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Bank Of England Announces Biggest Rate Hike In 33 Years; Amazon Expands Hiring Freeze, Lyft And Stripe Cut Jobs; Living Oceans: Turning The Tide; Call To Earth Special: Sylvia Earle: Diving For Hope. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired November 03, 2022 - 16:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[16:00:22]

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: And the Dow has fought back some early losses. The Dow finishing off about 150 points, let's call it

half a percent.

Those are the markets and these are the main events: The Bank of England forecasts a long recession lasting until halfway through 2024.

Tech companies, Lyft and Stripe announce major layoffs.

And it is CNN's Call to Earth Day. We will bring you the story of one man's quest to remove trash from the world's oceans.

Live from New York, it is Thursday, November 3rd. I'm Rahel Solomon, and I too, mean business.

Good evening.

Tonight, the Bank of England has taken its most aggressive policy action in 33 years, as it warns the UK economy is already shrinking. It raised

interest rates 75 basis points bringing its benchmark rate to three percent.

Governor Andrew Bailey also issued a stark warning. He said the recession could last two years and that unemployment can almost double from its

current rate.

Bailey's comments sending the pound lower is now down almost two percent. The Bank of England is facing difficult conditions as it tries to fight

rising prices and the UK, of course, especially vulnerable to higher energy prices, which had been worsened from Russia's war in Ukraine. That's helped

fuel inflation of more than 10 percent, the highest in the G7.

The country has also experienced significant political instability in the past several years. Current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is the third Prime

Minister this year alone.

Marc Stewart is with me now. Marc, good to have you. Thank you.

So, what is driving this new, darker forecast from the Bank of England?

MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Rahel. Good to see you as well.

Look, as you know, from spending months and months of covering all of these economic woes, inflation, problematic and persistent that too can all

contribute possibly to recession.

So, what's at play here? Well, one, we just had general economic uncertainty as we have seen around the world, much of it prompted by the

pandemic, but there is also the war in Ukraine. That is particularly troublesome, as you have mentioned across Europe, including in the United

Kingdom, and it makes the future extremely murky.

I want you to take a listen to a news conference from earlier today with the head of the European Central Bank -- Andrew -- I'm sorry, the Bank of

England, let me clarify that -- Bank of England's Governor Andrew Bailey. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREW BAILEY, GOVERNOR, BANK OF ENGLAND: The economy will recover and inflation will fall. We cannot, I am afraid, pretend to know what will

happen to gas prices. That depends on the war in Ukraine. But from where we stand now, we think inflation will begin to fall back from the middle of

next year, probably quite sharply.

Now, to make sure that happens, bank rate might have to go up further over the coming months.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEWART: As far as the coming months, I mean, this is quite serious. This is the eighth interest rate hike from the Bank of England in less than a

year. Now, again, let's talk about these recession fears.

If there was a recession, the forecast at least by the head of Bank of England is one that could last well into 2024. That is longer than the one

that followed the 2008 financial crisis. So, Rahel, the stakes are very high. Yet, this is not a concern that is limited to just the United

Kingdom. So many global economies are facing very similar challenges.

SOLOMON: And Marc to that point, I mean, we can absolutely draw parallels, right, between what we're seeing in the UK, economically and

certain other parts of the world, including the US, but how much of this issue is really because of some of the unique challenges that the UK is

facing domestically?

STEWART: Right. There are some parallels to the US, including the impact of the war in Ukraine, supply chain shortages, but if we specifically look

at the United Kingdom.

One, several weeks ago, we had a big government shakeup, we had an economic plan presented by Liz Truss, which really spooked, freaked out the markets,

that in addition to the lingering impact of Brexit. Brexit has had a lot of impact based on some observations, particularly on trade with imports and

exports. So, all of those reasons are combined are making it a very unique challenge for the United Kingdom.

SOLOMON: Now all eyes on that budget that I believe we'll get in a few weeks.

Marc Stewart, thank you.

And the Bank of England's warning echo similar concerns in other regions as we just talked about. Just yesterday, remember the Fed warned that interest

rates will still have to go higher as it raised three-quarters of a percent.

Markets fell on the comments and as we pointed out, we are lower across the board today.

[16:05:10]

SOLOMON: The Dow was off about half-a-percent, the NASDAQ almost two percent, and the S&P, one percent. S&P Global meantime also warning of

economic slowdowns. It says that a recession is now likely and the US and the Eurozone this year, although it says that a global recession will

likely be avoided.

Sara Johnson, she is the Executive Director of Economic Research at S&P Global Market Intelligence. Sara, she joins me now from Boston. Sara,

thanks for being with us, I appreciate it.

So I want to go over this forecast and make sure I understand it correctly. So, the months will likely bring recessions in Europe, the US, Canada and

parts of Latin America, but that the world economy can avoid a downturn. At this point, what is the largest risk to the downside?

SARA JOHNSON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH, S&P GLOBAL MARKET INTELLIGENCE: The largest risk is tightening financial conditions, the

result of persistent inflation.

SOLOMON: And Sara, one thing that certainly got my attention, of course, I cover the US markets and the economy pretty closely here is your forecast

for US unemployment.

We are currently at three and a half percent, which of course, as you know, is a practically 50-year low. But in your forecast, you say we project the

US unemployment rate to rise from that three and a half percent in September to a high of six percent at the end of 2023.

Sara, that would essentially mean millions of Americans being put out of work over what -- just the next 13 months? That's a pretty rapid decline.

JOHNSON: It is. But if you look at the labor market statistics, we've seen poor productivity performance. It appears that employers have held on

to workers anticipating future growth in their sales, and with the economy turning into recession in the months ahead and a decline, certainly well

into mid-2023, we expect a reversal in labor markets that will lead to a fairly sharp rise in unemployment.

SOLOMON: And I'm so curious about that, because it's sort of, you know, every day we get one data point that says consumers are still spending

albeit at a slower pace, but then we get these recession warnings.

And so I'm wondering, what sort of gives you that confidence to make a prediction like that? That's pretty stark, because we still see in the

data, consumers are still spending and we even got data this week on the employment front that job openings ticked back up.

JOHNSON: Well, we are seeing consumers taking on more debt, they have reduced their saving rate out of the income to certainly a below par rate

of about three percent.

We also see some reluctance to spend on discretionary items. So, much of the growth we are seeing is in the services and essentials. Households have

also experienced a sharp decline in asset values. Certainly equity prices have tumbled and now, we're beginning to see a sharp decline in home

prices.

So, households are feeling less wealthy and they are struggling with high inflation for the essentials. So it's a situation where caution will be the

watchword.

SOLOMON: Yes. Absolutely. And Sara, before I let you go, I just want to circle back. I know you said the biggest risk to the downside was this

tightening that we're experiencing around the globe. I'm curious as we enter this debate of are Central Bankers doing too much or not doing too

much: Where you stand on that debate?

JOHNSON: I would say that they are not doing too much. It is essential to contain inflation expectations and bring down inflation. I lived through

the mid-70s and the early 1980s and double digit inflation is something to be avoided.

SOLOMON: Absolutely. Well, here's hoping. Sara Johnson, thank you. Appreciate the time today.

And as the economic outlook worsens, some tech companies are cutting jobs, Stripe and Lyft, the latest among them.

The online payment giant Stripe is laying off around 14 percent of its workforce to prepare for what it calls "leaner times." Ride hailing

service, Lyft, says that it is cutting 683 jobs.

In a staff memo, its leader said: "We are not immune to the realities of inflation and a slowing economy." And at Amazon, the company is expanding a

hiring pause to include its corporate openings.

Clare Duffy joins me now.

Clare, you know we've talked a lot about these recession warnings around the globe. I'm curious, is this just a result of that or is that something

-- is this more specific to the tech industry, these layoffs?

[16:10:06]

CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: You know, Rahel, I think with the tech companies in particular, during the COVID pandemic, so many of these tech

companies, you know, sort of bucked the trend and were really successful, especially an Amazon or a Stripe. I mean, think about how much people were

shopping online during the COVID pandemic.

And so, I think a lot of these tech companies really sort of made plans with the thought that that trajectory was going to continue. And now, as

you're just talking about there, all of these really sort of dire economic warnings, warnings of recession. And on top of that, a lot of these tech

companies are facing sort of a perfect storm of other issues -- high inflation, high interest rates -- and one of the things that tech companies

in particular are really dealing with here is the strength of the US dollar.

So many of these tech companies do a significant portion of their business overseas, and the strength of the US dollar not only makes, you know, their

products and services seem more expensive to foreign consumers, but also when they have to translate all of those foreign profits back into the US

dollar, that sort of translation rate can really take a hit to their bottom line.

SOLOMON: I see. And speaking of tech companies, but perhaps not the same, help us understand this. Twitter, also, we're getting some reports that

Twitter may soon see some layoffs. What are you hearing?

DUFFY: Right, there have been reports, you know, for months, as Elon Musk has prepared to take over the company, and now he has taken over the

company that he would lay off a significant portion of the staff. It sounds like based on reports that those layoffs may come tomorrow or over the

weekend.

You know, Twitter is at the same time, as all of these tech companies is dealing with a lot of the same pressures, high inflation, you know, the

advertising market declining. And then on top of that, Elon Musk has paid $44 billion for Twitter. The business was already struggling to grow its

profits, its revenue, and now he's going to have to make some tough choices about where to cut costs.

At the same time, you know, we're running up to the Midterm Elections. He is trying to launch some pretty ambitious projects, a new subscription

feature, and so, you know, it'll be interesting to watch how those potential layoffs if we do see them will impact some of those projects that

he has planned.

SOLOMON: Okay, well, we will be watching. Clare, thank you. Good to have you.

DUFFY: Thank you.

SOLOMON: And coming up next, leading the fight to protect our oceans. CNN takes a deep dive -- no pun intended -- to help the men and women taking

the battle against climate change into their own hands.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOLOMON: Welcome back.

They feed us, they give us clean air, they regulate our climate and support huge parts of the global economy. Yet, the world's oceans which cover 70

percent of our planet are under severe threat from overfishing, pollution, and climate change.

But there is hope in the form of men and women who are working around the world to try to reverse the damage. They are the focus of CNN's Second

Annual Call to Earth Day and we want to share some of their stories under the banner "Living Oceans: Turning the Tide" to highlight some of their

inspiring and industrious work.

[16:15:08]

SOLOMON: We begin now in Los Angeles along a coastline that's enchanted everyone from Hollywood to visitors, a beauty spot contending with the ugly

truth of trash and pollution.

One group is taking on the mission to clean it up, something that benefits not just the environment, but the economy as well.

Richard Quest has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" (voice over): The beautiful beaches of Los Angeles are known around the world from their

cameos on the silver screen.

In real life, Hollywood's home base is far from picture perfect. The city faces a major villain -- trash, garbage, rubbish -- and the problem is, it

is getting worse.

BOYAN SLAT, FOUNDER AND CEO, THE OCEAN CLEANUP: Even though the waste management is pretty good in the United States, not a lot of waste is

ending up in the environment. If you have 10 million people living here, even just a small fraction of waste not being managed, adds up to quite a

significant amount of trash coming down this river.

QUEST (voice over): Now, the city is turning to a new hero to defend its rivers, the Interceptor 007. It's all part of an organization called The

Ocean Cleanup.

This machine traps the garbage, which originates in places like Beverly Hills and Hollywood.

STEVEN FRASHER, PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER, LOS ANGELES COUNTY PUBLIC WORKS: The Interceptor is an opportunity to have a last line of defense

on this urban waterway. We try all kinds of measures, public education to trash booms further up the creek, but nothing can be quite as effective as

right here next to the ocean.

And these beaches on Santa Monica Bay are some of the most famous beaches in America. So, we really want to keep these clean for public health, for

tourism, for wildlife.

We have volunteers that go to extraordinary efforts to do their part in cleaning up.

QUEST (voice over): The group already has Interceptors in places like Malaysia and Vietnam, each one takes half a million dollars to build and

deploy.

SLAT: What we do see is that, just the cost of not intercepting plastic in a river is many, many times higher than if you were to intercept it

because it's damaging ecosystems, it is damaging tourism, it is damaging fisheries. So it's just very expensive to let this trash go into the ocean.

So we are confident that ultimately, governments will step up and will want to adopt these Interceptors.

QUEST (voice over): LA's environmental challenges are mounting. Massive highways and traffic, it fuels some of the worst air pollution in the

country and now, climate change, bringing severe wildfires and droughts.

So cleaning up LA's waterways is an important step in tackling the city's problems.

SLAT: Oceans are vital for life on our planet. Hundreds of species are threatened with extinction because of this plastic going into the ocean.

Billions of people rely on seafood for their survival and we are poisoning that because this plastic is flowing into the ocean.

So stopping it here, cleaning up what is already in the ocean. That's what The Ocean Cleanup is about and that's what we need to do.

QUEST (voice over): An army of Interceptors is the group's long term aim. They are hoping to deploy in a thousand rivers around the world. Not like

the robot armies of the big screen, this one is fighting for a cleaner future.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOLOMON: Now, from Mexico to Mumbai, Atlanta to Africa, our global teams are covering this truly global story. Here is a look at some of their

reporting from around the world.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GROUP: Call to Earth Day.

PRISTINA: Be a caring person and save the Earth.

SHARJAH: Protect our ocean, protect our future.

UNIDENTIFIED BOY: Keep the sea plastic free.

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN HOST: We are at the top of what is the largest aquatic exhibit in North America and the whale sharks are of course an endangered

species.

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN STUDENTS: We pledge to use less single use plastic bags.

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Including people all across this country and across the world and understanding the impact that

individuals can have on the ocean's health is really important.

DOHA: We have just been given the announcement that we can do a beach cleanup.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've been visiting a lot of countries lately in the last couple of months and spreading our message about climate change.

[16:20:11]

BOY: I do not like cutting down trees, I would like to stop pollution.

CHILDREN: Call to Earth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: And you can follow along with our Global Day of Action online. Log on to CNN.com/CallToEarthDay to learn how you can help.

And right after the show, join CNN's Sara Sidner as she takes a dive with oceanographer, Sylvia Earle.

Find out why the explorer is concerned about the future of Earth, get hopeful about our chance to save it.

That's Sylvia Earle diving for hope, a CNN Call to Earth Special.

I'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:22:09]

SOLOMON: Welcome back. Russian forces captured the Ukrainian city of Kherson shortly after they invaded the nation.

Soon after, the Russians raised their flag above the city's main government building, but then today, a video posted on social media appears to show

that the flag has been taken down.

A Kremlin backed official says that Russian troops will most likely withdraw to the east bank of the Dnipro River. Ukrainian official told CNN

he hasn't seen any mass withdrawal of Russian troops from the southern port city.

Nic Robertson with us now from Kramatorsk.

Nick, you know another official in Kherson told CNN that the statement feels more like a trap. So, the situation on the ground feels uncertain to

say the least. I mean, what more can you tell us?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, there were definite uncertainties and ambiguities. Ukrainian officials say well, why

have the Russians just taken their flag down from the main administrative building, and not from some of the other buildings? That makes them

suspicious.

Local residents there, one local resident CNN contacted said, yes, all the Russian checkpoints are gone from with inside the city and we are not

seeing Russian soldiers so much in and around the city, but we do believe that they have taken their heavy weapons to the edge of the city.

So while Russia is creating this impression that they are no longer present in the center of the city, and they intend to pull the military out, there

is a different picture on the edge of the city and this is what Ukrainian officials worry about.

Is this just an elaborate trap they could be pulled into here?

You know, there's a lot of psychological warfare that goes on within the warfare of war. We've seen it already.

When the Ukrainians had a lightning advance a couple of months ago here in the north of the country, guess what, they made it very clear in the

previous month or so that they were going to have a major advance in the south and Russia had moved a huge number of military personnel down there

to counter that, and the Ukrainians were able to have an easier time of it in the north.

So both sides try mind games over each other, and this is one where the Ukrainians are intent on taking Kherson, and I think it's important to the

Russians, if they're going to lose it, which is what it seems it's how they lose it, that it's not a catastrophe, that it seems to be on their terms

and they score some military points and victories in the process and the Ukrainians know all of that, too.

SOLOMON: And Nic, stepping away from Kherson for a moment, we know that these strikes on critical infrastructure all throughout the region and

throughout the nation continue. What's the latest there?

ROBERTSON: Yes, they continue to strike. They struck around Zaporizhzhia and around Kryvyi Rih. They are intent on taking down the electricity

supplies, things that power stations that actually help feed electricity to mines, for example, and the mines are important because the coal is then

used to generate the electricity.

[16:25:06]

ROBERTSON: This city, Kramatorsk, the electricity has been off here for most of the evening as well. It's an inconvenience for most people, it

means that they're going to be cold, it means it's going to be dark, it means the winter is going to be long and hard.

Nobody here that I've talked to said they're going to give into this. We've been talking to a lot of older folks here, pensioners, and they just say,

look, we'll do our best to hold on as long as we can.

But it's very clear that Ukraine needs support, and that is what it has been hearing from G7 Foreign Ministers meeting in Germany, the idea that

there should be more funds coming to Ukraine and what Ukraine is going to need is some big and powerful generators to keep hospitals and other key

infrastructure going; water pumps, that sort of thing, during what's going to be a very tough winter.

SOLOMON: And Nic, you know, I mean, relatively speaking, it has been mild, relatively speaking thus far, but we are sort of entering the colder

winter months, and so it does feel like we are starting to get into the period of this war where things are becoming a bit more dicey in terms of

electricity, in terms of energy as Ukrainians enter this next stretch of the war.

ROBERTSON: Yes, and kind of that turn took place in the last couple of days. I don't know if you can see, but I can see my own breath here. It's

turned cold in the past few days.

Last weekend, Ukrainian officials said, look, they didn't have to turn off the electricity too much in cities like Kyiv, because it was warmer. Most

people were going outside, spending the time outside. The weather was good.

So there were two reasons right there that there wasn't a big draw in the electricity supply, but now, there is, and the power cuts that the

governments had to institute have been longer, their blackouts have been longer, because people are at home consuming more electricity to try to

stay warm.

So these are the problems. And you know, in this city, for example, we were today at a plant that makes -- that makes heating logs and the officials

there were taking them out to pensioners. They've quadrupled the number of these logs that they're trying to produce to keep pensioners in these

cities around here warm.

The government has got a big commitment to that, but it is going to be a very, very big lift.

SOLOMON: Absolutely. Nic Robertson in Kramatorsk, thank you.

And that is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.

I'm Rahel Solomon in New York.

Next on CNN, "Sylvia Earle: Diving for Hope," a CNN Call to Earth Special.

[16:30:00]

SYLVIA EARLE, AMERICAN OCEANOGRAPHER AND EXPLORER: Is it clear?

UNKNOWN: Yup, clear.

SYLVIA EARLE: The biggest danger to the earth at this point you could say us, humans. It's what we do and what we failed to do and the biggest hope

is us. And we can look in the mirror, every one of us, and say, what have you got? To be an explorer, you do something that hasn't been done before.

You take the knowledge that exists, plus what you are willing to put into it, and make things happen.

SARA SIDNER, CNN HOST: Sylvia Earle leaves her car towing enough snacks and fruit for the crew she's about to meet. She exudes the caring spirit of a

grandmother and the excitement of a child. The 87-year-old small stature and unassuming nature belies the fact that she's one of the world's

fiercest fighters on behalf of our oceans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EARLE: Maybe the biggest problem of all is ignorance. And with it, complacency. There are a lot of people who still think it's okay to put

into the ocean whatever we want to, that it will be all right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Sylvia has been exploring the ocean for almost seven decades and is one of the most outspoken advocates for protecting it. The heralded marine

biologist and oceanographer has earned the moniker, her deepness. Getting to meet her and her beautiful mind was a thrill.

SIDNER: The queen of the ocean! How lucky am I?

EARLE: How lucky am I?

SIDNER: Yeah, good.

EARLE: Nice to see you.

SIDNER: So nice to meet you. I'm so glad you're here.

EARLE: I'm glad we're both here.

SIDNER: I cannot wait to do this.

We're in crystal river on the west coast of Florida and heading out to the Gulf of Mexico. It's an area Sylvia has deep connections to.

EARLE: I first started coming out here and exploring in 1950's, then a lot in the 60s. But from about 1980 onward until recently, I used to speak

Greek. So, it's like, discovering all over again.

SIDNER: Sylvia spent much of her childhood in Florida and began her underwater explorations in this region then. Her passion to learn about the

ocean and what lives in it has taken her all over the world. But recently, the national geographic explorer at large has been spending a lot of time

back here and she wanted to show me why.

EARLE: You will see when we get out here that you can look back and if you look at a map, if you look at Google Earth, you can see that a lot of this

is still wild and much of it still unexplored.

It's cold, isn't it? (LAUGHTER)

Florida is just a big limestone, sponge with fresh water springs and even offshore because this once was dry land not so long ago. And here we are,

where some distance offshore and we are, you know, waist deep in water.

SIDNER: Yeah, what is special about this stuff that we're standing in?

EARLE: Well, other than the fact that it generates the oxygen in the atmosphere and the ocean, that it's providing home and sustenance to many

forms of life. You can probably find 20 different kinds of things, maybe more, living on just this single blade of grass. The history of life is

right here in the ocean.

SIDNER: And we get to be in it.

EARLE: Here we are. We should dive in -- got this urge to submerge, what about you?

[16:35:00]

SIDNER: I do too, let's do it.

This part of the gulf is filled with all sorts of marvelous creatures. Fish, sea turtles, sting rays, and Florida's treasured manatees. Not too

far from us, a pod of dolphins races by. But we don't notice because Sylvia demands my focus elsewhere.

Here, the forest under the sea that we often ignore. It produces a shocking amount of oxygen, more than all of the trees on dry land in the world.

EARLE: There wouldn't be turtles and manatees or us but for photosynthesis, the green stuff. It's the phytoplankton in the sea, these tiny, tiny force

of the sea that we're just beginning to have the capacity to explore.

SIDNER: And the forest under the sea is being destroyed. You don't have to look far for a grim illustration of that. Further north off the coast of

Texas and Louisiana, an excess of decaying algae has created a larger than average dead zone spanning more than 6000 square miles last year.

Marine life dies in these zones, since decomposed algae consume the oxygen in the area. More than 1100 manatees died in Florida in 2021, the most

deaths in decades. About two thirds of the deaths were on Florida's east coast. Scientists largely blamed the increase of a lack of sea grass on the

east coast, much of it killed by pollution and coastal development. That isn't as much of an issue on this side of Florida.

Here, the manatees remain relatively abundant and so is their food source. That is partly why sylvia has partnered with this team to bring attention

and protection to these waters.

KATIE BRYDEN, DIRECTOR OF VIDEO STORYTELLING: At our company, Wild Path, we tell stories and campaigns for the protection of land and water. And so,

this is a really special area to us because of the sea grass meadows that are here. It's the largest contiguous sea grass meadow in the Gulf of

Mexico. We want to get more appreciation for the sea grass meadows.

CARLTON WARD JR, FOUNDER OF WILD PATH: We've been trying to celebrate and protect the wildlife corridor on the land. We had big strides in 2021 with

the Florida Wildlife Corridor Act. And now, we have this 18-million-acre wildlife corridor, 10 million acres of protected lands. A lot of these

protected areas on this stretch of coastline, Florida's nature coast which sylvia calls the wilderness coast. It's were land conservation and ocean

conservation meet in the sea grass meadows or what is right there in between.

EARLE: He's a legendary on wildlife photographer and does a lot of really cool things, terrestrially but he's also pretty handy underwater pretty

much so.

WARD: It's really changed the way I see these places to dive with Sylvia. Because I'm looking out at the big fish, or for the turtle but she's down

at the grass level, beneath the grass. And for her it's, like, reconnecting with old friends because she did her masters and PhD on the sea grass and

the algae here in the gulf. She was the first person to use scuba to explore and study these 60 years ago. And it's helped awaken my curiosity

and get me excited about the unique to the world diversity of this plant life and all the different animals that live on it.

SIDNER: In a very short period of time with her, Sylvia changed the way I see marine life forever.

EARLE: We need to rethink the value of nature and they're not free goods just to be taken by anybody who can go out there armed with a capacity to

kill and market.

You see a giant group are coming over, looking at you, and you just think of it as dinner instead of, who are you? Who are you? Where did you come

from?

SIDNER: Those simple words changed my perspective. It's no longer seafood at first glance. It's sea life and it makes me want to get to know more

about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:40:00]

EARLE: So, welcome to the home laboratory. Have a seat.

SIDNER: And I see you have all your equipment here.

EARLE: Well, a little bit anyway.

SIDNER: After our dive in the Gulf of mexico, marine biologist, Sylvia Earle, invited me to her Florida home to show me some prized possessions.

Okay, is this how you press everything? Oh, my goodness, Sylvia!

EARLE: Weight lifting -- weight lifting. Let's just squished down this.

SIDNER: Very ingenious engineering skills.

EARLE: Watch this. Once dry, amazing thing and water is life. You take the water away, you have these, the specimens, if you will.

SIDNER: Sylvia collects and preserves sea grass each time she takes a dive.

Oh my god, I held this one yesterday.

EARLE: You did.

SIDNER: This was in my hands alive in the ocean, and now it's a painting or a specimen.

Sylvia's parents moved to this home in 1958. It's in the coastal town of Dunedin, Florida.

Why did you keep this place wild?

EARLE: It was my mother and dad's wish that this would be maintained in a natural state.

SIDNER: It's like Jurassic Park in here. The trees are so big.

Dunedin is not just Sylvia's home, it's the home city of the Florida Gulf Coast Hopes Spot.

What is a hope spot?

EARLE: As defined by Mission Blue, a hope spot is a place value -- you think about the ocean that is either in a great condition, that if

protected can continue to thrive, or a place that needs to be restored. There's hope for it if you take the pressure off.

SIDNER: There are 145 hope spots around the globe recognized by Sylvia's organization, Mission Blue. Each one, initiated by local conservationists.

RAY BOUCHARD, DUNEDIN NATIVE/ACTOR: Anybody can nominate a hope spot. The number one thing to have is a lot of community support.

SIDNER: Dunedin native, Ray Bouchard, says, he was inspired to nominate this area as a hope spot after meeting Sylvia.

BOUCHARD: Right here in the Tampa Bay area, we host one of the largest research communities in the country.

SIDNER: He worked with the local scientific organizations to compile the data necessary for the application.

BOUCHARD: I found that there were so many areas all along the gulf coast that were so important to the sustainability of the Gulf of Mexico, and to

the entire oceans that we expanded the size of the all-coast hope spot, so is a huge amount of area.

SIDNER: Sylvia announced the launch of her mission group organization after winning the 2009 TED prize.

(BEGING VIDEO CLIP)

EARLE: Fifty years ago, when I began exploring the ocean --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: She received $100,000 to put towards a world changing goal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EARLE: I wish you would use all means at your disposal, forums, expeditions, the web, news submarines, or campaign, to ignite public

support for a global network of marine protected areas, hope spots. Large enough to save and restore the ocean. The blue heart of the planet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[16:45:00]

EARLE: We worked with national geographic to designate a few hope spots to get this idea. Let us do something to get it going. We have 30 scientists

gathered from all over the world to work on making the concept of the ocean and Google Earth come together, including the U.S. Navy.

SIDNER: How did the Galapagos play into that?

EARLE: Galapagos was almost number one, it was number one. If you can't save the Galapagos, what else can you do?

SIDNER: So, you knew that had to be a hope spot.

EARLE: Absolutely, all of it.

SIDNER: All of? It

EARLE: Not just the people the part that people go to most often, but go deep, go deep.

SIDNER: The Galapagos are 19 islands in the Pacific Ocean west of Ecuador. Sylvia has a long history with the region.

EARLE: I first had a glimpse in 1966 during a research expectation of life on the land and in the surrounding sea. We are among the first to use scuba

in the Galapagos in 1966. I thought it was the sharkiest, fishiest place on the planet when I first had an opportunity to be there underwater. And I've

been going back frequently. I've been there dozens of times over the years.

SIDNER: So, in the 60s, what did you see?

EARLE: The decline of sharks because it's a global market for shark fins, for four shark fin soup, for sharks to eat, to use the cartilage, to take

it and turn it into medical products.

SIDNER: You were responsible for alerting the world to this issue, and now there's a reserve. Are you proud of some of the work that you've done?

EARLE: I was one of many who spoke on behalf of having a reserve. But the marine reserve, when it was put in place in 24 years ago, still did not

have the same attitude that was obvious with the land. So, only about 3% was protected. The rest was open for fishermen using traditional means, or

seasonal fishing. In the Galapagos 97% of the land is protected.

I mean, you can go there, but you can hurt things in most of the land. That's when the Galapagos National Park was formed in 1960's. The ocean,

that is a relatively new idea.

MAX BELLO, POLICY ADVISOR OF MISSION BLUE: Galapagos is a very special place in Sylvia's heart and my heart too.

SIDNER: Max Bello has worked closely with Sylvia over the years to strengthen protections in hope spots like the Galapagos.

BELLO: We started a campaign a few years ago with the previous government, the next government came that was critical to do what needed to be done. So

then, you realize there's all this information that's been there for years, but you are waiting and campaigning, of course, for someone to take it and

do the right thing.

SIDNER: Those efforts are starting to produce results.

At the beginning of 2020, Ecuador expanded the Galapagos marine reserve by 60,000 kilometers. What kind of impact might that make?

EARLE: Every bit that we protect counts. Nations around the world are now aiming -- I mean more than 80 have committed to taking 30% of the land, 30%

of the ocean by 2030. To be engaged with full or high protection, letting nature thrive and we have a long way to go. Thinking about on the land,

we're only about halfway there. In the ocean, the highly and fully protected, it's only about 3%.

So, just saying, that we have a long way to go. But what happened in the Galapagos is cause for hope. We are not there yet, but we're beginning to

understand the importance, the value of really giving back to nature or rather taking the pressure off, so nature could thrive.

SIDNER: Sylvia believes what's happening in the Galapagos is possible for the Florida gulf coast and many other hope spots. More people just need to

be convinced.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EARLE: I've come to speak for the ocean.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: And she has continuing efforts to do just that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:50:00]

SIDNER: Marine biologist, Sylvia Earle, likes to say the ocean is her laboratory. At age 87, she still spends a lot of time learning from it and

loving it.

EARLE: So, every time I go into the water, I see things I've never seen before.

SIDNER: Every time.

EARLE: Anybody can do it. It's not just that things change all the time, it's like, "Oh, who are you? What are you doing? What are you doing now?

I've never seen you do that before." It's just curiosity.

SIDNER: She says her curiosity for nature was instilled by her mother.

EARLE: She just had this sense of empathy certainly for little kids, but for all of life.

SIDNER: That love for nature has been passed down to Sylvia's children.

EARLE: I have three children and they all have their own power, and it's wonderful to see them go in their individual directions. My eldest Liz,

she's the one who bring home whatever was damaged by the side of the road and wound up in her bathtub for a while. She has worked with me as a part

of the first company that I started to solve problems for access to the sea, and now she's running deep ocean exploration and research. She is the

boss.

SIDNER: What is this place?

LIZ TAYLOR, PRESIDENT OF DEEP OCEAN EXPLORATION AND RESEARCH: So, this is the building 41. This is originally a hanger for the naval airbase here in

Alameda.

SIDNER: Here in California's bay area, Liz Taylor runs deep ocean exploration and research, or DOER.

TAYLOR: This is a remotely operated vehicle.

SIDNER: The marine consulting firm her mother started in 1992.

Only one person can fit in here?

TAYLOR: This submersible is just designed for one person at a time, so it's very compact.

SIDNER: This is comfy.

This is a life-sized model of the submersible Sylvia used in 1999 for her famed Sustainable Seas Expeditions that explored marine sanctuaries around

the United States. This consulting firm helps equip these types of vessels for exploration.

EARLE: So, one of the things I've been driven to do is working with engineers, working with my daughter and my son-in-law, and teams of people

who together have been building manipulator devices, including the one that went with James Cameron, to the deepest part of the ocean and not just

underwater robots.

SIDNER: Sylvia's trail blazing history with submersible's goes back to 1979, when she went nearly 400 meters down into the ocean in an armored

diving suit called JIM.

TAYLOR: Her biggest goal, I think, is to get these submersibles that she's been able to kind of coalesce from all of her different experiences in the

ocean. Get them built, get them out there, and then she really wants to be able just to like pluck individuals from all over the world and have them

get that experience with her in this sub.

SIDNER: When you decided to do this, were you reluctant to take over and do this work?

[16:55:00]

TAYLOR: A bit, you know, in a bit because I was on this path to kind of do marine ornithology, you know? I've always been a critter person. When she

became chief scientist for NOAA, she had to leave the company that she had founded at that point. And then she called me up like, you know, can you

have a break from school and come help out in the business? Duty calls, you know?

SIDNER: How many years later has that been?

TAYLOR: Oh no, it's like 20 some years later or 30 years later.

SIDNER: After decades of building her network of advocates and inspiring others to join her mission, Sylvia still stands strong out in front,

leading the charge. Even when her audience is dignitaries and world leaders. Her message is the same.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EARLE: As a witness personally, with thousands of -- under the sea, years at sea on the surface but it's getting down into the ocean that really has

made all the difference in terms of our understanding, our comprehending.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAYLOR: Over the years, I've just seen how hard she has had to, you know, fight to be heard.

SIDNER: Do you feel like your mom, that the impact will be great from what she had done her whole life when she's gone?

TAYLOR: I certainly hope so that we will see, you know, people carry on and that we will have a hospitable planet.

SIDNER: And that's what she's been fighting for.

TAYLOR: Yes.

SIDNER: It's kind of simple, isn't?

TAYLOR: Yeah, it's not rocket science but somehow, it's harder, you know.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EARLE: To protect the living ocean is as our lives depend on it, because they do. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

EARLE: The key to recovery is right here. We have the best chance right now, with hope on the land, hope in the sea, hope in the skies above and in

the waters of the world connected because we are armed with knowledge that did not and could not exist until right about now. Nature is resilient,

that's cause for hope. But we need to give nature a break.

END