In 1964 I was four years old, living near the beach in San Diego. Like many growing up near the coast I cultivated a certain affinity to the ocean. I'm older now but still love the ocean, and still live within a few miles of it.
Also in 1964, Jacques Cousteau produced and directed "Le Monde sans Soliel" or "World without Sun", a documentary that chronicled Conshelf Two, where he and other aquanauts spent 30 days beneath the surface of the Red Sea in a habitat. It won an academy award for best documentary, it wasn't his first.
That was 50 years ago. A half century ago, a pioneering conservationist lived on the ocean floor for a month, a saturation dive if ever there was one.
What about today, follow along under the orange grouper....
50 years later, today, Fabien Cousteau, the grandson of the pioneering conservationist is half-way through recreating the event in his Mission-31off the coast of Florida. Mission 31 though will go deeper, and last a day longer.
“Mission 31 pays homage to my grandfather’s work and all aquanauts who have since followed his lead in the name of ocean exploration.”
~ Fabien Cousteau
It is a great sadness to me that science based shows like "The undersea world of Jacques Cousteau" don't exist anymore, replaced by absurdly non-scientific shows like "Ancient aliens" and the pablum that is Honey Boo Boo and American Idol.
The dumbification of America sure seems to me to be near to complete, Broadcast TV documentaries are a virtual extinct species, relegated now to deep into the cable channels or on PBS stations.
I have to believe that if there were shows such as Cousteau's today on regular TV that showed the world the way his shows did, Climate change would be an easy sell. There are splendid specials like the BBC's "Planet Earth" but they are few and far between and are easily shouted out by fake hillbillies selling duck calls.
Cousteau understood the value of conservation and I have no doubt were he alive today he would be one of the most vocal personae speaking out about Global Climate Change. I also have no doubt that climate deniers would be branding him a "Libtard Socialist French surrender monkey".
Mores the pity.
In 1980 I got my divers cert through NAUI, and started to actually visit the sort of places I saw on that TV show in the late 60's early 70's and I am just as amazed by them today as I was as a kid sitting on the floor in front of our huge 24" TV.
You can be sure I will be following along with Fabian and Mission-31 as they live aboard Aquarius some 63 feet below the surface of the ocean, near a coral reef in the Florida keys. I encourage everyone to follow along and introduce friends, family and especially children to this event. And while I know school is out for the year almost everywhere here in the states, If you are a teacher, take a look at the curricula available for grades K-12.
For those of you who haven't had the opportunity to swim beneath the waves, It's hard to express adequately how strange and wonderful it is, Cousteau knew how. In some ways we know more about our solar system than we do about the deeps of the ocean, some 95% of which remains unexplored.
Hai Calypso the places you've been to,
The things that you've shown us,
The stories you tell
Hai Calypso, I sing to your spirit,
The men who have served you so long and so well
~John Denver