A week ago, I had an extraordinary experience. I joined the new executive director of the Galveston Park Board, Kelly de Schaun, Deputy Director Mario Rabago, the supervisors for the Beach Maintenance Department and a small group from the Galveston Island Beach Patrol at the Texas General Land Office Marine Debris Summit at Moody Gardens, which was hosted by the Adopt-A-Beach program.

Litter is a very important factor in tourism. A dirty beach can prevent repeat visitors. Damage to wildlife caused by litter and contamination can affect food supply, perception and, ultimately, tourism, which is our economic lifeline. There was a great deal of relevant information to our interests; but, for me, none came close to the keynote speaker, Dr. Sylvia Earle.

Earle is an oceanographer, explorer, author and lecturer. She has led more than 100 expeditions and logged almost 7,000 hours underwater with a record solo dive to 1,000 meters and nine saturation dives. Her research concerns marine algae and deep water ecosystems with special reference to exploration, conservation and the development and use of new technologies for access and effective operations in the deep sea and other remote environments. For more information on Earle, visit www.sylviaearlealliance.org/sylvia.

Good public speakers are not just people who captivate and influence the audience. They know and love and have lived the material to such an extent they carry you away with their enthusiasm. They also communicate in simple terms, so the message transfers directly from their mind to yours. Earle was such a speaker.

We were captivated as she talked about the first time she came to Galveston in the ’60s. She talked about how at the time, even the scientific community had the general sense that the ocean was so huge and resilient it didn’t matter what was taken out or put in. Although many still feel that way, she talked about why that’s not the case anymore. I remember seeing her on a show talking about how just in her lifetime, 90 percent of the big fish have been exhausted and how millions of tons of waste have been put into the sea and is “altering the nature of nature.”

She was unlike many people who take a negative approach and seem to feel like whatever we do or don’t do at this point won’t make a difference. Instead, she seemed to feel that we’re close to the tipping point where this could be true, but instead focused on how there is beginning to be a general sense among people all across the planet that there are limits to what we can do to the natural systems that keep us alive. She feels we can do better.

Earle also said this is the most exciting time there has ever been to be alive because we recently have become aware of our impact on our home. Because of this, there is tremendous hope. We now know the results of our actions and can choose our destiny and that of the planet which sustains us.

Peter Davis is chief of the Galveston Island Beach Patrol. The views in this column are Davis’ and do not necessarily represent those of the Beach Patrol, Galveston Park Board of Trustees or any other entity. Information on the Beach Patrol is at galvestonbeachpatrol.com.