BRIEF:
Q&A
*Ambassadorprograms
areavailableatselect
Ritz-Carltons, including
GrandCayman;Laguna
Niguel,Calif.;andKa-
palua,Maui,aswellas
inSantaBarbara,Calif.,
onCatalinaIsland
andonboardselectcruise
ships.Visit
FUTURES.ORG
CARRIEVONDERHAAR/OCEANFUTURESSOCIETY
T
HE LATE “COMMANDER” JacquesCousteau’s vision to create aplanetwhere
the ocean is venerated continues to impact mankind today, thanks in large
part to the actions of his son, Jean-Michel Cousteau. For example, on Earth
Day 1997, Jean-Michel led the first live, underseavideochat from thecoral reefsof Fiji. In
2002hebecame the firstperson to represent theenvironmentat theopeningceremonies
of anOlympic games. And now, through his nonprofit Ocean Futures Society (created
tohonor his father’sphilosophy) andhisAmbassadorsof theEnvironment program, the
Cousteau legacy of environmental awareness thrives. As Earth Day approaches April
22,
AmericanWay
talkedwith Jean-Michel during a recent visit atOceanFutures’ Santa
Barbara, Calif., headquarters.
AMERICANWAY
:
After 42 years, Earth
Day seems tobe at a plateau, like com-
placencyhasseeped intothecriticalmass.
Wouldyouagree?
JEAN-MICHEL COUSTEAU
:
We need
to reframe it, look at it financially. If you
recycle and use energywisely— turn off
lightswhennot inuse, for example—you
savemoney.Youcanuse thatdifferential
to improve your standardof livingon
the same income. I’d like people to
understand thatsavinggreenbacks
and the planet’s green stuff isn’t
mutuallyexclusive.
AW
:
What about the increase
in eco-militant activist groups?
Friendsor foes?
JMC
:
I believe completely in diplo-
macy. WithOcean Futures, we’ve real-
izedyougetsomewherewhenyouengage
in dialogue and communicate effectively.
Diplomacy, communicationandeducation
defineour strategy. That’s how you affect
change— in theenvironmentorotherwise.
AW
:
Howdoyoueducate?
JMC
:
Three ways: Through our Ambassa-
dorsof theEnvironment*programandour
Sustainable Rainforests and Sustainable
Reefs programs. The latter two empha-
size the importance of protecting water
sources and the ocean. It’s time to stop
using them as trash cans. I filmed a PBS
documentary in the Northwestern Hawai-
ian Islands, 1,200miles fromKauai. I was
onan island in themiddleof nowhereand
founddebris— I counted— from 52 coun-
tries:metals, plastic, glass…
AW
:
Obviously some people don’t care.
Howdoyou change that, encourage the
I-did-it-my-waygeneration togogreen?
JMC
:
By building the belief that by caring
for theenvironment,wecare foreachother.
We can serve others. Every day I wake up
and thinkwhat a privilege it is to be alive
on thisplanet, then thinkaboutwhat I can
do to help those who don’t yet feel that
privilege. Earth Day tome is every day. I
suggest people adopt that attitude, use
environmental stewardship as a way to
reachout toothers.
AW
:
Socialmediaseems likeaneffective
way toget thatmessageout, yes?
JMC
:
Rapid communication and technol-
ogy have changed EarthDay. Information
about environmental issueshits thepublic
instantaneously. That’s good. The “every-
thing isconnected” theoryhasgottenout;
peopleget that now. At theendof theday,
weprotectwhatwe love.Weneed towork
onprotectingother things like theenviron-
ment.WithOceanFutures,we tellpeople if
youprotect theocean, youprotectyourself.
That applies toeveryone. Nowater equals
no life. More than4,000 kids dieeachday
because of no access to cleanwater**. So
if youever thinkEarthDayor environmen-
talism is worthless, go look into the eyes
of a 5-year-old. Are you—we— going to
giveup?No.
**InformationcourtesyofUNICEF
Don’tgiveup theship.
Jean-Michel
Cousteau’sThoughts
onEarthDay?
BETYOU
DIDN’TKNOW…
Peopleathomeuse
morethan
1 3
ofallenergy.
Eachpersonthrows
awayapproximately
pounds
ofgarbageaday.
Approximately
million
tons
ofoilproducedinthe
worldeachyear
endupintheocean.
Ittakes
90
%
less
energytorecycle
aluminumcansthan
tomakenewones.
Energysaved
fromonerecycled
aluminum
canwilloperate
aTVfor
hours
andistheequivalentof
halfacanofgasoline.
Every
TON
ofrecycledoce
papersaves
gallons
ofoil.
Turningdownyour
centralheating
thermostatonedegree
cutsfuelconsumption
byasmuchas
10
%
24
APRIL 15, 2012
AA.COM/AMERICANWAY
