Recently, we asked the followers of PADI’s Instagram page to share some of their favorite and most inspiring ocean quotes about diving and the underwater world. While we all know the classics, you might be surprised by some of the more unique answers we received.
Of course, we received the classics, such as, “Born to dive, forced to work,” and, “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.”
Yet, a high number were also related to ocean conservation. And as there’s never a bad time to talk about or promote saving the marine world, here are some of our favorite quotes to help educate others and inspire you to protect our oceans.
Choose Earth, Not Mars…
The most popular ocean conservation quote we received from PADI followers was succinctly poignant, and originated from Dr. Sylvia Earle:
“No water, no life. No blue, no green.”
But these aren’t the only words of wisdom Dr. Earle, founder of Mission Blue, has given us. Her book, The World Is Blue: How Our Fate and the Ocean’s Are One, is filled with lessons worth listening to, meaningful mantras and just enough optimism for the future. Inside, she writes:
“Even if you never have the chance to see or touch the ocean, it touches you with every breath you take, every drop of water you drink, every bite you consume. Everyone, everywhere is inextricably connected to and utterly dependent upon the existence of the sea.”
“If you think the ocean isn’t important, imagine Earth without it. Mars comes to mind. No ocean, no life support system.”
One diver reminded us that the ocean has plenty to teach us, and that, “Not all classrooms have four walls.”
As for whose responsibility it is to protect the planet, Robert Swan, the OBE and polar explorer who became the first person to walk to both poles, makes his feelings on the matter clear:
“The greatest danger to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.”
Every Citizen Can (and Should) Be Part of the Solution
Ma Jun, an environmentalist, journalist and National Geographic Explorer, shares the view that the responsibility to save the ocean falls on everyone, including the public. He said:
“At the end of the day, the government and local government all bow to public pressure….[Regulatory] enforcement is weak, and environmental litigation is near to impossible. So there’s an urgent need for extensive public participation to generate another kind of motivation.”
Nancy Knowlton, coral reef biologist and Sant Chair for Marine Science at the Smithsonian Institution, put further emphasis on the importance of each person taking ownership of the problem with her wise words. Even when a problem seems immense, individual actions can lead to change:
“I watched the coral reefs that I studied as a student vanish in the blink of an eye, and for decades I wrote and spoke of ocean obituaries. But big scary problems without solutions lead to apathy, not action… Small steps taken by many people in their backyards add up.“
Reducing an individual’s use of single-use plastics is one of these small, easy-to-achieve steps which can have a big impact. Many communities have banned plastic bags thanks in part to the awareness that’s the result of passionate ocean protectors, like the Mediterranean Association to Save the Sea Turtles (MEDASSET).
We Cannot Eat Money
David Suzuki, CC OBC FRSC professor, science broadcaster and environmental activist wrote:
“Doing all we can to combat climate change comes with numerous benefits, from reducing pollution and associated health care costs to strengthening and diversifying the economy by shifting to renewable energy, among other measures.
“If we pollute the air, water and soil that keep us alive and well, and destroy the biodiversity that allows natural systems to function, no amount of money will save us.”
Dr. Suzuki’s views follow a similar course to that of a saying attributed to a Native American of the First Nation Abenaki tribe:
“When the last tree has been cut down, the last fish caught, the last river poisoned, only then will we realize that one cannot eat money.”
There is No Planet B…
Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General between 2007 and 2016, highlighted the importance of looking after the planet we have, as it is the only one. He stated:
“We are using resources as if we had two planets, not one. There can be no ‘plan B’ because there is no ‘planet B.'”
Terri Swearingen, an environmentalist and nurse, shares a similar sentiment:
“We are living on this planet as if we have another one to go to.”
Can You Leave This World a Little Better Than You Found It?
Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the world scouting movement, asked if you can leave this world better than you found it. In his final address to The Boy Scouts, he philosophized:
“Try and leave this world a little better than you found it, and when your turn comes to die, you can die happy in feeling that at any rate, you have not wasted your time but have done your best.”
Feeling inspired to protect our oceans? It’s time to learn to dive and get hands on with some underwater conservation projects. You’ll also learn to #LiveUnfiltered and experience nature in its purest form at the same time.
And if that’s not enough, as a certified diver, you will be able to further your education with PADI AWARE Foundation‘s AWARE Specialist and Dive Against Debris courses.
