I could cut my leg off. I could cut my arm off. I could gouge an eye out. I'd still probably survive. But not very well. And that's what we're doing to the oceans. It's the life-support system of this planet. We've been dumping in it. We've been polluting it. We've been destroying it for decades. And we're essentially maiming ourselves.

I'll never be able to fill my father's or grandfather's shoes, but hopefully I can stand on their shoulders and reach farther.

The great news is that overwhelmingly far more than adults, youth already care about the environment. Young people are recognizing that we have largely made a mess of things with respect to the environment [and] that the burden to fix it will fall on them.

I believe that the only true agents of change on a large scale, in this country or anywhere, are young people.

Young people have, truly, the potential to change the world. Not when they get older - today.

I've seen young people raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to fix a problem in their community. I've seen young people raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to dig wells in Africa. I've seen young people pass laws, largely impacting their communities. They do have the power to change the world.

I've seen a lot of doom and gloom and depressing things, and it's [the] youth that give me hope.

The first time I ever had the opportunity to dive on the Great Barrier Reef, it was while filming 'Oceans Deadliest' with Steve Irwin. I remember just how awestruck I was by its beauty.

The fundamental essence of science, which I think we've lost in our education system, is poking something with a stick and seeing what happens. Embrace that process of inquiry.

The earliest memories I have of the ocean are actually stories - stories from my grandfather, the legendary ocean explorer and conservationist Jacques Cousteau. My passion for ocean conservation stems from learning at a very young age that we're all connected; we're all in this together.