Cousteau to headline OSU Research Week

Friday, February 14, 2014

Alexandra Cousteau, a National Geographic "emerging explorer," filmmaker and globally recognized advocate on water issues, will be the keynote speaker for OSU Research Week. She will present This Blue Planet: Preserving & Sustaining a Healthy Earth February 19 at 7 pm in the Student Union Theater.  Her talk is free and open to the public.

Continuing the work of her renowned grandfather Jacques-Yves Cousteau and her father Philippe Cousteau Sr., Alexandra Cousteau has mastered the remarkable storytelling tradition handed down to her and has the unique ability to inspire audiences on the weighty issues of policy, politics and action.  

Cousteau will urge attendees to view global water issues not as a disparate collection of unrelated problems, but rather through a systems-based approach that recognizes the fundamental interconnectivity of these issues and places renewed emphasis on protecting our planet's most vital resource.  Cousteau advocates an approach that recognizes how crucial it is to preserve natural water systems while taking into account the numerous demands, threats and developments within a watershed.  From managing resources and addressing pollution to planning appropriately for the placement of cities, factories and farms, she insists we must focus on careful economic planning and ecosystem-based management to preserve and sustain a healthy Earth for generations to come.

Cousteau’s presentation will be followed by Q&A as well as a reception.

Research Week, which is February 17-21, will feature a variety of other speakers, symposiums, performances and presentations aimed at highlighting the impact of research and creative activity.  A complete list of events, along with dates, times and locations, can be found at http://researchweek.okstate.edu.