Conclusion

As you can see, Cousteau's work to improve the lives of the undersea world is unparalleled, and it's very clear that his actions, as well as those still taken by anyone who saw his documentary and chose to make a difference themselves, and all of the members of his society, will forever make a difference in the world.

Documentaries and Movies

In 1966, Jacques Cousteau produced an hour-long television special entitled "The World of Jacques-Yves Cousteau," Many of the critics who saw the show were in approval, and their approval lead to a contract between ABC and Cousteau to produce his most known television program, entitled “The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau, which aired in 1968. The show continued on for eight seasons, and featured Cousteau and a number of different sea creatures.

He is accredited with having written over 50 books, and been involved in at least 120 movies and documentaries combined. It is also important to note that Cousteau's films were more helpful not in simply illustrating the wonders of the sea, but in fact showing political figures how important it was to stand in defense of the environment, an idea at the time that was considered not to be a problem.

Environmentalist

“Know, Love, Protect”

“Know, Love, Protect” was a slogan that Cousteau used and he said is exactly what happened to him with the oceanic world. As he explored and got to know the ocean he fell in love with in and wanted to protect it. This is how he became interested in environmentalist issues. He speaks about issues such as nuclear waste and oil pollution.

Cousteau was involved in the moment to prevent the dumping of French atomic waste into the Mediterranean Sea, a battle with a victorious outcome. He also addressed the first World Oceanic Congress on the issue of keeping the ocean clean and stopping pollution.

Cousteau said that the largest issue at hand is that the Earths resources are limited. There aren’t enough products on the plant to support everyone and that he problem is overpopulation. He had a mathematic equation that the came up with, having rough standers for an American citizen, and found that there weren’t enough resources to support all the people on the planet now, let alone in a few years. And the most disconcerting thing is that we continue to destroy the resources that we have left.

Edpeditions

The first Expedition Jacques Cousteau led was to the Red Sea. Whilst in the Red Sea, he collected a number of examples of underwater flora/fauna, and studied them extensively. This expedition also provided an opportunity for Cousteau to develop underwater photography methods, specifically, he managed the absorption of color and light by the water, and developed filters, optical systems, and lights to counter act the adverse effects of water on his photography. He was among the first to take color footage of the undersea creatures, from a depth of 150 feet. In later expeditions he was able to take footage from up to 8,000 meters.

He also conducted a number of Atlantic expeditions, where, aside from the aforementioned tasks and a large variety of research, he was also the first man to use a submarine in the Atlantic waters, and furthermore the first to use any sort of diving equipment to investigate the undersea world. He was able to get momentous amounts of footage and data from his thirty plus expeditions to all parts of the vast sea.

Inventions

Cousteau’s most famous invention was the Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus, or SCUBA. This invention is also known as the Aqua lung. Cousteau worked with Emile Gagnan to crate this structure that would allow humans to breath underwater and be uninterrupted by the need of air as they became lost in the beauties of the underwater world.

Jacques Cousteau was also an adviser on the team that built the “diving saucer”. This is a submarine that scientists use in performing underwater experiments and collecting data, photographs and footage of the under-sea world.

Cousteau worked with Professor Lucien Malauard and engineer Bertrand Charrier to create the Turbosail. This is a complementary wind powered devices used to help propel boats. It was attached to the Alcyone, the Cousteau Societies current vessel, and is economically friendly, a point that Cousteau was very passionate about.

Calypso

The Calypso was a former minesweeper employed by the French Navy. Cousteau leased it, equipped it with a collection of research equipment, and began to sail a number of expeditions and perform vast amounts of research on the sea. It contained, among other things, a heliport, a couple of submarines, and an observation section below the water.

The Calypso was rammed, sunk, and raised about a year before Cousteau died. It was later brought to a museum under the intention of creating an exhibit, and after being passed around a number of French ports, it is currently being restored in order to become a permanent maritime exhibit for tourists.

The Alcyone is now the boat that the Cousteau Society uses in their expeditions.

About Jacques Cousteau

Jacques Cousteau was born on June 11, 1910 in Saint-Andre-de-Cubzac in France. Cousteau died in 1997 at the age of 87. His death was caused by a heart attack which he received while recovering from a respiratory ailment. As a boy Cousteau was expelled from high school after he broke seventeen of the schools windows. He was bored by formal education. After high school, he joined France’s Naval Academy. He graduated from there and became a gunnery officer. He was in his training to become a pilot when he was involved in a nearly fatal car crash. This ended his aviation career and he was then transferred to sea duty. That’s when he started swimming more and becoming more and more interested in the oceanic environment.

Cousteau’s first wife was Simone Melchior, with who he had four children, Diane, Elizabeth, Pierr-Yves Daniel, and Phillipe. Cousteau’s sons appeared with him in his movies and some of his children still carry on his work of oceanic exploration today.