Jean-Michel Cousteau
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| Jean-Michel Cousteau | |
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| Born | 1938 |
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Jean-Michel Cousteau (born May 6, 1938) is a French explorer, environmentalist, educator, film producer, the first son of ocean explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau and is the father of Fabien Cousteau and Celine Cousteau.
Cousteau was born to Jacques-Yves' first wife Simone Melchior. Since first being "thrown overboard" by his father at the age of seven with newly invented SCUBA gear on his back, Jean-Michel has been exploring the world's oceans. He spent much of his life with his family aboard Calypso and Alcyone. For nearly 20 years, he served as the Executive Vice President of The Cousteau Society. In 1999, He launched Ocean Futures Society, with headquarters in Santa Barbara, California and offices in France, Brazil and Italy.
OFS, a non-profit marine conservation and education organization, serves as a voice for the ocean by communicating in all media the critical bond between people and the sea and the importance of wise environmental policy. As Ocean Futures’ leader, Jean-Michel serves as an impassioned diplomat for the environment, reaching out to the public through a variety of media and field education programs.
Jean-Michel has produced over 75 films, received the Emmy, the Peabody Award, the 7 d'Or, and the Cable Ace Award. In partnership with KQED, a PBS affiliate, Jean-Michel is Executive Producer of “Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Ocean Adventures,” a three-year series of HD television specials airing on [PBS http://www.pbs.org/oceanadventures] and internationally. The next film, the two-part [Return to the Amazon http://www.oceanfutures.org/of_pressrelease.asp?ID=70], airs on April 2 and 9, 2008. In October 2006, Jean-Michel and an expedition team that included his son Fabien and daughter Céline, began filming along the Amazon River. Twenty years ago scientists predicted devastation and irreversible environmental damage here, and 25 years ago he and his legendary father traveled with their teams the entire length of the Amazon to document, learn, and see for themselves.
Jean-Michel recently released a new IMAX film by 3D Entertainment called Dolphins and Whales 3D: Tribes of the Ocean, following his work on 3D's Sharks 3D. He also appears in the IMAX documentary film Coral Reef Adventure.
He appeared on a documentary-type special feature on the DVD version of the Spongebob Squarepants Movie in which he and Stephen Hillenburg talk about all of the real-life counterparts to the sea creatures seen in the cartoon series and the movie and even some that are not in the movie. He did a similar feature for the DVD of the Disney/Pixar movie Finding Nemo.
His diplomacy on behalf of water and ocean issues includes his success in convincing President George W. Bush to name the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands a Marine National Monument after screening his PBS documentary on the subject at The White House in 2006. The NWHI Marine National Monument is the largest protected area in the world—larger than 46 of America’s states.
Jean-Michel's collaboration with Green Cross International and the Natural Resources Defense Council on issues of global water security, protection of sensitive marine areas, prevention of oil spills, and prevention of the use of damaging sonar systems have been long-standing achievements. Jean-Michel has served as a spokesman on water issues at the United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, at the 3rd World Water Forum in Kyoto, and at the Dialogues on Water for Life and Security in Barcelona.
His diplomatic achievements as a voice for the ocean were recognized in December 2003 when he was the first person to receive the Ocean Hero Award from Oceana, recognizing his commitment to communicate the value of the oceans and the threats they face to people of all nations and generations.
For over 30 years, Jean-Michel and his team have conducted a hands-on environmental education program now called [Ambassadors of the Environment http://www.oceanfutures.org/ofs/aote.php] in over seven countries, reaching thousands of people in a personal and in-depth way to change views on sustainable living and personal responsibility to the environment. This unique program is land and sea-based, with sites at pristine environments, vacation resorts and on cruise ships.
In 2004, he launched the Sustainable Reefs Program , a package of materials including a CD-ROM, cartoon book, and video on how to sustainably manage the coral reef system, to be distributed at no cost to communities bordering coral reef ecosystems around the world. The international organization Reef Check acknowledged Jean-Michel’s efforts to protect the world’s reefs by giving him their Poseidon/Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006.
Through Ocean Futures Society, Jean-Michel continues to produce environmentally oriented public service announcements, multi-media programs for schools, web-based marine content, books, articles for magazines and newspaper columns, and public lectures, reaching millions of people globally. He is the editor and contributing author of Water Culture, a collection of photographs and interviews calling attention to the global issues of water. In 2004, he authored My Father, the Captain, his depiction of life as the son of Jacques Cousteau. His latest book, co-authored by Julie Robinson and Carrie Vonderhaar, is [America's Underwater Treasures http://www.oceanfutures.org/underwater-treasures-book.asp], a companion book to the PBS special of the same name.
In January 2003, Jean-Michel was inducted into the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame, joining other diving pioneers, and in recognition of his belief that the privilege of diving in the world’s ocean is also a call to action to protect it.
In February 2002, Jean-Michel became the first person to represent the Environment in the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games, joining luminaries including Archbishop Desmond Tutu (Africa), John Glenn (The Americas), Kazuyoshi Funaki (Asia), Lech Walesa (Europe), Cathy Freeman (Oceania), Jean-Claude Killy (Sport), and Steven Spielberg (Culture). He also has served on the Board of Directors of the Athens Environmental Foundation for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.
In 1999, he merged the Jean-Michel Cousteau Institute with the Free Willy Keiko Foundation to continue research and care for Keiko, the captive killer whale of film fame. In the first attempt ever to return a captive orca to the wild, Jean-Michel and his team pioneered both husbandry techniques and scientific research on wild orcas. In 2002, Keiko was released and crossed the Atlantic Ocean. He was then entrusted to the Humane Society for continued monitoring and care.
In 1998, Jean-Michel was honored with the Environmental Hero Award, presented to him by Vice President Gore at the White House National Oceans Conference. In April of 1998, highlighting the International Year of the Ocean, Jean-Michel participated in a live downlink from the Space Shuttle Columbia to CNN New York, discussing NASA's contribution to ocean awareness with astronaut marine biologist, Rick Linnehan. Also in 1998, he was a spokesperson for the United States Pavilion at Expo '98 in Lisbon, Portugal.
In 1997 on Earth Day, Jean-Michel led the first undersea live, interactive, video chat on Microsoft Internet, from the coral reefs of Fiji, celebrating the International Year of the Reef and answering questions from 'armchair divers' throughout the world.
