Next-generation Cousteau to talk about water crisis

She's fluent in three languages and is a keynote speaker on environmental issues before the United Nations, the Smithsonian Institution and Harvard University, as well as the founder of a nonprofit group exploring how people relate to water-based Earth.

Fresh from a 100-day, five-continent expedition to draw attention to critical issues related to global water supplies and ecosystems, Alexandra Cousteau has carved out a niche in her own right.

But to know that she is the granddaughter of the world-famous water explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau, well, that simply amplifies her message, heightening the attention given to her words.

"Water has been a huge part of my life," she said in telephone interview, describing how she joined her parents on water-based excursions at 4 months old and learned to dive from her grandfather at age 7.

Cousteau, who says she has a keen interest and urgent desire to explore the Colorado River, will be in Salt Lake City to give a presentation Thursday night. She says she has seen drastic changes brought on by the global water crisis, environmental impacts not witnessed by her father or her grandfather.

"I've seen huge changes in my life, seen places disappear, and it is not like I am 70," Cousteau, 33, said. "The 400-pound groupers featured in early films have all but disappeared. The red tuna that I saw in my dives as a child are all but gone today and will probably be extinct before I have my first child."

Cousteau said the solution hinges on going back to the principles of simple grade-school science — that we all live downstream from each other.

Referencing what a "wise" spiritual leader in India told her, Cousteau said it's incorrect to believe the water of the Ganges River is simply that — the water of India.

"It can end up in the ocean, an iceberg, the Hudson or your cup of tea," she said, adding it will take a global, innovative approach to solving the challenges that face the earth's water supplies.

"Addressing problems today really matters," Cousteau said. "There is a lot of talk about what can be done and what can't be done. I am in the camp of those who believe there is a lot we can do."

For more information about Cousteau, her expedition and her organization, Blue Legacy, go to www.alexandracousteau.org.

If you go:

Who: Alexandra Cousteau

What: Environmental presentation

When: Thursday, 7 p.m.

Where: Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, 138 W. 300 South

Cost: $10 person, www.arttix.org or 800-355-2787

e-mail: amyjoi@desnews.com