Sea Change: A Message of the Oceans [Paperback]

Sylvia Earle (Author)

Book Description

Release date: May 21, 1996

Internationally renowned as the ambassador-at-large to the world's oceans, Sylvia Earle is an extraordinary woman--the former chief scientist of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a distinguished marine biologist, a veteran of more than 6,000 hours underwater, the founder of an ocean engineering firm, and an eloquent advocate for marine conservation. Sea Change is at once the gripping adventure story of Earle's three decades of undersea exploration, an insider's introduction to the dynamic field of marine biology, and an urgent plea for the preservation of the world's fragile and rapidly deteriorating ocean ecosystems.

Earle takes us along on journeys to places of unimaginable beauty and unutterable destruction. She conjures up the exhilaration of swimming with humpback whales off the coast of Maui; she makes us comprehend the true environmental tragedy of the massive oil spills in Prince William Sound and the Persian Gulf; and she leads us out into Australia's Great Barrier Reef, the epitome of ocean wilderness but also the final resting place for tons of waste that drift in from thousands of miles away. This brilliant, thought-provoking, superbly readable book will inspire a new reverence for the majesty of the world's oceans even as it opens our eyes to the intricate interdependence of all life-forms.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

What have we learned since 1951, when Rachel Carson's charming The Sea Around Us was published, winning so many hearts and the National Book Award? The sea below us, as pioneering marine biologist Sylvia Earle and others have demonstrated, churns with far more life than Carson ever dreamed. Sea Change is an enthusiastic celebration of that diversity and abundance. It's also a profoundly sobering account of the shortsighted human assault on ocean life. The "silent tide," as one reviewer wrote, may lie just offshore. Only a sea change in human habits and economies will save the oceans.

Like Carson, Earle carved a place for herself in the public imagination despite resistance from those in her male-dominated field. Her tales of underwater adventure--including many record-breaking dives among the 6,000 hours she has spent underwater--are punctuated by stories about her increasing prominence as an advocate for the oceans. She's seen it all, it seems: a year diving with whales in Hawaii, visits to Prince William Sound and the Persian Gulf in the aftermath of colossal oil spills, etc. Her breezy prose won't win her the National Book Award, but few others wear Rachel Carson's mantle as gracefully. That is reason enough to read Sea Change. --Pete Holloran

From Publishers Weekly

Marine biologist Earle discusses her own adventures and the history of ocean exploration, as well as current threats to the health of the oceans.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 361 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books; 1st Ballantine Books Ed edition (May 21, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0449910652
• ISBN-13: 978-0449910658
• Product Dimensions: 0.8 x 5.3 x 8.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #162,260 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #43 in Books > Science & Math > Nature & Ecology > Oceans & Seas > Oceanography
  • #77 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Biological Sciences > Animals > Fish & Sharks
  • #81 in Books > Science & Math > Nature & Ecology > Ecosystems

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The history and science of oceanography January 24, 2003

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

Much of this book is written in the first person, which in places makes it very appealing, but in other places is distracting. My other gripe is that she jumps around a bit in her life time - so one chapter she talks about being the only woman on an expedition, and then she is the 1990's leader of NOAA and then we are back to her childhood haunts and back again.

That being said, it is a good read, full of facts and history. She worked in the sciences back when women were uncommon in the field. Back when there was no scuba gear and Jacques Cousteau was in to spear fishing, not conservation. Interesting stories, indeed! So, if you want an account of oceanography, past and present, its extreme limits and cool equipment from a personal point of view, pick this one up.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible! A true visit to the real world of the oceans. November 2, 1998

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

An inspiring story on the world of marine science. Sea Change takes you to the roots marine studies, and shows the rise of a marine biologist from a girl at the beach to a woman with a submarine. Anyone even faintly interested in the environment in general will love this book and it's hands on experiences with the world. Sea Change gives life lessons, and shows the real world of the sea, not the usual fairy tale of unbounding resources and perfect harmony. For the true marine fan, this book can serve as a novel as well as a learning experience. This is a delightful book that is easy to read and secretly educational. It enriches the mind while painting the imagination. I would reccomend this book to anyone willing to hear me out.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent story about the Oceans and the environment February 6, 2001

By George Bernwanger

Format:Paperback

Sylvia really opened my eyes to the fragile nature of our environment and to the beauty and vastness of the oceans. I highly recommend this book for anyone with the slightest interest in our environment and nature. This book will make you interested in learning and doing more for the environment.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A message of The Oceans December 9, 2002

By "[e-mail]"

Format:Paperback

This book was full of information and facts that I didnt know and found interesting as well as a list of Marine Sanctuaries etc. Sylvia Earle has paved the way for many I really found some of her passages to be inspiring. I will now think everytime I eat shrimp! I would suggest this book to anyone interested in Marine Biology or the Ocean and its conservation.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A great tale of the ocean's wonders June 9, 1996

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

Sylvia Earle's Sea Change: A Message of the Oceans serves as a clarion call to humans to take a closer look at the life blood of planet earth, the oceans. The thoughtful mixture of wonder and concern outlines Earle's years of study and thousands of hours working, playing and living beneath the ocean's surface. Tales of discovery and enlightenment are interspersed with easy to read discussions of geology, biology, engineering, law and policy, to weave a tale advocating better stewardship of our ocean resources.
A biologist by formal training and an explorer and adventurer by natural curiosity, Earle reminds us of what we learned (but may have never fully grasped) in elementary school, that the planet which we inhabit is covered mostly in water.
Earle begins by providing the reader first with a sense of geologic time over which the earth has taken shape and the oceans have formed. She points out that post-Columbus man has occupied this planet for a mere four seconds in the geologic year representing the earth's 4.6 billion year history. She notes modern oceanography, from its origin in the 1870s with the expedition of the HMS Challenger, covers less than one second on that time scale.
Having humbled human knowledge of the seas on a temporal scale, Earle assuages our species ego touting the great advancements that have enabled humans to descend, albeit briefly, to the very deepest part of the oceans. She revels in the fact that she grew up in an era that saw Cousteau and Gagnan develop self contained underwater breathing apparatus (scuba) equipment. Divers, unfettered from the bulky diving helmets and shackled air hoses, could now have significantly greater access to, "where most of the living action on Earth is concentrated: underwater...." She relishes the
milestone achieved when U.S. Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh and Swiss engineer Jacques Picard descended in the bathysphere Trieste to a depth of 35,800 feet in the Marianas Trench. The visit to the deepest point in the ocean in 1960 in many ways the out paced the ascent of Mt. Everest.

The author recounts her own fascination and relationship with the sea from her days as a child on the coasts of New Jersey and Florida to her study of marine flora in the Gulf of Mexico as a graduate student. In self-deprecating style, Earle outlines the series of circumstances that led from her participation in an otherwise all male oceanographic expedition in 1964 to an underwater living experiment in 1970 "manned" by an all-women research team.
As her curiosity grew and technological development allowed, Earle began venturing into those depths and activities that had not yet hosted human activities, including early observations of humpback whales off the coast of Hawaii to the exploration of 1250 foot depths in an untethered specially designed diving suit. Each adventure strengthened her conviction that the ocean as a living system merited further research to increase human understanding of its beauty and importance in the biosphere .
Earle's sense of wonder and desire to further scientific observation led her to co-found Deep Ocean Engineering, Inc., a designer and manufacturer of deep sea remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and manned submersibles. Balancing the limits of the human body and the desire for feasible access to the ocean depths, Earle notes that while economics and human frailty may favor ROV's, "there is no completely satisfactory substitute for being there." Further, engineer Earle notes that while her own business venture is successful in making inroads to deep sea exploration, the United States lags behind other nations in developing a national policy toward ocean exploration which includes technological development of vehicles capable of plumbing the deepest ocean's depths. She illustrates her point in recounting her opportunity to descend more than two and one half miles, not in one of her own creations or one sponsored by the US, but in a Japanese submersible.

In the second part of her book, Dr. Earle outlines the results of unbridled technology on the ocean and its resources. Fisheries, once thought inexhaustible have been decimated by commercial ventures, "ever reaping, never sowing." Earle notes that the world's ocean resources suffer a tragedy of the commons of global proportions, wherein the lack of enforceable rights to resources leads to a mindless grab for what can be taken today.
She laments the effects of the well meant, but perhaps ill-implemented Magnuson Fishery and Conservation Management Act. While the goals of the Act are laudable, she notes, the establishment of Regional Fishery Councils controlled to a large degree by commercial fishing interests is akin to letting the "barracuda guard[] the fish coop." While the Act allowed the United States to control fishing access in its 200 mile Exclusive Economic Zone, it merely drove out foreign fishing and replaced it with an overcapitalized domestic fishing industry.
Earle also notes that scientists and policy makers have addressed the problem of overfishing with naive or weak analytical methods. Scientist Earle very succinctly questions the credibility of maximum sustainable yield (MSY) estimates of fish stocks, given the multiple and uncertain factors necessary to determine such an estimate. Such "scientific" methods may in fact do more harm than good, contends Earle, "the concept of MSY snares good minds, creates unrealistic expectations and encourages the setting of unattainable goals." She also paints a picture of myopic policies which have resulted in problems of bycatch of non-targeted fish, marine mammals, turtles and birds. The original goals of the MFCMA, asserts Earle, have been undermined by practices which have led to, "a squandering of natural assets deliberately encouraged by national policies." She does note that some of these problems are slowly being addressed. Congress, federal agencies and fishery councils are developing new methods such as individual fishing quotas (IFQs) and individual transferable quotas (ITQs) which may achieve a better success in conserving our ocean resource capital. And policy makers are shifting their population analyses away from MSY concepts.
Earle also paints a picture of the "coral bleaching" of tropical reefs. Slight variations in ocean temperatures have dramatic effects. Wide expanses of reefs once alive and vibrant in color are now dying and leaving behind expansive white coral corpses.

The decline of fish stocks and the death of coral communities are detrimental not only in their short term loss, but also in the long term role they play in the web of life. "Each species is a part of a planetary insurance policy for maintaining gradual, not cataclysmic, adjustments to changing environmental circumstances." Earle examines the far reaching effects of human activity on marine life. Toxins disposed of in the water infiltrate the marine food chain. Fish, polar bears, whales and penguins who have never directly encountered species homo sapien suffer increased levels of toxins in their organs and tissues. While ocean disposal may appear attractive to our species it is by no means. Highly persistent plastics and other wastes dumped at sea have led to a an alarming, but common, post- mortem determination of many forms of sea life: "death by debris." The casualties included an estimated 50,000 North Pacific Fur seals yearly in the 1980s. These more obvious concerns have led to international laws banning or restricting ocean dumping of certain wastes.
Earle rounds out her discussion of man-made threats to the ocean environment with eyewitness accounts of the Exxon Valdez spill and the act of environmental terrorism perpetrated by Saddam Hussein in the Persian Gulf. The former disaster affected some of the world's most pristine coastline, a stretch the size of California's shore. The latter spill was an intentional dumping of the equivalent of 50 Valdez spills.

In the final part of her book, Read more ›

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Learn from one of the best May 25, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

Sea Change is a marine science book written by a master marine scientists. There are very few people around these days who seem to be in full command (or nearly so) of their subject. Sylvia Earle appears to be one of these rare specimens. I think that young scientists also can learn quite a bit through the experiences and personal insights of great scholars like Dr. Earle, insights that usually are not shared with all students, insights, that are normally learned by often painfull experience. Sea Change shows us the development of a science, of an important part of our world, our society and it shows us the personal development of a fascinating woman. If you want to know scientific details about marine science, go and buy a textbook. If you want to know how one of the greatest marine scientists thinks, buy Sea Change.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A wake up call to care for the world's marine resources. May 24, 1996

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

Sylvia Earle's Sea Change: A Message of the Oceans serves as a clarion call to humans to take a closer look at the life blood of planet earth, the oceans. The thoughtful mixture of wonder and concern outlines Earle's years of study and thousands of hours working, playing and living beneath the ocean's surface. Tales of discovery and enlightenment are interspersed with easy to read discussions of geology, biology, engineering, law and policy, to weave a tale advocating better stewardship of our ocean resources.

A biologist by formal training and an explorer and adventurer by natural curiosity, Earle reminds us of what we learned (but may have never fully grasped) in elementary school, that the planet which we inhabit is covered mostly in water.

Earle begins by providing the reader first with a sense of geologic time over which the earth has taken shape and the oceans have formed. She points out that post-Columbus man has occupied this planet for a mere four seconds in the geologic year representing the earth's 4.6 billion year history. She notes modern oceanography, from its origin in the 1870s with the expedition of the HMS Challenger, covers less than one second on that time scale.

Having humbled human knowledge of the seas on a temporal scale, Earle assuages our species ego touting the great advancements that have enabled humans to descend, albeit briefly, to the very deepest part of the oceans. She revels in the fact that she grew up in an era that saw Cousteau and Gagnan develop self contained underwater breathing apparatus (scuba) equipment. Divers, unfettered from the bulky diving helmets and shackled air hoses, could now have significantly greater access to, "where most of the living action on Earth is concentrated: underwater...." She relishes the milestone achieved when U.S. Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh and Swiss engineer Jacques Picard descended in the bathysphere Trieste to a depth of 35,800 feet in the Marianas Trench. The visit to the deepest point in the ocean in 1960 in many ways the out paced the ascent of Mt. Everest.

The author recounts her own fascination and relationship with the sea from her days as a child on the coasts of New Jersey and Florida to her study of marine flora in the Gulf of Mexico as a graduate student. In self-deprecating style, Earle outlines the series of circumstances that led from her participation in an otherwise all male oceanographic expedition in 1964 to an underwater living experiment in 1970 "manned" by an all-women research team.

As her curiosity grew and technological development allowed, Earle began venturing into those depths and activities that had not yet hosted human activities, including early observations of humpback whales off the coast of Hawaii to the exploration of 1250 foot depths in an untethered specially designed diving suit. Each adventure strengthened her conviction that the ocean as a living system merited further research to increase human understanding of its beauty and importance in the biosphere .

Earle's sense of wonder and desire to further scientific observation led her to co-found Deep Ocean Engineering, Inc., a designer and manufacturer of deep sea remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and manned submersibles. Balancing the limits of the human body and the desire for feasible access to the ocean depths, Earle notes that while economics and human frailty may favor ROV's, "there is no completely satisfactory substitute for being there." Further, engineer Earle notes that while her own business venture is successful in making inroads to deep sea exploration, the United States lags behind other nations in developing a national policy toward ocean exploration which includes technological development of vehicles capable of plumbing the deepest ocean's depths. She illustrates her point in recounting her opportunity to descend more than two and one half miles, not in one of her own creations or one sponsored by the US, but in a Japanese submersible.

In the second part of her book, Dr. Earle outlines the results of unbridled technology on the ocean and its resources. Fisheries, once thought inexhaustible have been decimated by commercial ventures, "ever reaping, never sowing." Earle notes that the world's ocean resources suffer a tragedy of the commons of global proportions, wherein the lack of enforceable rights to resources leads to a mindless grab for what can be taken today.

She laments the effects of the well meant, but perhaps ill-implemented Magnuson Fishery and Conservation Management Act. While the goals of the Act are laudable, she notes, the establishment of Regional Fishery Councils controlled to a large degree by commercial fishing interests is akin to letting the "barracuda guard[] the fish coop." While the Act allowed the United States to control fishing access in its 200 mile Exclusive Economic Zone, it merely drove out foreign fishing and replaced it with an overcapitalized domestic fishing industry.

Earle also notes that scientists and policy makers have addressed the problem of overfishing with naive or weak analytical methods. Scientist Earle very succinctly questions the credibility of maximum sustainable yield (MSY) estimates of fish stocks, given the multiple and uncertain factors necessary to determine such an estimate. Such "scientific" methods may in fact do more harm than good, contends Earle, "the concept of MSY snares good minds, creates unrealistic expectations and encourages the setting of unattainable goals." She also paints a picture of myopic policies which have resulted in problems of bycatch of non-targeted fish, marine mammals, turtles and birds. The original goals of the MFCMA, asserts Earle, have been undermined by practices which have led to, "a squandering of natural assets deliberately encouraged by national policies."
She does note that some of these problems are slowly being addressed. Congress, federal agencies and fishery councils are developing new methods such as individual fishing quotas (IFQs) and individual transferable quotas (ITQs) which may achieve a better success in conserving our ocean resource capital. And policy makers are shifting their population analyses away from MSY concepts.

Earle also paints a picture of the "coral bleaching" of tropical reefs. Slight variations in ocean temperatures have dramatic effects. Wide expanses of reefs once alive and vibrant in color are now dying and leaving behind expansive white coral corpses. The decline of fish stocks and the death of coral communities are detrimental not only in their short term loss, but also in the long term role they play in the web of life. "Each species is a part of a planetary insurance policy for maintaining gradual, not cataclysmic, adjustments to changing environmental circumstances."

Earle examines the far reaching effects of human activity on marine life. Toxins disposed of in the water infiltrate the marine food chain. Fish, polar bears, whales and penguins who have never directly encountered species homo sapien suffer increased levels of toxins in their organs and tissues. While ocean disposal may appear attractive to our species it is by no means. Highly persistent plastics and other wastes dumped at sea have led to a an alarming, but common, post- mortem determination of many forms of sea life: "death by debris." The casualties included an estimated 50,000 North Pacific Fur seals yearly in the 1980s. These more obvious concerns have led to international laws banning or restricting ocean dumping of certain wastes.

Earle rounds out her discussion of man-made threats to the ocean environment with eyewitness accounts of the Exxon Valdez spill and the act of environmental terrorism perpetrated by Saddam Hussein in the Persian Gulf. The former disaster affected some of the world's most pristine coastline, a stretch the size of California's shore. The latter spill was an intentional dumping of the equivalent of 50 Valdez spills.

In the final Read more ›