Sylvia Earle Spoke to Congress About Deepwater Horizon oil Spill Solutions

Hope Spots Hope Spots are special places that are critical to the health of the ocean, Earth's blue heart. Some of these Hope Spots are already protected, while others are important enough that it is imperative that they be protected. About 12% of the land around the world is now under some form of protection (as national parks, world heritage sites, monuments, etc.), while less than one percent of the ocean is protected in any way. We are committed to changing this. Networks of marine protected areas maintain healthy biodiversity, provide a carbon sink, generate life-giving oxygen, preserve critical habitat and allow low-impact activities like ecotourism to thrive. They are good for the ocean, which means they are good for us. We are often asked, "How much protection is enough?" We can only answer with another question: How much of your heart is worth protecting?

http://www.mission-blue.org/hopespots

Sylvia Earle to the U.S. Congress On May 19TH

Thoughts and Solutions

I could go on about the problems, but I have only a few minutes and would like to summarize with thoughts about solutions. While encouraging and supporting all-out efforts to stop the flow of oil, the following might be considered:

1.  Halt the subsurface use of dispersants and limit surface use to strategic sites where other methods cannot safeguard critically important coastal habitats.

2.  Immediately deploy subsurface technologies and sensors  to evaluate the fate of the underwater plumes of oil, as well as the finely dispersed oil and chemicals and their impact on floating surface forests of Sargassum communities, life in the water column, and on the sea floor.

3. Immediately gather baseline data, both broad and detailed,  to measure impacts and recovery.

4. Support operations to salvage and restore the 40 or so species of affected large wildlife species and their habitats.

5.  Support initiatives to create large reserves in the Gulf to facilitate recovery and ongoing health of  the thousands of less conspicuous species and marine ecosystems, from the deepest areas to shallow shores.
It is urgent that large areas of the Gulf of Mexico be designated for full protection from extractive activities. Protected areas are critically needed to safeguard important spawning areas for bluefin tuna, for grouper, snapper, sharks and even the wily species of shallow and deepwater shrimp. Aside from the importance of such areas for healthy ecosystems to survive, they  are essential if fishing is to continue as a way of life in the Gulf. (No fish, no fishermen.)

Implementing and expanding the Islands in the Stream concept long proposed by NOAA for a network of marine protection in the Gulf would be a good place to begin.

6.  Make substantial investments in human occupied, robotic and autonomous systems, sensors and stations for exploration, research, monitoring and safeguarding the living ocean. The U.S. Coast Guard, NOAA, the EPA and the USGS should have such resources available to complement ships, and air and spacecraft, and it is in the nation's best interest to support development of such facilities for use by non-federal research institutions as well.

7.  Embark on expeditions to explore deep water in the Gulf of Mexico and establish permanent monitoring stations and protocols.

8.  Encourage tri-national collaboration among scientists and institutions around the Gulf.

9.  Mobilize good minds to address solutions such as the Gulf of Mexico Summit five years ago that helped launch  a regional governance body of U.S. and Mexican states. A new summit is being planned by the Harte Research Institute to take place later this year to address next steps to assure an economically and ecologically healthy Gulf of Mexico.

Cuba, a country that some have been worrying about with respect to the possibility of oil spills heading north as exploration and drilling are picking up in that country, now is faced with worries about the consequences of a major spill from the U.S. heading south.

10.  While investing in rapid expansion of safe energy alternatives, new standards of care need to be implemented for industries extracting oil and gas from the Gulf and elsewhere in US waters. Thorough documentation of the nature of the seafloor and surrounding region should be made public prior to operations such as drilling, establishing platforms and laying pipeline, and monitoring of changes to the environment measured and made publically available. Environmental issues need to be taken into account, and be the basis for excluding operations when necessary to protect vital environmental concerns. Transparency is vital.

Five minutes is time enough only to touch on a few major concerns, but I want to end by emphasizing the greatest threats, past, present and future  to the Gulf, to the ocean, and to the future of humankind. That would be ignorance, and its terrible twin, complacency.

The loss of human lives, the destruction of the life-giving Gulf cannot be justified as an acceptable cost of doing business, but if we really do go forward with a commitment to do things differently henceforth, we will have gained something of  enduring value. We must do  better about thinking like an ocean, and thinking on behalf of those who will benefit--or suffer--from the consequences of our actions.

Now,  maybe for the first time, we know what to do. We still have a chance to make peace with the ocean.

Sylvia Earle is an oceanographer, explorer, author and lecturer, Explorer in Residence at the National Geographic Society, called  Her Deepness by the

New Yorker and New York Times, a  Living Legend by the Library of Congress, and  first Hero for the Planet by Time Magazine.  She has  years of experience as a field research scientist, expedition leader, government official, and director for corporate and non-profit organizations including the Kerr McGee Corporation, Dresser Industries, Oryx Energy, the Aspen Institute, the Conservation Fund, World Wildlife Fund, Conservation International, Ocean Conservancy, Ocean Futures, American Rivers, Mote Marine Laboratory, Duke University Marine Laboratory, Rutgers Institute for Marine Science and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation. From  1980 to 1990 she served as Founder of Deep Ocean Engineering and from 1992 to 2007, she served as founder and chair of Deep Ocean Exploration and Research (DOER Marine) to further the development of new technologies for access to the sea.

In connection with her 2009 TED Prize, she founded Mission Blue, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ocean exploration, research, and conservation aimed at developing networks of "Hope Spots," protected areas large enough to secure and restore health to the "blue heart of the planet" (www.mission-blue.org).

Formerly Chief Scientist of NOAA, Dr. Earle chairs Advisory Councils for the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies; the Ocean in Google Earth; the Marine Science and Technology Foundation and the Schmidt Research Vessel Institute.  She has a B.S. degree from Florida State University, M.S. and PhD. from Duke University, 19 honorary degrees and has authored more than 175 scientific, technical and popular publications, lectured in more than 80 countries, and appeared in hundreds of radio and television productions. 

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