnage Patch, a November conference that focused on plastic pollution in the oceans and on land (watch Van Jones’ talk from TEDxGPGP).
On the anniversary of Mission Blue Voyage, we’re thrilled to present this beautiful song from Jackson Browne.…

Marine biologist Sylvia Earle Photo: Kip Evans

Oceanographer Sylvia Earle talks about working on the movieOceans.BY CLAUDIA ATTICOT
Travel into the deep blue sea where only scientists and oceanographers go! In Disneynature’s Oceans, filmmakers take viewers inside the undersea world of the great white shark and the horse mackerel. Viewers witness the slow march of hundreds of thousands of crabs and get to swim alongside dozens of exotic creatures.
The movie, which was shot at more than 50 different locations, involved two years of planning and four years of filming. Oceanographer Sylvia Earle worked as an advisor on the movie. TFK chatted with Earle about the movie and her thoughts about Earth Day.
TFK: How did you get involved in the movie Oceans?…

University of Southern Mississippi ecophysiologist Eric Hoffmayer received a National Geographic Society/Waitt grant to tag and track whale sharks in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Last June while diving with Sylvia Earle and a filmmaking team led by Bob Nixon, Hoffmayer witnessed roughly 100 of the sharks–the largest gathering ever recorded of this, the world’s largest fish species–at Ewing Bank off the Louisiana coast. Several days later, three of the filter-feeding sharks were filmed at the surface near the Deepwater Horizon blowout site, skimming waters coated with spilled oil.

Aboard the research vessel Brooks McCall with the Mission Blue team, Hoffmayer relates what’s known about the Gulf’s whale sharks and some of the many mysteries surrounding their migrations.
By Eric Hoffmayer
Whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) are probably more susceptible to oil than most sharks or other fish because of their surface filter-feeding behavior.…