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Her legendary grandfather, Jacques, and father, Philippe, explored the world's ocean wonders. But today Alexandra Cousteau explores new ways to save them. "I believe water will be the defining crisis of our century, the main vehicle through which climate change will be felt—from droughts, storms, and floods to degrading water quality. We'll see major conflicts over water; water refugees. We inhabit a water planet, and unless we protect, manage, and restore that resource, the future will be a very different place from the one we imagine today."
"People," Cousteau says, "have created the problem. So it's critical to get the public excited and eager to participate in a solution. A sustainable society will only come about through the accumulated actions of billions of individuals, and that's an enormous challenge."
According to Cousteau, "We won't meet that challenge by just telling people to do something. Facts and figures go in one ear and out the other. Awareness does not lead to action. Instead, we need to look at trends in popular culture, interactivity, and social marketing to understand why things like social networks, video games, and fantasy football are so successful. Today's environmental movement works primarily with low-tech, low-impact tools. We haven't reached out to the public in an inspiring, engaging way. I am working to implement cutting-edge communications tools that are truly relevant to people's lives."
Cousteau's latest initiative, Water Quest, will take technology and public participation in water conservation to a new level, bringing worldwide data about water quality together on emerging mapping platforms. "It will also overlay data on social, economic, political, environmental, and health issues," she explains, "and be constantly updated as scientists, professors, governments, and individuals add information via an open forum. The technology will cross-reference and connect all of this data to show how water quality impacts society in different ways. Everyone, not just scientists, can collect and report on water quality in their own community. Over time we can use this to predict trends on water scarcity and inform decision-makers and resource managers. It will help to democratize the process of water resource stewardship and make us all more proactive problem solvers."
Cousteau probes other ways to move people to action through EarthEcho International, a nonprofit organization she co-founded with her brother Philippe. The group explores new media opportunities and partnerships between diverse groups and provides a platform for emerging environmental leaders. Central to these efforts is the power of storytelling. "We evolved as a storytelling species," Cousteau points out. "But the environmental community hasn't fully leveraged this approach. By turning issues and information into personal, relevant stories, we can engage people much more effectively. That's why my grandfather was so successful. He wasn't an oceanographer, he was a master storyteller."
Finding innovative new ways and places to tell those stories is another EarthEcho goal. America's largest punk rock concert tour, for example, was the perfect place to reach teens with an eco-message. EarthEcho launched a contest with the tour to see who could pick up and recycle the most trash at each performance. "Results were amazing," Cousteau reports. "People cleaned up every single venue, there was no trash to be found anywhere!"
Video games about water and climate, online simulations showing the cause and effect of resource management options, and text messages that help people make sustainable choices as they order from a restaurant menu are just a few of the new avenues Cousteau explores.
Is involvement with the environment inevitable when you're born with the last name Cousteau? "My father and my grandfather were both great inspirations," she acknowledges. "But my passion is my own, not a family business I inherited. The best example they gave me was the importance of living a life of consequence, value, and meaning. So while I honor their legacy, I'm not following in their footsteps. I'm creating a set of my own."
