Sylvia’s Wish

We all love our grandmother’s stories. You know the ones.

“When I was young, I used to walk 5 miles to school every morning.” How dreadful! Good thing you take a school bus, you think to yourself. And what’s a mile? If it’s as big as my grandmother’s eyes then it must be really far, your little Canadian heart throbs.

The next iteration adds “…in a snow storm up to my waist.” And you secretly thank the bus driver as you remember the spit balls flying.

Then “…with no shoes on.” To this you sneak a peek at the fuzzy boots at the door and wipe the dread off your forehead.

“…carrying my books in my bare hands,” tops it off . How could it possibly get worse, you gasp. But it does every time.

Apparently when our most senior generation grew up winter actually lasted 10 months! Incredible!

As little guppies we believed everything adults said, especially the ones who hooked us with sweets when they visited. Then as we became a little wise to the bait ourselves, we started to question, and question, and question.

The response was of course predictable. “Oh yes,” grand-maman emphasizes. “We froze our little tookies off!”

Hmmm. She’s off her rocker is the thought that buds. And years later this thread has woven itself into a blanket discounting all the stories of the past— the stories of the preplastic-o-zoic age.

But no more. Scientists have been measuring, documenting, postulating, and very recently sharing in terms that we can finally internalize. 

With social media and the internet gone wild, the proof of the past is splashing us in the face.  We can’t help but get a little soaked by the messages, sometimes drowning in them, so let’s grab a towel to brush off the toxic debris of lunacy and listen to the wisdom, the truth, the proof and…

..Yes!  The poetry of Dr. Sylvia Earle —scientist, grandmother, steward, and true inspiration to all of us who believe that a plastic-free ocean can thrive again.

More wisdom from Dr. Sylvia Earle…

 And even more…

“I wish you would use all means at your disposal — films! Expeditions! The web! More! — To ignite public support for a global network of marine protected areas, hope spots large enough to save and restore the ocean, the blue heart of the planet” — Sylvia Earle, 2009, TED Prize Winner 2009

Let’s honour Sylvia’s wish.