01/09/2025
🌊 Her Deepness just turned 90.
Sylvia Earle has spent her life diving deeper, speaking louder and dreaming bigger for the ocean than almost anyone alive.
She was the first woman to serve as Chief Scientist at NOAA: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration.
She led the first all-female aquanaut mission, living underwater for two weeks. Walked the seafloor at 1,250 feet in an atmospheric diving suit, a record still unbeaten by any woman.
She founded Mission Blue, sparking more than 100 “Hope Spots” across the ocean.
She has logged over 7,000 hours underwater, written hundreds of publications, and inspired generations. At 90 years old, she is still campaigning, still diving, still reminding us that hope is essential.
One of her most famous lines has guided my own work:
“No Blue, No Green, No Us.”
That phrase is more than a slogan, it’s about defending the systems that sustain us all. I don’t simply follow Sylvia’s guidance, but I am inspired by it. Her vision helps fuel my own fight to end hunting, stop captivity, and give these animals a future where they are safe and free.
This week on the Voice for the Blue podcast, I wanted to do something different. A subscriber recently told me they were pausing their membership because they couldn’t bear another bad news story about the ocean. I understand that. The despair is real.
So I decided to bring a story of hope. A story about how one person has shown us that despair is the wrong response, action is the right one.
Here’s to Sylvia Earle, Her Deepness, a beacon for the sea, for my work, and for us all.
🎧 Listen to the full episode here: https://weareoceanrising.substack.com/p/the-one-where-her-deepness-turns
If Sylvia’s story inspires you, share this post so more people are reminded that hope is not lost.
Why Sylvia Earle Still Gives Us Hope
