Sylvia Earle may not be as well-known an ocean explorer as Jacques Cousteau,but in her own way she has done as much for the oceans of the world. Earle has spent more than 6,000 hours underwater and has photographed or documented more than 20,000 marine plants.  In 1970,Earle and four other women lived for two weeks underwater.  Nine years later she completed the deepest unconnected human dive in history--1,250 feet (381 m) beneath the surface. Wearing a special suit to withstand the pressure of 600 pounds per square inch, Earle spent more than 2 hours exploring the deepocean. In this interview she talks about the world's oceans and their importance in her life and in all of our lives.

𝗤:𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲?

When I was a child my family used to go to the new jersey shore for vacations.  We didn't live near the beach,but it wasn't that far away. New Jersey is a relatively small state; nothing is very far from anything else. I think in my earliest years,the ocean became special because it wasn't there all the time, I never took it for granted. I didn't exactly worship the ocean,but I really regarded it as a very special opportunit. I can remember,as we came to the sand dunes along the shore, before we could see or hear the ocean, we could smell it. And then hear it. And then finally, there it was,this great expanse.  I can still feel that leap of joy at finally getting out to the beach and running around.

𝗤:𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆?𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗰𝗰𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼?

When I was twelve, my parents moved from Nee Jersey to Florida. We loved right on the water.  The Gulf of Mexico became my back yard.  Instead of going out to climb trees, I had the pleasure of getting acquainted with salt marshes, and sea grass beds, which were populated with things such as sea horses and sea urchins, and great crabs with long, spindly legs. You never knew what you were going to find just walking around in these squishy, beautiful, clear water areas.  That used to be a place that lived up to its name-- Clearwater.  At the time I was a child it had clear water.  It isn't that way anymore. But I was fascinated by wild creatures.  The decision to focus on marine science took a while, When I was still a student at Florida State University, I began my lifetime project to explore the plants in the Gulf of Mexico.