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Alexandra Cousteau Carries on Grandfather's Water-Explorer Legacy

Story Published: Jul 14, 2012 at 9:27 PM EDT

Story Updated: Jul 16, 2012 at 7:07 AM EDT

Alexandra Cousteau is passionate about water.

"Water is I think the fundamental building block to the quality of our life," she said, "When we have clean abundant water, we have healthy, prosperous communities."

A National Geographic Emerging explorer, Cousteau has made it her life's work to preserve it for future generations.
 

She was in the north country over the weekend as a keynote speaker for Clarkson University's alumni reunion.

"We need to protect our water. It's not a red issue; it's not a blue issue, it's a human issue. And it's something we need to start looking at," she said.

That's why she founded Blue Legacy, a Washington D.C.-based non-profit that creates short films meant to connect audiences with their water planet.

"We're a story telling organization. Obviously I come from a story telling family, so that's part of my DNA," Cousteau explained

The granddaughter of legendary explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau, Alexandra Cousteau says her family background is a big part of what drives her work.

"I learned how to dive from my grandfather when I was seven years old, and so, I've been incredibly fortunate to see some really beautiful waterscapes. And I've also seen some of those places start to decline," she said.

Cousteau says the biggest problem is that most people take water for granted. Even here, where the water is a defining feature of our lives and economy.

"The most important thing I think for us to realize is that we have issues in our communities and we need to address them. And that includes the north country," she said.

Alexandra Cousteau says we can all be water explorers - and we should all be part of the solution.
 
Monday, May 20, 2013
, Watertown, NY

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