University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Published: March 8, 2007

By KEVIN FRYLING
Reporter Staff Writer

To protect our oceans is to protect ourselves, a prominent ocean explorer and documentary filmmaker told a sold-out audience last week in the Center for the Arts.

Jean-Michel Cousteau, son of famed oceanographer Jacques Cousteau, spoke at UB on March 1 as part of the 2006-07 Distinguished Speakers Series, as well as UB's celebration this semester of its environmental commitment under the theme "A Greener Shade of Blue."

Jean-Michel Cousteau examines a crystal buffalo given to him by the Graduate Student Association. Cousteau was the Graduate Student Choice Speaker for the Distinguished Speakers Series lecture.
PHOTO: ENID BLOCH

Knowledge of the connections that link all life on planet Earth—or "Planet Ocean" as Cousteau calls it—as a source of motivation and environmental activism was a major theme throughout the address.

"We can make the sun shine when it's dark and make it dark when the sun shines; we can be warm when it's cold or cold when it's warm," said Cousteau, "but in the process we've disconnected ourselves from the essential of life, which is nature...We need to remember that we are all made out of the same stuff. In every one of us there's a little bit of a dinosaur, a little bit of whale, of rose, of fern, of butterfly."

The connectedness of all life can be understood from the fact that the loss of coastal habitats endangers not only sea creatures and birds, which need marine sanctuaries to serve as shelter from predators and to find food and reproduce, but also human populations, he said.

"These habitats are protection against wave action, against tsunamis, against hurricanes," explained Cousteau, pointing out that the destruction of coastal habitats strengthened the impact of the tsunami in Southeast Asia, which killed thousands on Dec. 26, 2004, since coral reefs, marshlands and mangroves are all important buffers against powerful winds and waves. "These habitats are critical for your survival," he said, "and the survival of the species of the ocean."

As a child, Cousteau said he joined his parents and brother in the exploration of fantastic places found beneath the sea, but also noted that the youthful experience yielded unpleasant realizations about ill treatment and disregard toward "our ocean planet."

"As I was discovering this extraordinary undersea world, I also found out that we're using the oceans and seas of the world as a garbage can," said Cousteau. "The cleaning power of nature is extraordinary, but there's a point where too much is too much."

He illustrated that statement by showing clips from his PBS documentary "Ocean Adventures: Voyage to Kure," a film famous for its reported influence on President Bush's decision in June 2006 to declare the northwest Hawaiian Islands the largest marine reserve in the world. The footage showed miles and miles of beaches on these remote unpopulated islands covered in debris that had been washed ashore from countries across the world. "Objects a foot to a foot-and-a-half below the sand dated back to the 1960s," said Cousteau, noting the trash found included broken televisions, computer monitors, plastic products and "thousands of tons of lost fishing nets." Unseen were invisible pollutants, such as fertilizers, insecticides, oils and chemicals.

Preservation of the 140,000-square-mile region—which is larger than all of the nation's national parks combined and contains 70 percent of the coral reefs in the United States—will provide protection to such endangered species as the monk seal, green turtle and various seabirds.

The achievement also is evidence that environmental victories are possible through persuasion rather than arguments and conflict, said Cousteau, pointing out that signs seem to suggest resistance to environmental preservation and protection has started to weaken.

The ultimate solution to the environmental problems that face mankind will require international cooperation in order to better manage the finite resources of the Earth, he added. Most businesses—not to mention societies—remain rooted in inefficient practices based on outdated science, he said. Among them are fish farms that require seven pounds of fresh fish from the ocean to raise one pound of captive product, as well as a harbor in Santa Barbara that was built in a location in which the currents are such that it costs $750,000 annually to remove the excess sediment.

"These are simple examples of mismanagement," he said. "If we manage [nature] like a business and live off the interest produced by the capital, which the Earth represents, we can go on forever." He explained that the danger lies in the current course of action, in which failure to understand how nature works "gobbles up the capital," which, over time, will bankrupt our natural resources.

"I believe that with all the knowledge that we've acquired—and will continue to acquire—we will become better and better [environmental] managers," Cousteau said. "We have a lot of work to do, but we are making giant steps in the right direction. I am confident that we will do what needs to be done."