From Gerritsen Beach to Changing the World: BC Alum Returns to Share His Journey
In his first trip back to Brooklyn College since he graduated in 1969, Elliott Norse, a celebrated marine biologist at the forefront of the conservation movement, reminisced on his journey from Gerritsen Beach to influencing international policy to protect the planet. He also had a lesson for the students, staff, and faculty members in his audience on what they can do to help conserve our oceans.
Growing up with an estuary in his backyard, the young Norse became fascinated with fishes and crabs. He came to Brooklyn College––or the Ivy League of the Proletariat as he called it––and was instilled with enthusiasm to “change the world and save life on earth.” He parlayed those two passions into a very successful thirty-year career in which he has written more than 140 publications, served on councils that advised the United States president on marine conservation policy, and founded an institute that brings together scientists from various disciplines who want to safeguard marine life.
Showing slides of sea birds covered in oil and seals dying on the beach, Norse told his listeners that some of the biggest threats to our oceans are the overpopulation of the planet, excessive consumption, climate change, ineffective policy, and the physical damage that commercial fishing is doing to the ocean floor.
He spoke at length about the widespread and largely unregulated practice of trawling, in which commercial fishers drag a wide net across the ocean floor in order to catch certain bottom feeders like shrimp, often destroying vegetation and other marine animals in their path.
“When damage occurs to the sea, it’s out of sight and out of mind,” Norse explained, before sharing photos that showed some of the damage to seas that have been heavily trawled. “But I was taught at this place that living things are very important.”
After earning a Ph.D. from the University of Southern California, Norse worked for the United States Environmental Protection Agency, where he served on the President’s Council on Environmental Quality and argued that preserving biological diversity should be the first priority of conservation efforts. He went on to work for the Ecological Society of America, the Wilderness Society, and Ocean Conservancy before founding the Marine Conservation Biology Institute in 1996.
Through his organization, Norse was able to encourage President Clinton to launch the Marine Protected Areas Center, which provides workshops and other training opportunities for marine conservationists. Norse also played a critical role in convincing the current President Bush to advance legislation to protect marine life in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
“I feel that I got a good education at Brooklyn College,” Norse said. “So I have something to give back to the world.”
