Most of the reefs [around Christmas Island] are dead, most of the corals are dead, overgrown by algae, and most of the fish are smaller than the pencils we use to count them.

The ocean is like a checking account where everybody withdraws but nobody makes a deposit. This is what's happening because of overfishing.

The seas need their own Kyoto Protocol.

When I was six, all I dreamt about was becoming a diver on Jacques Cousteau's boat, the famous Calypso.

When I was a kid, Jacques Cousteau was my hero and the person who inspired me to become an underwater explorer. I have many other people who inspired me after him, but he is still my all-time hero.

What we have now - a world without [marine] reserves - is like a debit account where we withdraw all the time and we never make any deposit. Reserves are like savings accounts.

The caged bird sings with a fearful trill, of things unknown, but longed for still, and his tune is heard on the distant hill, for the caged bird sings of freedom.

I believe that the government that governs best is a government that governs least, and by these standards we have set up a fabulous government in Iraq.

A leader or president that never rebukes violence, is like one that takes utter pride in it's rage

You know what kind of a man Lonny Tooker is? The kind of a man that sets broken bird's wings.""Hitler loved dogs and babies, " Dave said.

She narrowed her gaze. “I don’t trust you to keep your eyes closed.”“Smart woman, ” he said. “I wouldn’t trust me, either, if I were you.

The first duty of a leader is opti­mism. How does your sub­or­di­nate feel after meet­ing with you? Does he feel uplifted? If not, you are not a leader.

I don't believe in superstition, I think it's bad luck.

Do you know what a playwright is? A playwright is someone who lets his guts hang out on the stage.

Before any of it could make sense, it had to be heard.

We can do anything, or almost, but how balanced, magnanimous, and modest one has to be to do anything! And also how patient. It is as true in the arts as anywhere else.