7 Great Minds Dedicated to Saving Our Seas
The adverse effects of climate change are being felt now more than ever before. Ice caps are melting, sea leves are rising and winters are lasting longer than they should. Our planet is in crisis and our ocean and the marine life that depend on the ecosystem are suffering as a result. The folowing nature activists and ocean conservationists form part of a great army of movers and shakers fighting for the preservation of the seas:
Lewis Pugh
As a maritime lawyer, ocean advocate and pioneer swimmer; Lewis Pugh leads by example. He has lead 5 swimming expeditions in the Arctic to highlight the importance of sea conservation. These undertaking include his swim in the North Pole in 2007 to highlight the melting of the Arctic sea ice. In 2010 he swam across a glacial lake on Mount Everest to draw attention to the melting of the ecosystem in the Himalayas. In 2014 he became the first person to complete a long distance swim in all the Seven Seas. This campaign was to urge surrounding nations to create more Marine Protected Areas.
In 2010, the 46 year old Englishman was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum for his "potential to contribute to shaping the future of the world through inspiring leadership.” In 2013, Pugh was inducted into the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame. He continues to combat the deterioration and pollution of Earth’s oceans through demonstrations.
Pugh’s hope is that the symbolic swims he does will bring the beauty and wonder of Antarctica into the public space so they will urge their governments to protect this unique ecosystem.
For more information of Lewis Pugh and his recent actions go to www.lewispugh.com
Boyan Slat
If you haven’t heard about the 21 year old boy making waves (pardon the pun) in the nature conservation community then you must live under a rock.
The young Dutch inventor is the mind behind The Ocean Clean Up, which is a mission to clear the seas of the overwhelming amount of pollution and hazardous waste that has been polluting the water for hundreds of years. Slat has developed technologies to extract, prevent, and intercept plastic pollution. The Clean Up’s goal is to promote environmentally conscious waste management and lobby against oceanic plastic pollution by initiating the largest cleanup in word history.
Boyan Slat is the youngest-ever recipient of the UN’s highest environmental accolade; Champion of the Earth, and Forbes included him in their 30 under 30 edition in 2016.
This year Slat launched a pilot program. A 6ft scale model has been placed in the Tsushima Strait, off the coast of Japan, testing his invention and performing controlled environment tests. The Clean Up project is set to begin in 2020.
Lesley Rochat
She is the self-proclaimed “Shark Warrior.” Lesley Rochat believes sharks have been vilified in media and as a result have been hunted relentlessly. Through her photography and film-making, the South African ocean campaigner presents the ferocious fish in a gentler way society isn’t used to seeing. Rochat’s documentaries bring attention to the predators as being vital parts of the delicate marine ecosystem of our oceans and that they should be neither feared nor despised.
Rochat has won the prestigious PANDA award at the Wildscreen Film Festival, held annually in England. Her documentary “Sharks in Deep Water” also recently won an award for its conservation message at the Montana CINE Film Festival.
To track Rochats progress in the fight for the protection of sharks, her sea protests and deep sea dives go to http://www.lesleyrochat.com
Leonardo Dicaprio
When you put Leo Dicaprio and ‘ocean’ in the same sentence it conjures up heartbreaking images of his cold hand firmly gripped to Kate Winslet’s, freezing in the middle of the pacific, urging her to “never let go.” His work to preserve the ocean, however, goes much further than that. The Hollywood actor has provided $15 million in grants to organizations implementing innovative environmental projects around the world.
In 1998, Dicaprio formed a foundation,in his name, dedicated to climate change, protecting biodiversity, as well as wildlands and ocean conservation. The foundation, which since inception has raised $45 million, currently supports over 65 other organizations.
Dicaprio recently became the United Nations Messenger of Peace for Climate Change and received the 2014 Clinton Global Citizen Award. He uses his fame and international reach to bring attention to issues of conservation. In 2007 he narrated the climate change film, The 11th Hour.
Notorious for his green mission, Dicaprio dedicated his 2016 Oscar win to nature conservation, stating that, “Making The Revenant was about man’s relationship with natural world. Climate change is real, it is happening right now. It is the most urgent threat facing our entire species… Let us not take this planet for granted.”
Not only does this climate activist dedicate himself to his organization but Dicaprio also serves on the board of several environmental organizations including: World Wildlife Fund, National Geographic’s Pristine Seas, the funders’ collaborative Oceans 5, which works to preserve the world’s largest marine reserve, and International Fund for Animal Welfare
Madison “Pip” Stewart
This 20 year old diver has been filming marine life since she was 14 years old. Similar to Rochat, Madison Stewart has been raising awareness over legal shark fisheries in the Great Barrier Reef. She believes the killing of sharks is merciless and completely unjustified.
In 2014, Stewart made a documentary called Hitchens Razor in which the Australian states, “sharks are family, and no one threatens my family.” She speaks directly to corporations, fisheries and local government about the hunting and killing of hundreds of sharks annually. Her concern is that the scale in which the animals are being annihilated is not sustainable and will eventually disrupt and irrevocably harm the state of the ocean.
Stewart’s Youtube page includes more of her documentaries and is where you can go if you are interested in tracking her progress.
Anne L. Doubilet
Having worked for the National Geographic Magazine, this underwater explorer has logged thousands of dives across the world working as a writer and freelance photographer. Anna L Doubilet has dedicated her career to promoting sea conservation and responsible waste disposal.
A member of the Women Divers Hall of Fame, Doubilet has worked in Papua New Guinea, Madagascar, Fiji, Indonesia, Hawaiii, Tahiti, Japan, as well as all around Australia’s coasts and throughout the Caribbean. Her projects have worked to bring public awareness to the drastic changes in maritime ecosystems as a direct result of global warming. Doubilet recently photographed melting and shifting ice in the Arctic and Antarctic.
The ocean conservationist was named an “Ambassador of the Sea” in the book Ocean Portraits by Dr. Huw Lewis-Jones. She continues to lecture, internationally, about the oceans peril as seen through her 40 years of working underwater.
7. Jack Johnson
The “Banana Pancakes” singer and former professional surfer is active in the ecology and sustainability of our planet, often with an ocean-centric focus. The Hawaiian islander has adopted a lifestyle of ‘greening’ whereby he reduces his use of plastic products, opting for reusable and biodegradable material.
Not only is Johnson ‘greening’ at home but on tour as well. All his concerts work to promote environmentally friendly fun. Johnson and his tour crew make every effort to ensure zero waste through recycling, composition and waste diversion efforts. Sustainable biodiesel is always used by tour busses and fans save money and gas by being encouraged to carpool, use mass transits or shuttle, and some fans cycle to concert venues.
One of the many projects Johnson endorses is the Surfrider Foundation. Jack Johnson has also collaborated with the Australian Marine Conservation Society. For over 45 years the AMCS has been protecting Australia's waters. As a surfer and ocean conservationist, the Grammy winning singer-songwriter has naturally found a liking to the AMCS.
Other foundations close to Johnson’s heart include his All At One foundation, One More Generation and the Johnson Ohana Charitable Foundation. In 2008, and again in 2010, Johnson donated 100% of his tour profits to charities and organizations fighting to preserve the earth.
We hope these minds, young and old, have inspired to do something to protect the ocean and it’s ecosystem. Afterall, it is a beautiful source of fun and happiness that we all want to enjoy for generations to come.