TEDx San Diego event explores our connection to the ocean

S1: Welcome in San Diego. It's Jade Hindman on today's show here. Ted , speaker and president of the Maritime Museum of San Diego , Christina Brophy , talk about sharing her joy and lifelong curiosity of the ocean. This is KPBS Midday Edition. Connecting our communities through conversation. So what's your relationship to the ocean here in San Diego? We're very lucky to be in close proximity to the Pacific , but you don't have to live close to the water to be impacted by it. One of the speakers at this year's upcoming TEDx San Diego asks us to think about our own connection to the ocean and what we can do to protect it. I'm here with Christina Brophy. She's the president and CEO of the Maritime Museum of San Diego. Christina , welcome to the show.

S2: Thank you very much , Jade. Thanks for having me.

S1: Glad to have you here in studio. So nearly everything in our lives is touched by the ocean in some way or another. How are you thinking about the ocean and its impact on our everyday lives?

S2: Well , what? I grew up on the ocean , so I have a close relationship with it , but recognize that many people don't , and the ocean can feel very distant to a lot of people. They don't necessarily realize if they live in the middle of Ohio , that their lives are very much impacted by the ocean. And so so we're really working on finding those connections for people at the Maritime Museum.

S1: And one of your goals at that museum is to really make people think more about their relationship to the ocean. So how are you all doing that through your work there?

S2: Well , there are a few things. So we are a fleet of historic ships berthed in one of the busiest ports in the United States. We don't have any museum buildings for a bunch of boats floating off the waterfront , and we have a collection of historic vessels that not only have exhibitions and programs and education , all kinds of things going on , but we also do take people out on the water. We have a pilot boat that's the oldest operating pilot boat in the country that goes out every day. We have the only operational , swift Vietnam era boat in the country , in the world that operates. And then we have two tall ships that go out every weekend. So there are opportunities to actually leave the museum and go out into the bay and even into the Pacific. But even if you don't want to go that far , we have all kinds of exhibits and programs and educational opportunities that help people find their own sea stories and connect with the ocean.

S1: And , you know , you mentioned how important it is for everyone to understand how their lives are impacted by the ocean. But sometimes people hear that , but they really it doesn't quite connect. So tell me in what ways the ocean does impact one's life , even if they don't live next to it? Sure.

S2: Sure. So I tell people all the time , your life depends on the ocean. So every other breath you take was produced by the ocean. No matter where you live. 80% of all goods traded around the world travels by sea. And I think a lot of people don't really realize the impact of that. And now they do more that there's been more political turmoil when suddenly things get disrupted because vessels are frozen in place or other politics are going on. So when you buy a new car , when you buy a new shoes , when you buy a book , when you get all these things , they don't typically fly on airplanes. They come on boats and boats sometimes put them on trucks , and the trucks take them across the country , but they typically came from a vessel. So there's that. It also is incredibly important for regulating our climate. So as the ocean changes temperature , it also helps , you know , changes our climate as well. So just really physically , physically it affects your life , but it also affects the goods and services that you rely on every day.

S1: And I mean , all of this sort of brings us to your Ted talk. How did you get involved with this year's Ted?

S2: I was invited by one of the organizers who brought me last year , who's become a very dear friend , and she's a real activator around town , Laura Hall , she's unbelievable. And she really looks for people with fresh ideas. How do we embrace the sort of innovative , entrepreneurial spirit of San Diego and what are people doing about different issues? And so she and I met a year and a half ago through a mutual friend , and I've only been here for a year and a half , and she invited me to consider giving a talk , which I jumped on. It's an incredible honor , a little terrifying , but it's an incredible honor.

S1: No , it really is. It's so I'm so excited for you , for this. And I think it's so neat. But talk to me about what you're going to be focusing on. The ocean is such a vast topic. So so what's your talk going to be about?

S2: The talk is going to be about how maritime museums can save the ocean. And I will argue that really , maritime museums are these uniquely multidisciplinary spaces that can bring together arts and culture and education and conservation and industry and innovation. So they really are unique places that the public can come to see a third party. Talk about different opportunities around workforce development , about immigration , families. We have a fabulous new exhibit curated by Doctor Caroline Collins called Take Me to the water. That's a history of the Black Pacific that is just phenomenal. So we're trying to find different pathways through community engagement , through our education programs , to really help people connect with sea stories. So so I do believe that maritime museums can save the ocean. And I'm actually on the board of International Congress of Maritime Museums , which is over 300 museums worldwide. Membership. And I have many colleagues around the world who are working along similar lines that we're partnering with as well.

S1: Do you think enough people have awareness of maritime museums?

S2: No , I don't. In fact , even here I'm often asked what I say , what do you do? And I say , I work at the Maritime Museum and they say , where's that? And and you say , Star of Indian like , oh , that's Star of India. I know the Star of India. I slept on the Star of India. There's a museum there because most people have this expectation that there's a building and we don't have any buildings , although we're working on that. We are planning a beautiful new building in the next couple of years , which will be terrific. But but no. And even the word maritime can be challenging for a lot of people to really understand what that means. And so just very basically maritime museums celebrate , preserve and talk about our historic relationship with the ocean. And that can mean a lot of things. It could be an immigration , it could be fishing , it could be surfing. Um , it could be , uh , you know , adventure pirates , all kinds of things. But but , um , here in San Diego , one of the things that I think is really terrific , and one of the reasons I came out here for this job is that the Port of San Diego , Scripps , the Navy , all these amazing organizations are doing great work on ocean sustainability , and there's a great energy to San Diego that's truly unique in that it's collaborative , it's innovative , it's forward thinking. And that , I think , is really the sweet spot for us as a maritime museum , is tapping into that energy and letting kids know that if you want to be a mariner , you don't have to grow a beard and run a lobster boat , although that's fine. But you can also be into robotics. You can be an artist or a chef , or you can be , you know , a journalist. You can do all kinds of things. So there are all kinds of really dynamic pathways into maritime industry for our youth. And many of the youth that we see have never even seen the Bay. And they live in a port city. So there's an eco social , economic and social barrier to a lot of these opportunities. And that's where we're really working on our education programs get just getting kids on the boat. Yeah.

S1: Yeah. And exposing them to to all of these wonderful things that they could be really embracing and learning more about you are. I mean , I'm just curious to know because Joy is also , um , a part of this year's TEDx event. How does that come up in your presentation?

S2: Well , I'll give you an example that I talk about a lot because it made me cry when I first happened. But we which just doesn't sound joyful , but it was tears of joy. Um , we had a youth group come from the Salvation Army last year , and there was this little girl who was like 12 , and we asked them to come and watch some young entrepreneurs testing their autonomous robotics on the bay. And we've become a test site because of our location for getting some cool innovators to just be able to come down and test out their stuff and , and connect them. So we invited a bunch of kids to come and watch , and this little girl just was hysterical , completely captivated the entire time. And afterwards I just asked her , you know , do you like robotics? And she was like , I do now. It's the coolest thing I've ever seen. And for me , that she'd never been on the Bay. She'd never been on a boat. And yet here she saw herself seeing something that she could maybe be a part of in an ocean industry. And it just was the coolest day. And so that , to me , is the joy of , like , what we do. Like , that was the magic was just seeing her smile and saying , hey , that's cool , I want a piece of that. And then she went and talked to the entrepreneurs who were only ten years old , and she is probably and said , how'd you get there? What did you do? And it was just cool. So that was that to me is the joy part. Yeah.

S1: Yeah. That makes it so worth it. Um , earlier you mentioned growing up on the ocean. So where did your own love for the ocean begin?

S2: Well , it was my parents started a Semester at Sea program in the 70s for a private school in Newport , Rhode Island. A 54 foot sailboat been donated to the school. And my dad is a lifetime mariner. And he said , you know , maybe we should start an education program at sea. And there are things you learn to see that you really it's very hard to find anywhere else. Um , you know , you really have to rely on each other on weather and leadership , and somebody makes a mistake and it impacts everybody. And so , yeah , the headmaster said yes. Um , and my family , me and my brother were homeschooled on this 54 foot sailboat with six high school students at a time , and we tagged sharks and turtles all over the Atlantic. If the National Marine Fisheries Service and R2 car foundation in Florida and just fell in love with the ocean , I mean , to me it was just normal to be sort of on this 54 might sound big , but it's really not with ten people in one bathroom and and everyone's cooking and cleaning and everyone has to get along. Um , but now I just loved it. I loved every day was different. We went to lots of amazing , interesting communities around the Caribbean particularly , but really grew up down in the Bahamas. Um , and then I've just stayed involved with ocean ever since.

S1: Sounds like a great way to grow up.

S2: Yeah , that's pretty cool. Yeah.

S1: Yeah. What are some of the challenges facing our oceans today. I mean , you think back to , you know , you being on the water as a child and then now how has that experience changed?

S2: Um , I think a lot of things have changed. I mean , I'm a child of the 70s and 80s , and my baseline normal is different than my kids. Baseline normal of nature. Um , I am appalled at the amount of plastic , even when my husband and I are from the east coast and we sail around that area , have done for many years. And those like those mylar balloons , stop buying those. Those are awful. I mean , they're always everywhere in the ocean. They're just terrible. Um , so just plastics in the oceans has been really a big change. But certainly I think on a larger global scale , things like , um , ocean governance is very challenging. So you might have all the laws you want , but then who's in charge when you're out on the open sea? That's a big problem. Um , leaning into aquaculture and thinking about sustainable fishing has been a really positive thing. Um , one of the things I did at my last museum was an exhibition on Alexis Rockman , who's a terrific artist , and he did a huge series of beautiful paintings for Mystic Seaport Museum that were all about people's human activities , impact on the oceans over time. And the topics are a little dark , but the paintings are stunning. So that's when I got involved in Blue Tech because I wanted to know , like , what are all those smart people out there doing about it? And those are the positive stories. There's a lot of negative stories about pollution , overfishing , climate change , biodiversity loss is a huge problem. The death of reef reefs is a huge problem , but there are really amazing people who are finding solutions to some of those problems , and it's exciting stuff. So that's where I'm kind of leaning into that more with the museum. Like we can do doom and gloom all day long , and in most of it's totally right. But there is a positive side to that. And it can be fun and exciting and joyful and and just fascinating , like decarbonizing the ocean with these shipping vessels. They're all going back to sail. I have a sailboat. You know , the Star of India was a cargo ship and went around the world 21 times , and she doesn't even have an engine. Um , and now a lot of major shipping companies are looking at solutions that are based on old , tall ship technology , which is kind of cool.

S1: It is excellent. Like. And as we talk about the ocean , I can't , um , overlook what's happening in Imperial Beach and the sewage that's there. I know over the weekend the water was green , as I understand it. Your thoughts on that in terms of a solution , since you've you've been out in the water for so long?

S2: Well , I think that this is definitely a case of great collaborations need to happen. I mean , there really needs to be cross-border collaboration. There needs to be a partnership because it's not just one places problem. So , uh , so yeah , that's a that's a governance issue and it's a money issue. Um , it's a regulatory issue. And so I know that there are great minds working on that right now. Um , and I am optimistic , but yeah , it's a it's a big impact. And this is going to be a big El Nino year. So I don't know how that's going to impact all of that as well because the temperature is going to change. So um , but yeah , that's the kind of ocean governance collaboration. We can't we cannot have a healthy ocean without truly collaborating with each other and , and making compromises for things. I think , you know , people need to stop using one , use plastic , and they need to stop thinking that when they dump their cigarette butt on the on Shelter Island , which I was out there cleaning the bay with waterfront the other day. Um , I must have picked up 900 cigarette butts , and it's just like , really? Like. Yeah , just where do you think it goes? Yeah.

S1: Yeah. Yeah.

S2: Yeah. So so , you know , but there are there were 1200 volunteers doing that the other day. Wow.

S1: Wow. Small things we can do to keep everything right for. For a long time , I've been speaking with Christina Brophy. She's the president and CEO of the Maritime Museum of San Diego. Next San Diego will kick off this Thursday , August 27th at 7 p.m. it'll be at the David and Dorothea Garfield Theater in La Jolla , and you can find more details on our website. Uh , Christina , thank you so much for joining us.

S2: Thank you so much for having me. Hope to see you at TEDx.

S1: Hope to see you there. I'm excited. That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.