Bill Maher talked to Philippe Cousteau, grandson of Jacques Cousteau about his recent trip to the Gulf where he was as Karoli wrote trying to see if BP's application of the dispersant Corexit was effective or more harmful. Maher asked him if it looked like the federal government or anybody were in charge down there and about the talking point that the oceans will "take care of themselves" after these disastrous oil spills.
Cousteau: It’s getting better. You know I was down in Grand Isle, LA about three days ago now working with some folks in wildlife and fisheries from the state of Louisiana and what I was hearing on the ground was a lot of frustration that for about a month—we’re into what? 38 days now—for about a month nothing was happening and it took the… Jefferson Parish down there, some of the authorities to commandeer the equipment from BP and the contractors to start doing something… Now they’re trying to. It’s a little too late now.
Maher: I hear this on the right wing media outlets. The ocean is so vast and I’ve heard the phrase “It will take care of itself”. That’s bullshit, right?
Cousteau: Yeah. Of course. Of course. Listen…
Maher: I thought so….
Cousteau: The perfect word is… bullshit.
Maher: …is bullshit.
Cousteau: Listen, you know I could cut my leg off, I could cut my arm off, I could gouge my eye out, I’d still probably survive, but not very well, and that’s what we’re doing to the ocean. It’s the life support system of this planet. We’ve been dumping in it. We’ve been polluting it, we’ve been destroying it for decades, and we’re essentially maiming ourselves.
Maher: What is the tipping point? I mean, I don’t know how we had a spill like this, obviously the Exxon Valdez, there was an even worse one in Mexico in 1979.
Cousteau: Yeah.
Maher: But where, that was all those years ago, did that come back, that area of Mexico?
Cousteau: Well you know it’s…
Maher: Do these areas ever come back?
Cousteau: That’s the question. That’s the issue Bill. You know the Florida Keys, third longest barrier reef in the world is a dead zone. 90% of the big fish, the tuna, the sharks and everything are already gone in the ocean. There’s a dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico every summer the size of New Jersey where there’s not enough oxygen for things to live. So it’s not a question of can the oceans can take any more. The ocean can’t take any more. They couldn’t take any more fifty years ago. The question is, when are we going to stop?
Like I said, I’ll survive without a leg and an arm and an eye and all these kinds of things but it’s not going to be pretty and that’s what we’re doing to the oceans. It’s not a case of can they take it any more. They can’t take it any more.
I think the oceans will survive as the planet will but only after nature kills off what is damaging to it. Oh, that's us, thanks a lot you mofo a-holes.
reality that this may end up being the worst man made caused disaster in history and for most, they will have a hard time comprehending the enormity of it and the initial and long term destruction it will cause.
I can't imagine that there's any doubt that it will be... The atomic bombings of Japan will look like flesh-wounds compared to this. Even if they stop it today, it is going to cause more damage, both short and long term, than anything in human history... If humanity doesn't go extinct because of this, we're lucky (and other species will go extinct because of this...)
"I could give a flying crap about the political process.... We're an entertainment company."
- Glenn Beck - Forbes interview; April 26, 2010
the displaced masses will be humbly asking . . "can you spare some meat brother? perhaps a beer to quench my thirst?"
Someone should point out that Cousteau, despite being a board member and spokesperson for many different organizations focused on environmental issues, is not a scientist. He has a history degree.
Can't we find someone with a little more 'robust' background to help explain the plight of our oceans, famous last name not withstanding...?
Where's the almighty Science and Scientist's been the past month?
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May I introduce Dr. Sylvia Earle, an oceanographer who was instrumental in the creation of the JIM diving suit.
A summation of her testimony before Congress.
So we need to get Dr. Earle and those others who, like her, can plead the case for saving our plant using their educational background and experience as a shield against unfounded criticism, and let THEM make the media circuit... instead of Cousteau.
Seriously... think about it. Cousteau grew up in the a family famous for one thing - their love and respect for our oceans and the life that inhabits them - yet he chose to major in history!! Now he's our 'expert'...!?!
... the American public, particularly the folks who believe scientists are lying about global warming, 'don't know everything' because they're ignoring the Truth of Biblical Creation ... are going to believe Dr. Earle any more than they'll believe Mr. Cousteau?
I've been wondering the same thing, somewhere out there is a scientist who recommends drinking 8 cups of rendered lard a day for heart health...
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
"experts" on Fox? Maher's show is admittedly entertainment and opinion. He does NOT pretend to be "fair and balanced." Your "argument" is specious.
You title your response to this video "um...so??? Attitudes like yours are a perfect example of why we're in the shape we're in right now. WHO CARES what his college degree is in or what his last name is? WHO CARES if he is a democrat, republican, Christian, Athiest, or Satan Worshipper? He has a passion for the ocean and has been one of the few to dive down and see WHAT WE HAVE WROUGHT. You're an idiot and, collectively, attitudes like yours have gotten us where we are today. We deserve everything we have coming to us.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1xn0uSXTMs
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
bethofbna, for your eloquent rebuttal.
I feel such sadness that so many of our species are "the walking dead"--totally disconnected from the wondrous planet upon which we live, incapable of appreciating the multitude of incredible environments we inhabit...prone to major frustration if one tiny 'ecological' thing interrupts our hedonistic consumer frenzy.
Our species must collectively wake up and smell the coffee! We may not be able to destroy our planet, but we can certainly end our own infestation--probably sooner than later, at our current rate of disrespect...
Chervilant - I'm always looking for like minded people with whom to connect and share info. If you're on Facebook, please friend me - Beth Kuykendall-Leary. I look forward to it. :-)
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"Parachutes are allowed in checked or carry-on baggage, but may not be worn in flight."
---Southwest Airlines
... the other day. Most people don't notice hawks flying by, or the color of the sky, the feel of the weather. The lens/filter through which they view the world is necessarily small so they can accomplish all the 'stuff' they have to do - work, take Johnny to soccer practice, take Susie to dance class, cook/reheat dinner, get up and do it all again.
To a large extent, this is also reflected in an absence of intellectual curiousity / technological 'distance' from the world around us. We KNOW less about things because of experience/tactile learning and reading/comprehension/memorization than we do because we can Google something or look it up in Wikipedia.
It doesn't seem to register that we're despoiling the planet in ways gross and minute; that Lake Tahoe, Nevada is now cloudy doesn't concern most people - they get upset at the mere thought that they can't use their powerboats and jetskis. Even if that influence were to be removed, we don't know if the algae that flourishes in the chemically-tainted water would die off and the lake restore itself to clarity over time. (More likely, as the crap evaporates, it'd just move its damaging potential elsewhere.)
Part of this may be a strange bit of evolution where the things we do to survive are far removed from the basic process - we buy bread laden with chemicals, or use bread machines, when baking bread is a simple process of combining flour, water, salt, and a small amount of yeast to produce a delicious and nourishing product (though it only keeps for a day or two, as opposed to that fluffy stuff in the bag).
But to recognize nature is also to recognize our place in the environment. It is opening ourselves to wonder, but also to vulnerability. And so we fear nature, we want to be safe from nature's power and capriciousness. Is it any wonder, then, that we wall ourselves off, occupy our minds with trivia?
I ain't no poet
Maybe just getting old
But when I'm riding the bus to work I've noticed that while I'm watching the sunrise
Others are either on the cell phone yakking too much, too loud, or on I-pods...
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
And then on the ride home while I'm trying to do some light reading: The Descent of Man, The Federalist Papers, Captain Underpants, they're either on the cell phone yakking too much, too loud, or on I-pods...
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
I'm stealing it.
should not be discounted, but that's what also lives on the shore of Lake Lucille.
... expertise with the Exxon Valdez spill and the oil industry, Philippe Cousteau is an accomplished diver and grew up within a family of oceanographers/divers.
there are experts available and he isn't even a marine biologist. He runs Azure Worldwide which contracts to corporations for eco-branding and marketing and is in the ecotainment industry. He was partnering with Steve Irwin in his quest to molest wildlife for profit. This doesn't mean his views are not of value.
purposes of a college education is to teach "thinking."
As I clearly stated in my original post, my concern is that Cousteau, famous last name notwithstanding, is NOT a scientist. His passion for the health of our oceans is indeed admirable, but since we're fighting all-powerful corporations and an apparently inept govt for our very survival here, I'd prefer to have someone with a little more robust background in oceanic/environmental sciences pleading our case here.
Cousteau has saturated the media lately, but I dare someone to find an instance his introduction focused on his expertise in the subject matter instead of focusing on from whom he is descended... that substantially weakens his/our position in this fight.
Palin has too much press, not Cousteau. What planet are you from? Just curious.
Massive response to this disaster.
http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/glob...
To. The. Pain.
Your ears you keep and I'll tell you why...
"I could give a flying crap about the political process.... We're an entertainment company."
- Glenn Beck - Forbes interview; April 26, 2010
these motherfuckers seem to have solutions and answers for every problem in America. Maybe all three of them can plug this hole. He he he!
Limbaugh is too buoyant.
Beck is dense enough, but inherently unstable and difficult to work with.
Hannity has no capacity to soak up anything; he just spews more toxic waste.
there's always Charlie Sheen, Jesse James and Tiger Woods.
Wasn't Darwin technically a naturalist and not a biologist,
At least during the voyage of the Beagle?
http://image3.examiner.com/images/blog/wysiwy...
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
No doubt he'd be a hard core right wing Republican if he we're still around preaching the benefits of off shore drilling.
Your comment of"uh so" just about says it all for some people I've met over the years. I'm not a scientist either, but I live in Northern Canada. I have seen winters get shorter I've seen lots of snow, warmer temperatures, colder temperatures and rain. All of this within the month of January some winters. I am also a scuba diver, I've seen dead coral reefs with my own eyes. I don't have to be a scientist to figure out that the gulf of mexico is F***ed for the future. BP can't stop this and they might never be able to stop this.
... we're screwed. However, if you read my post again, you'll see that my 'Um...so?' was directed to the headline which states, 'Phillippe Cousteau says...blah, blah'. I heard what he had to say... it was interesting... but I prefer to hear from experts whose input on the matter is effectively unimpeachable. I'm frustrated that this guy seems to be the most prominent voice we can leverage to plead on behalf of the planet when he's really, really not an expert in this field.
Again, think about it... he's a frickin' Cousteau, for goodness sake, but he majored in history!?! Now we are expected to take his insights on the plight of our oceans seriously because of his geneaology?
No thanks.
if we poison the oceans slowly with million of tons of effluent, the products of industrial society. Pesticides and fertilizers and plastics oh my!
Hasa Diga Eebowai
Yeah, they probably will help to remove alot of the oil and desperants in the ocean now....by sucking it up and spreading a toxic rain across the southeast.....This environmental catastrophe will only get worse, but I can already hear BP saying "who could have guessed?" when Fl, AL, MS, GA, LA, et. al. turn into freaking wastelands.
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