Sylvia Earle

Earle diving in the ocean (www.achievement.org/.../ear0/large/ear0-012.jpg)

If the waters of the ocean were not clean, chances are many animals would die. This would happen because the water is home to all fish and aquatic creatures. If the water got dirty, all the animals and plants in the waters would die. Since, other animals eat the animals and plants that live in the oceans, they would die of starvation. Sylvia Earle is the one who has devoted her whole lifetime to keep this from happening. She has spent many years working hard to gain the required knowledge for the job and putting it into action.

Earle after a dive (www.nmsfocean.org/files/earle.jpg)

From the second Earle was born in the small city of Gibbstown, New Jersey on August 30, 1935, she loved the water. Even though neither of her parents had gone to college, they taught her to love and respect nature ever since she was born. When Earle’s family moved to Clearwater, Florida, she got the opportunity to learn more and more about the oceans and wildlife. Her parents didn’t have enough money to send her to college, but she earned a scholarship to Florida State University by studying hard and working to be a nature expert.

Earle studying a jellyfish (www.achievement.org/.../ear0/large/ear0-012.jpg)

Because she not only wanted to just get her biology degree, she worked extra hard in school and in the early years of her career. She learned how to scuba dive so she could get a closer view of the things she was studying in the ocean. She also went to Duke University to earn her Master’s degree. Although she had two children, she left home for six weeks to join a science exploration in the Indian Ocean.

Earle following whales (www.achievement.org/.../ear0/large/ear0-012.jpg)

Earle was still earning her education and going on more explorations to pursue expertise in her career. Earle went back to Duke to earn her PhD in 1996 and has made a lifelong devotion to charting every plant in the Gulf of Mexico. This would make her a better scientist by giving her patience and endurance. In 1968, she traveled 100 feet below the waters of the Bahamas in the deep diver. In 1969, she applied to the tektite project, a project where people lived underwater for weeks; She was rejected because the project was only for men. This did not stop Earle. In 1970, she arranged the Tektite II, and all women research project just like Tektite. This was very important to her because she knew that she had allowed other women that had been rejected for the Tektite project to accomplish their dreams, just like her.

Sylvia standing by the ocean (www.achievement.org/.../ear0/large/ear0-012.jpg)

After Earle’s Tektite II project, she started writing books, making documentaries, and going on more explorations in order to tell people more and more about the oceans and wildlife. In 1977, she followed whales from Hawaii to New Zealand, Australia, Bermuda, and Alaska. This took a lot of patience and determination. Sylvia started writing for National Geographic to try to interest people in saving the oceans; She recorded a documentary about the whales called Gentle Giants of the Pacific. In 1980, she wrote the book Exploring the Deep Frontier. In 1979, she walked the deepest depth anyone had ever walked on the ocean floor and in 1980, she started the companies Deep Ocean Engineering and Deep Ocean Technologies. The companies helped design the Deep Rover and the Deep Flight.

Sylvia Earle is a great person and is accomplishing a lot in her lifetime. She is always remembered fondly as a great Marine Biologist. She is helping stop the biggest mistake of the world, ruining the oceans. If people ruin the oceans most animals would die and the food chain would slowly break up. She also researched and charted every plant in the Gulf of Mexico and is a great person in society.