Marine conservation biologist Julia K. Parrish - ScienceLives

Jacques Cousteau shares his passion for the marine environment and the importance of community involvement in data collection. He discusses the Coast program, which engages citizens in collecting scientific data to monitor the health of coastal environments. Despite initial funding challenges, the program has grown, empowering communities to take charge of their local resources through science literacy and data-driven decision-making.

What inspired Jacques Cousteau to take action regarding the marine environment?

• The beauty of coral reefs

• The erosion of marine environments due to human pressure

• His childhood interest in collecting things

• The encouragement from his parents

What is the primary goal of the Coast program?

• To point fingers at those harming the environment

• To involve citizens in collecting data about the marine environment

• To teach people how to swim

• To organize beach clean-up events

How does the Coast program ensure the data collected is reliable?

• By standardizing and checking the data collected by citizens

• By only allowing scientists to collect data

• By focusing on a single age group for data collection

• By using only digital tools for data collection

What is a significant outcome of the citizen science efforts in the Coast program?

• More funding for unrelated projects

• Increased political debates

• Decreased interest in marine biology

• Higher levels of science literacy among participants

What challenge did the founder of Coast face when seeking funding?

• Lack of interest from the community

• Difficulty in proving the program's effectiveness

• Opposition from environmental groups

• Rejection from a major educational grant

What vision does the founder have for coastal communities?

• Communities relying solely on scientists for data

• Communities actively collecting and discussing environmental data

• Communities focusing only on tourism

• Communities ignoring environmental changes

How can communities use the data collected through the Coast program?

• To create new tourist attractions

• To understand and address local environmental issues

• To compete with other communities

• To replace scientific research