The ocean is deep, darkish, and largely ignored in discussions of local weather change. Philippe Cousteau Jr., grandson of the legendary oceanographer, inventor, and documentarian Jacques Cousteau, explains the immense impression from carbon in our seas. Cousteau talks about missteps that plague the local weather motion, classes he discovered from his grandfather that might reverse these errors, and why we have to leverage market dynamics to speed up progress.
That is an abridged transcript of an interview from Rapid Response, hosted by the previous editor-in-chief of Quick Firm Bob Safian. From the workforce behind the Masters of Scale podcast, Fast Response options candid conversations with immediately’s prime enterprise leaders navigating real-time challenges. Subscribe to Fast Response wherever you get your podcasts to make sure you by no means miss an episode.
Classes from the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe
Your grandfather is Jacques Cousteau, the legendary oceanographer, inventor, and documentarian. You spent a number of time overlaying the catastrophic Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. Are there classes that you just discovered from that have?
Properly, my grandfather all the time taught me that the accountability we’ve isn’t just to discover and admire, however to share that information with others—and the facility of media and storytelling to try this. And in order a storyteller myself, when the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe occurred, I keep in mind watching the information most likely about six weeks after the preliminary reviews of the spill. Across the time, the EPA accepted BP to use dispersant to the oil. A dispersant is a solvent and the entire level of it’s to interrupt up the oil and have it sink. And I keep in mind all of the information networks, Fox, MSNBC, CNN, they have been all saying the identical factor, “Oh, they’re making use of the dispersant and it’s making the oil go away”. And that phrase caught with me, “go away,” as a result of I do know very effectively, there’s no such factor as away. It goes elsewhere. It makes it exit of sight.
And so I known as a pal of mine, Sam Champion, who was on Good Morning America on the time. And I mentioned, “you realize, Sam, nobody’s ever been diving into an oil spill earlier than. And the world must know that this oil isn’t going away, and what’s actually occurring.” So we flew all the way down to Louisiana. And we did a section underwater and you can see the descent of those fish, seaweed and jelly, all types of issues, simply coated in these blobs of oil. And it modified the dialog concerning the oil spill and actually put a highlight on this cover-up they have been attempting to do.
Evolving the local weather motion’s messaging
Do you get annoyed with the way in which companies take the atmosphere with no consideration? How do you get individuals to alter that perspective?
Properly, I feel there’s an even bigger problem occurring after we take into consideration the atmosphere. In lots of respects, I blame the environmental motion as a lot as I blame {industry} or authorities. We as a motion are typically fairly poor storytellers. And I imagine that one of many issues that we face immediately is that we’ve underinvested in story and training. We have now underinvested in constructing a society that understands these points and cares about them, and may then drive the political and social modifications and financial modifications that have to occur.
A current Pew examine confirmed {that a} majority of younger Republicans imagine in local weather change and imagine local weather change is a critical situation. So I do suppose that the excellent news is we’re seeing a sea change in society. However that doesn’t simply occur. It’s a part of a concerted effort of a motley crew of us.
I really feel like extra not too long ago the storytelling round local weather from extra skeptical or industry-focused locations is touchdown.
Properly, it’s a sliding scale. The controversy a decade in the past was, “local weather change doesn’t even exist.” Now deniers should not denying whether or not it’s occurring. Largely they’re saying, “Oh, however individuals aren’t accountable.” So there’s a shift. The dimensions is transferring.
You’re optimistic about this.
You understand, I’ve to be optimistic as a result of in any other case it’s so miserable. I feel we’ve to do a greater job as a motion to mature our message. We made a giant mistake by making polar bears the poster little one of local weather change, as a result of frankly, nobody cares about polar bears. The particular person struggling to pay their payments or discover a job doesn’t care about polar bears. We have to do a significantly better job as a motion of relating how we resolve these issues as a strategy to create jobs and alternative for individuals. What are the impacts on our well being? What are the impacts on our kids? Making it extra related to human beings and fewer concerning the animals and Arctic sea ice, which once more is simply to take away from individuals. One thing my grandfather was actually good at: We have to give individuals a imaginative and prescient for what the world might be like after we make these modifications.
Uncovering a brand new local weather change answer
I feel one of many challenges that local weather change has had is to maintain the dialog transferring. Individuals get engaged in one thing for a short time after which they transfer on, you realize?
Properly, that’s true. And so, how will we break this down into tangible bites for individuals to know? Krill is a tiny crustacean concerning the measurement of your thumb. And it’s a part of a biochemical system in our ocean the place krill eat phytoplankton and their waste from consuming that phytoplankton sequestered within the deep ocean. After which whales and different animals eat the krill and put an estimated 13 billion tons of carbon into the ocean yearly without cost. The linchpin of that is this tiny creature known as krill. And proper now, 70 p.c of the market worth of krill is for omega-3 dietary supplements in North America. So we’re undermining a very powerful meals net on the planet. By the way in which, krill and fish get their omega-3s by consuming algae. And we are able to now extract omega-3s immediately from algae. It’s simply that folks don’t know. So we’re launching a model and doing a future movie to reveal this complete disaster later within the yr.
The necessity for large time funding
And I can see your pleasure about all of the potential that’s there. What’s in the way in which of that?
After I have a look at the coral situation, for instance, we have to put someplace within the neighborhood of three to 4 trillion a yr, trillion with a T, into the rising and restorative blue economic system as a way to get a deal with on a few of these points. It’s some huge cash. I feel we’re round 1.5 trillion a yr now. So huge upside and massive alternative for buyers to say, “Oh, you may make some huge cash.” Proper? So these are the sorts of issues that we have to unleash the form of capital that should movement into the blue economic system.
While you have a look at the amount of cash that we put money into sending probes into area to discover distant galaxies versus the amount of cash that we spend to discover and perceive these advanced methods on this planet, it’s a rounding error that we make investments right here on earth versus what we spend on area. We have to change that.
Staying optimistic for the following technology
You’ve traveled around the globe. How necessary is seeing all these totally different locations your self personally in appreciating what must be executed?
Seeing definitely is believing. While you see the faces of people who find themselves excited concerning the alternatives {that a} new know-how would possibly deliver or an funding of their local people would possibly deliver to rework their lives and the lives of their youngsters, that’s actually thrilling. On the flip facet, whenever you see the faces of individuals whose lives have been devastated as a result of the atmosphere has collapsed, that hits house as effectively. It took on a brand new diploma of urgency for me when my first daughter was born simply 5 years in the past. And now with two little women, I have a look at the world that we’re constructing and I’m embarrassed, truly, that we must always have the egocentric audacity as a species to repeatedly cross on a extra degraded planet than the one we inherited, to our kids. I’m touring slightly bit much less as a result of I actually need to be house for my littles. My father died six months earlier than I used to be born, and so I’m aware of the privilege that I’ve of being current for them.
Some individuals with the background that you’ve got—your father died whenever you have been younger, I do know when Steve Irwin died you have been there. You could possibly have extra of a down view on the world. You simply don’t let your self try this.
My father was 39 when he handed. I used to be there with Steve, who was, I imagine, 41 or 42 when he died. And we have been filming collectively and he actually died in my arms. If something, these experiences have jogged my memory of simply how little time we’ve and the way unpredictable it’s. And so let’s attempt to construct a world that every time we depart, we will be pleased with the small function that we performed in attempting to make it higher for our kids.