Slo Mo: A Podcast with Mo Gawdat

Alexandra Cousteau - Life as an Explorer and Restoring Our Planet's Lost Abundance

August 19, 2020 Mo Gawdat and Alexandra Cousteau Episode 36
Slo Mo: A Podcast with Mo Gawdat
Alexandra Cousteau - Life as an Explorer and Restoring Our Planet's Lost Abundance
Show Notes

Today's guest is the magnificent Alexandra Cousteau, a third generation member of the legendary Cousteau family who explore and explain the natural world. She is captivating.

Continuing the work of her world renowned grandfather Jacques-Yves Cousteau and her father Philippe Cousteau, Sr., Alexandra is a National Geographic "Emerging Explorer," filmmaker and globally recognized advocate on water issues. She is a masterful storyteller dedicated to advocating the importance of conservation and sustainable management of water in order to preserve a healthy planet. Alexandra is the co-founder of OCEANS 2050, a global program of ocean afforestation aiming to restore abundance to the oceans in one generation. She is also a Senior Advisor to OCEANA and is deeply involved in its campaigns to curb overfishing.

I had so many questions for her: What's it like to live as an explorer? And be a mother? What is your happiness? Are people meant to live among nature? What I got was an incredible series of stories, a wealth of wisdom on the state of our world's oceans and environment, and a whole lot of reasons to finally be optimistic about the future of our planet. Her words are essential listening.

Listen as we discuss:

  • How Alexandra exposed her "city boy" husband to nature
  • Why she avoids field missions and instead focuses on advocacy and activism
  • The pain of leading a mission you believe will help the world, only to face opposition
  • Her mindblowing OCEANS 2050 initiative
  • The shocking state of our oceans (with horrifying statistics)
  • Whether humans are meant to live in nature or cities (I'm feeling the itch)
  • How the current generation is making her optimistic
  • Did COVID-19 help the environment? The answer isn't so simple.
  • Her amazing thoughts on happiness: "I'm aligning my beliefs with my actions for the first time in my life, and I feel like I'm leaving a better world for my children"
  • How her father, who died when she was a child, left a lasting guide for her
  • Does Alexandra want her children to be explorers? - "I just want them to be happy."

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Connect with Alexandra Cousteau on Instagram @acousteau, on Twitter @acousteau, on Linkedin @alexandracousteau, and on Facebook

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Website: mogawdat.com

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