164 Quotes by Sylvia Earle

I've had the joy of spending thousands of hours under the sea. I wish I could take people along to see what I see, and to know what I know.

By the end of the 20th century, up to 90 percent of the sharks, tuna, swordfish, marlins, groupers, turtles, whales, and many other large creatures that prospered in the Gulf for millions of years had been depleted by overfishing.

Not only who am I, but who are we? And where are we going? It's the "we." It's the social connections that are special to human beings.

I have lots of heroes: anyone and everyone who does whatever they can to leave the natural world better than they found it.

My first breath was just...it just seemed impossible that you could actually breathe underwater. I knew in my mind it was possible, but actually experiencing it was such a gulp of joy and I feel it every time I go under the ocean. I love doing it, to be able to feel weightless, to spin on one finger, to do somersaults, to be like a graceful ballerina - even with a huge tank on your back you can do the most extraordinary things.

I actually love diving at night; you see a lot of fish then that you don't see in the daytime.

No creature on Earth ever has organized themselves in ways that we have, with the capacity to alter the nature of nature the way we have.

Everyone has power. But it doesn't help if you don't use it.

There's plenty of water in the universe without life, but nowhere is there life without water.