In this blog we will be leaving the terrestrial world and
diving into the world of the great Jacques Cousteau. Born in France 1910, Jacques
Cousteau and never became a formally trained scientist but had a fascination
with the ocean and marine life. Cousteau was one of the great ocean explorers of
his time and created the iconic and groundbreaking documentary series, The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau. He
popularized the sport of scuba diving, co-invented the aqua lung, and is the
inspiration for many underwater entertainment series such as the narrator from SpongeBob.
What makes Jacques Cousteau important to rhinos? Jacques
Cousteau was one of the great conservationist, and environmentalist of his age,
being one of the first people to protect the ocean. He spent many hours under
the waves and realized the beauty and importance of the marine world, which
prompted him to become one of its guardians. Because of his popular
documentaries he was able to help pass a moratorium on commercial whaling and
even stop the dumping of nuclear waste into the ocean.
He along with many conservationists
of that time, such as Jane Goodall and Rachel Carson, helped enforce the idea
that humans cannot just ignore nature and believe that the actions of man will
not affect man. Before the great conservationists wildlife was exploited to
near extinction, one may look at the American buffalo, the North Atlantic Right
whale and the Black rhinoceros as prime examples of what went on in the
pre-conservation era. It may seem that Jacques Cousteau has nothing to do with
the Black rhino but without the help Jacques Cousteau and his peers we would
likely see a more polluted ocean, and an emptier savannah.
Back then when I was a kid, I had the chance to watch many of his documentary films. I remember him as the old man on the white ship, the Calypso. I didn't known that he was the great Jacques Cousteau. From this article, I learned so much about Jacques and his contributions. I think that Jacques can be considered the Sinbad of the real world, whose life is forever associated with the oceans.
ReplyDeleteIt is fascinating how people from that time actually cared and went out of their way to help conserve our environment. Along with Rachel Carson which I thought was just phenomenal, I would say people like Jacques Cousteau should serve as examples for our generation so that we actually do something about our environment just as they did.
ReplyDeleteIt is fascinating to see that people from 20th century actually had ideas of saving the environment. I think the society's improvements and the heavy dependency of machines, coals, non-renewable resources usage really worried people at the time, because that was not how human lived for millions of years. I think people nowadays should take those early ideas in mind and constantly remind ourselves that we should be responsible for our future generations. Species distinction and damages of environment might not be happening now or might now show its consequences in our generation, but it will in one day.
ReplyDeleteI think that it's incredible that someone can have such a successful life without formal training. I think that goes to show that if you're passionate about something, you are going to continue to excel and grow in knowledge, just as Cousteau did. He clearly made numerous contributions to conservation studies. Cousteau worked with some incredibly influential conservationists and tried to make steps to a make more environmentally aware population. I think that it is so important that we hear not only his message, but also all conservationists out there or shortly we won't have much left on Earth.
ReplyDeleteI think that it's incredible that someone can have such a successful life without formal training. I think that goes to show that if you're passionate about something, you are going to continue to excel and grow in knowledge, just as Cousteau did. He clearly made numerous contributions to conservation studies. Cousteau worked with some incredibly influential conservationists and tried to make steps to a make more environmentally aware population. I think that it is so important that we hear not only his message, but also all conservationists out there or shortly we won't have much left on Earth.
ReplyDelete