‘Explorer-In-Residence’ Out To Save Our Oceans

With guest host Jane Clayson.

National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Enric Sala is on a mission to save the oceans. He joins us.

National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Enric Sala is on a mission to save the oceans. From everything that threatens to erase their majesty. His scientific expeditions take him all over the world: from the coast of Gabon to the Galapagos Islands. He dives, takes gorgeous videos and is taking a big message to world leaders: protect the oceans or watch them die. This hour On Point, under the deep blue sea with Enric Sala.
-- Jane Clayson

Enric Sala, marine ecologist and explorer-in-residence at National Geographic, where heads the National Geographic Society's Pristine Seas Project. Author of the book, "Pristine Seas." (@Enric_Sala)

Heraldo Muñoz, foreign affairs minister for Chile. Former Chilean Ambassador to the United Nations, Brazil and the Organization of American States. (@heraldomunoz)

New York Times: A Marine Ecologist Strives to Protect the Seas — "In 2007, Enric Sala, a marine ecologist, quit his job in academia, saying he was “tired of writing the obituary of ocean life.” Only 1 percent of the ocean is currently protected, marine scientists say, and the rest is being disrupted by overfishing, pollution, climate change and species extinctions. Dr. Sala said he felt the need to take action."

National Geographic: Chile Creates Largest Marine Reserve in the Americas — "Countries around the world still have a long way to go to meet the United Nations’ goal of protecting 10 percent of the world's oceans by 2020. But Moffitt says the Desventuradas park is a step in the right direction, and Muñoz says he has already set his sights on protecting another area in the Juan Fernández archipelago."

Washington Post: National Geographic’s Enric Sala is a man on a mission — "Being a 21st-century explorer, it turns out, entails advocacy as well as adventure. And it reflects a different mission for National Geographic, a 123-year-old Washington institution that no longer simply showcases stunning photographs and stories of the planet’s most remote places, but now acts on their behalf."