Cousteau Day 2018: Celebrate!
It’s difficult to put into words how much I was influenced by the work of Jacques-Yves Cousteau. As a young boy I read of his adventures in National Geographic Magazine, spent many an evening laying on the living room floor watching his television series and specials and was an early member of The Cousteau Society.
Because of Cousteau and the love of the oceans he instilled in me, I learned to Scuba dive in eighth grade and devoured more and more books on the marine environment and its creatures.
The Cousteau Society and Captain Cousteau informed and inspired my environmental thinking. I devoured the Cousteau Almanac–an exhaustive compilation of facts and figures related to human impacts on our water planet. It was a ground-breaking work and something I wish was duplicated again today.
And while I never became the marine biologist I thought I might, I’ve always maintained my interest in and kept contact with the oceans–whether through my relationships with others more directly involved in marine research or simply paddling my surfski or kayak.
Cousteau’s inspiration continues to permeate how I think about the world, what I’ve recently written (Wendall’s Lullaby) and my current writing project (Delphys Rising). Join me in celebrating the birthday of a man who was a pioneer and a champion for the home planet we (somewhat erroneously) call Earth.
Calypso by John Denver
Kip Koelsch Author 