I have lots of heroes: anyone and everyone who does whatever they can to leave the natural world better than they found it.

This much is certain: We have the power to damage the sea, but no sure way to heal the harm.

If Darwin could see what we now see, what we now know about the ocean, about the atmosphere, about the nature of life, as we now understand it, about the importance of microbes - I think he would just beam with joy that many of the thoughts and the glimpses of the majesty of life on Earth that he had during his life, now magnified many times over.

We are blessed with a place that is open to the universe and, despite this, supports this very thin envelope of air we call atmosphere, which holds just the right amount of oxygen for us to breathe.

All through college, I had frequently been the only girl in a science class - which wasn't such a bad deal.

We have the power to abstain from destructive behavior.

The ocean governs the climate and the weather, it is taking care of the temperature and it is shaping the chemistry of our planet.