Daniela Fernandez: The Million-Dollar Save

For The Curious,

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to have a million dollars fall from the heavens into your lap just when you were down to your last penny and truly needed it, listen to this week’s episode of Big Questions.

It’s about a 25-year-old named Daniela Fernandez, who has devoted her life to saving the world’s oceans. If you don’t think that’s important, it’d be wise to look at some facts. Every minute, a truckload of plastic is dumped in seawater. This now adds up to enough trash to cover every foot of coastline around the world with five full trash bags of plastic . . . a total that’s compounding every day. There’s an island of garbage twice the size of Texas in the Pacific Ocean. That island may be a long way from where you are right now. But it affects you. Fifty percent of the oxygen we breathe is created by the ocean. That’s every second breath you take. We’re not only choking sea turtles in the ocean with plastic straws. We’re slowly choking ourselves.

The non-profit organization that Daniela founded to heal the oceans, Sustainable Ocean Alliance, was down to its last penny when an anonymous donation of $1 million came to the rescue. Now, Sustainable Ocean Alliance is helping to give a global voice to companies that make straws out of seaweed – not plastic. Companies that use technology to deter endangered fish, marine mammals, seabirds and turtles from swimming into commercial fishing nets. And people all over the world are looking to Daniela to lead our oceans back to health.

This is an awesome story of a young woman’s unwavering devotion to make a difference, and how the world will be changed because of her. Applying her mindset just might allow you to do the extraordinary, as well.

Enjoy. The world is going to be a better place for it.

Cheers,

Cal