SLUG REPORT > Famed oceanographer Sylvia Earle to speak at UC Santa Cruz
TIME magazine’s first “Hero for the Planet” is stopping by UC Santa Cruz this week. Well-known and highly regarded oceanographer and explorer Sylvia Earle will present the sixth installment of the Fred Keeley Lectures on Environmental Policy. The lecture will take place this Thursday, Feb. 16 at 7:30 p.m. at the UCSC Music Recital Hall.
Earle’s lecture, titled “Oceans, Life and Survival,” will focus on the unique role oceans play in supporting life on land, as well as issues of climate change of pollution. Nicknamed “Her Deepness” by the New Yorker and the New York Times, Earle has more than 40 years of marine accomplishments under her belt.
“Dr. Earle is an expert on the intricate web of life that oceans support and sustain,” says Guy Lasnier, UCSC’s executive communications coordinator.
Earle has been a National Geographic explorer-in-residence since 1998. She was a chief scientist for the National and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and has logged more than 7,000 hours underwater as the leader of more than 100 expeditions. In 1970, she led the first team of female aquanauts as part of the Tektite Project, an underwater laboratory and habitat. Earle is the author of several books about oceanography, including “Sea Change: A Message of the Oceans and Ocean: An Illustrated Atlas.”
The Keeley lecture series, established in 2003, pays homage to Santa Cruz County Treasurer and former state Assemblyman Fred Keeley, who devoted his time and resources to improving environmental policy in California. Previous Keeley speakers include: Paul Ehrlich, president for the Center for Conservation Biology; Jane Lubcheno, the first female administrator of NOAA; and, most recently, Amber Mace, the executive director of the Ocean Protection Council.
Thursday’s lecture is free and open to the public. Doors open at 7 p.m. and parking is available for $3. For more information about the event, visit ucsc.edu.