I love Bill Maher and now I love Philippe Cousteau, Jr. Grandson of Jacques Cousteau, his passion for the environment and our oceans wasn’t just handed down… it’s real, inspiring. I couldn’t wait to watch him, take in every word, as he discussed BP’s Deepwater Horizon mess in the Gulf with Bill Maher.

I was especially captivated (swooning, mind you) when Philippe said to Bill,

“I could cut my leg off, I could cut my arm off, I could gouge my eye out, I’d still probably survive, but not very well, and that’s what we’re doing to the ocean. It’s the life support system of this planet. We’ve been dumping in it, we’ve been polluting it, we’ve been destroying it for decades, and we’re essentially maiming ourselves… It’s not a question of whether the oceans can take anymore. The ocean can’t take any more. They couldn’t take any more fifty years ago. The question is, ‘when are we going to stop?”

Photo: Flickr by hawkfish

If not now, when? If not us, who? What will it take to make us realize it’s time for oil-aholic rehab?

Philippe Cousteau serves as CEO of EarthEcho International, a non-profit organization he founded with his sister and mother.