Jean-Michel Cousteau

Drawing from over 60 years of experience exploring the world, designing, and studying the ocean realm, environmental speaker Jean-Michel Cousteau provides a wealth of stories and knowledge from his adventurous life. Using his experiences designing artificial floating islands, schools, and environmentally responsible ocean-oriented resorts, Cousteau explains how his formal education in architecture provided him with the theories he has applied to the environment of the water as an oceanographer. Taking audiences on a tour of his childhood dreams of underwater cities to the reality of his accomplished career as an architect, Cousteau’s “Great Ocean Adventure” inspires the imaginations and dreams of all who witness it.

As the founder of the Ocean Futures Society, a marine conservation and education organization, Jean-Michel Cousteau inspires and educates audiences worldwide about the need to act responsibly and preserve the fragile underwater ecosystems that are so intricately tied to all life on earth. Cousteau, who is also on the cutting edge of environmentally responsible architecture, documents the critical connection between humanity and nature, and celebrates the ocean’s vital importance to our survival.

In the early 1940s during the Second World War, Jacques Cousteau and a team of French men created a revolutionary piece of equipment called the ‘Aqualung’, a device that allowed our species, for the first time ever, to breathe air beneath the sea while swimming freely like a fish. With underwater camera equipment in hand, my father and his team opened our eyes to the undersea world, and our perception of the planet has never been the same. We have now become aware of the impacts we are having on our fragile ocean planet. Today, with new breakthroughs in underwater filming we can capture extraordinary images in ways that my father could have only dreamed.  And with new equipment like the ExoSuit, we can explore deeper into our oceans, learning more about our life-support system: the ocean. When we protect the ocean, we protect ourselves.  Jean-Michel Cousteau will share a wealth of stories of ocean exploration with much enthusiasm for the future of learning all that we can about our water planet.

All creatures on Earth play a part in sustaining the balance of life, but there are some whose presence in the oceans is truly extraordinary. The most complex marine species on the planet – our counterparts in the sea – are the orca, the ruler of the oceans. For me, I am forever and deeply fascinated by their intelligence and sophisticated behaviors unique to orca cultures. As top predators, orcas, along with sharks, maintain the balance and diversity of life in the sea. We must continue to learn all that we can from the oceans apex predators so we may continue to benefit from the diversity of life they preserve. They are the caretakers of the sea. We live on a water planet and our futures depend on a healthy ocean.

No matter where you live on Earth, you are connected to the ocean. There is only one water system. The rains that fall from the highest mountains carve the landscapes of Earth and make their way back to the sea. From some of the largest creatures in the oceans, like the goliath groupers and magnificence manta rays, to some of the smallest, like the Spanish dancer nudibranch and the vibrant clownfish, all life is linked in a delicate balance. Our impacts on one side of the world can be felt on the other. In the mangroves and coral reefs, an abundance of life flourishes, while in the open seas, humpback whales sing in a breathtaking ballet. There is untold beauty and inspiration on our ocean planet. We can all make a difference – by protecting and conserving all life on our water planet, for us now, and for generations to come.