Are We Changing the Ocean's Chemistry?

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Fishing has disrupted the ecology of the ocean. The carbon cycle is disrupted too. Nutrients are given back by every living creature. Every animal gives nutrients back, whether it's a whale or a shark or a tuna. So much has changed so fast that it's a different ocean to day than at what it was when i was a child. We've got more whales, got more sea turtles because we started protecting them. But in almost every other thing that you look at, coral reefs, they're only about half remaining. Mangroves, sea grasses, populations of oysters that once were so abundant in new york and in the chesapeake bay the gulf of me

It’s a well-worn cliché that oceans cover seventy percent of the surface of Earth, but we tend to give them secondary consideration when thinking about the environment. But climate change is wreaking havoc on the oceans, not to mention pollution and overfishing — 90% of the world’s marine fish stocks are fully exploited or depleted. Today’s guest, Sylvia Earle, is a well-known ocean scientist, a celebrated underwater explorer, and a tireless advocate for the world’s oceans. We talk about the current state of our oceans, what we know and have yet to learn about them, and what we can do individually and collectively to make things better.

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Sylvia Earle received her Ph.D. in phycology from Duke University. She is currently National Geographic’s Rosemary and Roger Enrico Chair for Ocean Exploration, as well as founder of Mission Blue, SEAlliance and Deep Ocean Exploration and Research. She formerly served as Chief Scientist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Among her awards are the TED Prize, the National Women’s Hall of Fame, and the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award from the Seattle Aquarium. She is the author of several books, the most recent of which is National Geographic Ocean: A Global Odyssey.