"The World Is Blue" Reflection Essay
Kylee Luckett
BIO 106
Dr. Harper
4/10/2012
“The World is Blue” Sylvia Earle Review and analysis by: Kylee Luckett “It is our choices...that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” -Albus Dumbledore
They say only a few will ever speak loud enough to be heard over the other seven billion voices on the planet. Today someone is shouting. Screaming off of the pages of “The World is Blue” is Sylvia Earle, National Geographic Society’s Explorer in Residence, and vast contributor to the effort to preserve the planet’s oceans. Earle’s book is not an inconvenient truth, fueled by politics and funding, but rather, by Earle’s heart for the ocean, and its unique residents. Earle explores conflict and resolution, one chapter and issue at a time. Taking Marine Wildlife: The elephant in the room
Earle utilizes her chapter on fish to call the world out on the elephant in the room-overfishing. Earle discusses how at one time in history, people believed that there was an infinite amount of fish to be caught, that there would never be a day when we would see something as popular as tuna, go extinct. We are sitting on the eve of “that day.” Earle really brings out the reality of overfishing, almost mocking our early ideas of sustainable yield. “..but those pesky animals didn’t obey the rules.. So what’s wrong with the concept of sustainable yield?” (Earle) Earle makes keen note that you cannot possibly create a concept of sustainability, when you know next to nothing about the species you are supposedly “yielding”. Earle debunks the idea of a surplus in the ocean of a healthy ecosystem, stating “What APPEARS to be an overabundance to human observers is a natural insurance policy...” (Earle) Earle applies the same idea of questionable yield to marine mammals. She spends a fair amount of this chapter on the touchy subject that is almost always controversial-whaling. She lends a nod
BIO 106
Dr. Harper
4/10/2012
“The World is Blue” Sylvia Earle Review and analysis by: Kylee Luckett “It is our choices...that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” -Albus Dumbledore
They say only a few will ever speak loud enough to be heard over the other seven billion voices on the planet. Today someone is shouting. Screaming off of the pages of “The World is Blue” is Sylvia Earle, National Geographic Society’s Explorer in Residence, and vast contributor to the effort to preserve the planet’s oceans. Earle’s book is not an inconvenient truth, fueled by politics and funding, but rather, by Earle’s heart for the ocean, and its unique residents. Earle explores conflict and resolution, one chapter and issue at a time. Taking Marine Wildlife: The elephant in the room
Earle utilizes her chapter on fish to call the world out on the elephant in the room-overfishing. Earle discusses how at one time in history, people believed that there was an infinite amount of fish to be caught, that there would never be a day when we would see something as popular as tuna, go extinct. We are sitting on the eve of “that day.” Earle really brings out the reality of overfishing, almost mocking our early ideas of sustainable yield. “..but those pesky animals didn’t obey the rules.. So what’s wrong with the concept of sustainable yield?” (Earle) Earle makes keen note that you cannot possibly create a concept of sustainability, when you know next to nothing about the species you are supposedly “yielding”. Earle debunks the idea of a surplus in the ocean of a healthy ecosystem, stating “What APPEARS to be an overabundance to human observers is a natural insurance policy...” (Earle) Earle applies the same idea of questionable yield to marine mammals. She spends a fair amount of this chapter on the touchy subject that is almost always controversial-whaling. She lends a nod
Cited: Earle, Sylvia A. The World is Blue. Washington DC: National Geographic, 2009.