Jean-Michel Cousteau speaks about the importance of protecting Earth's oceans. Photo by Natalie Krebs / North by Northwestern.
One Book One Northwestern welcomed Jean-Michel Cousteau on Thursday night to speak about the importance of understanding the Earth’s underwater ecosystems and to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.
Cousteau, the son of famed marine explorer Jacques Cousteau, spoke to a packed Pick-Staiger Concert Hall about the importance of our oceans. Cousteau, an explorer and filmmaker, founded Ocean Futures Society in 1999 and travels the world to motivate people to protect the ocean and understand the connection between humanity and nature.
“Everything is connected,” Cousteau said. “No water, no life.”
Wearing a plaid suit and colorful tie, Cousteau recounted anecdotes about his work, garnering laughs from the audience. He made his way across the stage and imitated the animals he described, showing his enthusiasm for his cause. Cousteau continues to dive and will dive in the South Pacific in May.
“It’s absolute freedom,” he said, when asked to describe his dives. He waves his arms around him to show how he can move freely in the water as opposed to on land. “When people ask me, what’s your best dive, I say, my best dive is always the next one!”
Cousteau pointed out three major issues in his speech: overfishing, the destruction of coastal habitats and the release of chemicals into the ocean. He presented video clips from his Ocean Adventures television series to better emphasize his various missions around the world, including his observations of animal life around shipwrecks, mating habits of fish and the plight of birds feeding off of ocean litter by humans. He criticized rituals involving humpback whales and compared orcas to humans, as both are at the top of the food chain.
“We’re this wonderful little planet, but there’s a point where we’re abusing it,” Cousteau explained. “Whatever we do with that ultimately makes its way into the streams, into the lakes, into the ocean with everything we put into it.”
Cousteau’s talk was received with admiration from the audience, several of whom gave him a standing ovation after the session was over.
“I thought he was fantastic,” said Abigail Goldman, a Communication senior. “I loved his use of videos. I’m a scuba diver and one of the things I really struggle with is, what do you feel when you go underwater. The closest thing you can do is use videos, because you really get a sense of the space and the majesty and the calm.”
Throughout the presentation, Cousteau’s main message was that humans and marine animals must coexist. Even though they don’t inhabit the same habitats, they affect each other in very close ways. When humans fail to respect the oceans, wildlife is hurt and the pollutants in the water only hurt humans back. People must learn to care about the ocean even if they aren’t a part of it.
“Not only are we all connected to the ocean, we learn from it,” he said. “We can do it. It’s a matter of sitting down with those responsible and who can help make a difference.”