Eco-Warriors: Sylvia Earle

Episode Summary

Sylvia Earle is a pioneering marine biologist who has dedicated her life to ocean exploration and conservation. As a young girl, she spent hours studying pond life in her backyard. She received her PhD in botany from Duke University. In the 1960s, Earle joined expeditions to the Indian Ocean to document marine life. She conducted landmark research on algae and became the first woman to live underwater for extended periods. In 1970, Earle led the first all-female team of aquanauts during the Tektite 2 project. She set diving records, authored over 200 publications, and co-founded ocean engineering companies. Earle was the first female chief scientist at NOAA. She has received numerous honors for her ocean advocacy. Today, Earle continues to promote marine biodiversity through her nonprofit Mission Blue. She has designated over 100 Hope Spots, which are marine protected areas around the world. Earle has spent over 7,000 hours underwater in her decades-long career as an ocean explorer. She is known as "Her Deepness" for her extensive knowledge of the deep sea.

Episode Show Notes

Sylvia Earle (1935-present) is a leading advocate for ocean conservation and one of the world’s best known marine scientists. She has logged thousands of hours diving beneath the surface of the ocean, and brought the marvels of the deep sea to the surface–earning the nickname ‘Her Deepness’.

Episode Transcript

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And since this month's theme is eco-warriors, the team behind As She Rises is taking over Womanica. We're highlighting eco-warriors, women fighting for conservation and ecological justice. Today, we're talking about a leading advocate for ocean conservation, who's one of the world's best known marine scientists. She's logged thousands of hours diving beneath the surface of the ocean and brought the marvels of the deep sea to the surface, earning her the nickname, her deepness. Let's talk about Sylvia Earle. Sylvia was born on August 30th, 1938 in Gibs Town, New Jersey. As a kid, she spent hours by the pond in her backyard, filling jars with fish and tadpoles, and then carefully documenting her findings and notebooks. She was a brilliant student and graduated high school at 16. She attended Florida State University on a scholarship. There, she studied botany and learned how to dive with scuba gear. She graduated three years later and continued her education at Duke, pursuing a master's in botany. After graduating at age 20, she stayed at Duke and began working towards her PhD. Her research was focused on algae, the plants that produce the most oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere. In 1964, while working towards her doctorate, Sylvia joined an expedition sponsored by the National Science Foundation. Along with a team of 70 all-male crew members, Sylvia traveled halfway across the world to dive into the Indian Ocean and document its sea life. She spent the next two years aboard the same research vessel, exploring the waters off the Comoro Islands, Nairobi, Cairo, and beyond. At the Comoro Islands, she discovered a bright pink plant that had never been documented before. She named it Humbrella in honor of her teacher and mentor, Dr. Harold Hum. Her dissertation involved scuba diving off the Gulf of Mexico to document marine life. Her work became a landmark study in her field for decades to come. But Sylvia's scuba expeditions were just beginning. In 1968, she joined the Man in Sea Project, where participants lived underwater for extended periods. Sylvia was the first woman to do this experiment, and she was four months pregnant at the time. In 1969, Sylvia applied to be part of another underwater habitat project called the Tektite 2 Project. When the review committee read her application, they were blown away by her credentials. She had over 1,000 hours of diving and robust research experience. But the committee hadn't considered that women would apply for this position, and they didn't want male and female scientists living together underwater. Instead, the committee tasked Sylvia with leading an all-female diving team. In the summer of 1970, Sylvia and four other women descended into an underwater habitat off the coast of the U.S. Virgin Islands and spent two weeks documenting the sea life. Sylvia surfaced a star. She and her team were invited to the White House and honored at a parade in Chicago. She began speaking and writing about marine life, bringing her passion for the ocean to the public. Alongside her writing and speaking appearances, she continued diving all over the world. In 1979, she set the world record for untethered diving, becoming the first woman to scuba 1,250 feet underwater. In the 1980s, she co-founded Deep Ocean Engineering and Deep Ocean Technology. She even helped design Deep Rover, a submersible that could hold one person and travel up to 3,000 feet underwater. Over the course of her career, Sylvia authored over 200 publications, lectured in over 80 countries, led over 100 marine expeditions, and spent over 7,000 hours underwater. In 1990, Sylvia was the first woman to become the chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. She was named Time Magazine's first hero for the planet and received the TED Prize. Today, Sylvia continues educating people about marine biodiversity and fighting to protect the world's oceans. She founded a nonprofit called Mission Blue, which works to build a network of marine protected areas called Hope Spots. For more information, find us on Facebook and Instagram, at Wamanica Podcast. Special thanks to Jenny and Liz Kaplan for inviting me to guest host. As always, we'll be taking a break over the weekend. Talk to you on Monday. SPEAKER_09: Hey, Wamanica listeners. It's Grace Lynch, one of the writers and producers of Wamanica and host of another WMAN Original show, As She Rises. All month long, we've been highlighting eco-warriors, women who paved the way for today's environmental activists and change makers. To learn more about the contemporary women who benefited from these eco-warriors, I highly encourage you to listen to As She Rises. Climate change often feels untouchable. Other times, we're so close to it that it's exhausting. 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