Earle Launches Blue Voyage to Create
Marine "Hope Spots"
 From April 6 to 10, SeaWeb Board Member Callum Roberts and dozens of other renowned ocean proponents are joining oceanographer Sylvia Earle on her Mission Blue Voyage to the Galápagos. The trip is a project of the TED Prize, which Earle won in 2009. These annual awards of $100,000 and the granting of “one wish to change the world” are designed to foster collaborative initiatives with far-reaching impact.
Earle announced, “I wish you would use all means at your disposal—films! expeditions! the web! more!—to ignite public support for a global network of marine protected areas, hope spots large enough to save and restore the ocean, the blue heart of the planet.”
TED was originally focused on those from the fields of technology, entertainment and design but is now open to many disciplines, from science to business to the arts. Earle has gathered together a wide range of leaders in the ocean community for the Mission Blue Voyage to help her fulfill her wish—from marine scientists such as Daniel Pauly and Jeremy Jackson to artists such as musician Jackson Browne and cartoonist Jim Toomey.
During their journey on the National Geographic Endeavor, attendees will hear lectures and explore the Galápagos islands and surrounding ocean in hopes they will inspire creative ways to gather support for Earles’ envisioned network of protected areas. In addition, Sylvia’s foundation received a $1 million grant from Planet Heritage Foundation at TED2009. And a partner network was developed that includes National Geographic, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, Google Earth and Deep Search Foundation.
Earle, who has served as a lead spokesperson for SeaWeb, has inspired many to do what they can to conserve the ocean throughout her four-decades-long career as an oceanographer, explorer, author and lecturer. Earle has led more than 50 expeditions worldwide involving more than 6,000 hours underwater. In the early 1990s, she served as chief scientist of the U.S. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. She is now a National Geographic Society explorer-in-residence.
A member of SeaWeb’s Board, Callum Roberts is a marine conservation biologist, oceanographer, renowned author, research scholar and professor in the Environment Department of the University of York in the United Kingdom. His work is dedicated to examining the impact of human activity on marine ecosystems, particularly on coral reefs. He is currently focused on gaining acceptance of marine reserves and is working with fishers to promote the concept more broadly. Roberts is the author of numerous scientific papers, articles and books, including the recently published and highly acclaimed book “The Unnatural History of the Sea.”
Follow the Voyage on Twitter >>
Follow Earle's blog about the voyage on Huffington Post >>
Read Previous Just In articles in the archive >> |
