Dear Cousteau.org visitors,
Were my dear departed husband alive today, he would be saddened by images like the one we shared in this news post. Since Jacques Cousteau sailed the seas on the beloved Calypso, our oceans have become filled with that menace of modern society —PLASTIC pollution.
It’s estimated that there are more pieces of plastic in the ocean than stars in the MilkyWay.
Sadly, plastic is making our Water Planet inhospitable to marine life, entangling, choking, starving and killing sea turtles, whales, fish, coral and other life forms. As a valued Custodian of the Sea member, I urge you to join the fight to save our WaterPlanet from the dangers of plastic.
Everyone needs to know that local actions have long-term and far-reaching effects. You may have seen the recent survey of remote islands of the coast of Australia that reported mountains of plastic weighing as much as a blue whale. And separately, the study that found that plastic in the oceans harms prochlorococcus, the marine bacteria responsible for producing 10 percent of the world’s oxygen. These are dire warnings that our Water Planet and indeed, the future of life on Earth hangs in the balance. It’s imperative that we stop our addiction to plastic and clean up our seas.
We must also teach youngsters to appreciate the fragility of life on our Water Planet, expand participatory science with our global diving network, Cousteau Divers, and more. We cannot preserve and protect the marine world without you.
