Ayana Elizabeth Johnson is a marine biologist, policy expert and conservation strategist who is co-founder of the nonprofit think tank Urban Ocean Lab.
Through essays and interviews, her new book “What If We Get It Right? Visions of Climate Futures” looks at the possibilities for the future as we face climate change.
ABC News’ Linsey Davis sat down with Johnson to discuss her childhood inspiration for entering her field, the solutions for climate change, AI’s possible role in the crisis and the need to find a middle ground between apocalypse and paradise.
So at 5, I learned to swim in the Florida Keys.
I saw a coral reef for the first time. And like many kids who see a coral reef and learn to swim, you fall in love with the ocean. And of course, when you fall in love with something, you want to protect it.
So, learning that the ocean was threatened by pollution, the effects of tourism and coastal development, and later climate change, I thought, well, let me see if I can help, especially as the daughter of a Jamaican immigrant who thinks about how important healthy coastal ecosystems are culturally and economically. This is not just a thing for tourists to enjoy; it really is the foundation of coastal economies. So that’s what started it all.