Sylvia Earle imagines ocean "Hope Spots"

In 1872, the United States began establishing a system of parks that some say was the nation’s best idea. About 12 percent of the land around the world is now protected — safeguarding biodiversity, providing a carbon sink, and generating oxygen. Sylvia Earle is calling for us to do the same thing for our oceans, the largest and most vital ecosystem on Earth, the blue heart of our planet. Her goal is to galvanize global support for marine protected areas, so that they will cover 20% of the world's oceans by 2020.

When Sylvia Earle won the TED Prize in 2009, less than 1 percent of the world’s oceans were protected. As of 2016, that number has increased to 4 percent. Still, there’s a long way to go. Decades of overfishing, pollution and climate change threaten the ocean—and the future of humankind itself.

In April 2010, Sylvia Earle hosted the Mission Blue voyage, a TED-at-sea in the Galapagos Islands. Policy influencers, scientists, artists and activists spoke at the event, and many of their talks have run on TED.com, from “Saving the ocean one island at a time” to “How we found the giant squid.” More than $17 million was committed to eight ocean conservation initiatives. And with support of the Planet Heritage Foundation, Razorfish, National Geographic, IUCN and Google Earth, Mission-Blue.org launched to continue to raise public awareness.

Since then, the Mission Blue team has led a series of expeditions to further shed light on Hope Spots. They’ve brought stories of ocean experts to the public, and supported the work of many other ocean conservation NGOs. In October 2015, Mission Blue II sailed a new group of attendees along the Pacific Equator, to keep the conversation going. More than eight of these talks from Mission Blue II have run on TED.com. Watch them »

Sylvia Earle is entranced by algae and coral reefs, and has been at the forefront of ocean exploration for more than four decades. The winner of the 2009 TED Prize, she's a tireless advocate for our oceans.
Learn more about Sylvia