SMYRNA - Students at Russell Elementary School were given a lesson on environmental and conservation issues on Thursday by Philippe Cousteau, grandson of legendary sea explorer and researcher, the late Capt. Jacques-Yves Cousteau.

Cousteau works as the Animal Planet channel's chief ocean correspondent, and is a conservationist and educator in his own right. He visited third-, fourth- and fifth-grade students to discuss conservation and steps that should be taken to preserve the planet's oceans.

Cousteau told the excited students that only between 7 and 10 percent of oceans have been explored, though they comprise 90 percent of the planet. No matter where you live, he said, what happens in oceans impact the world.

Cousteau, 29, said his grandfather told him that what surprised him the most in his decades of underwater exploration was how much nature had changed in his lifetime. During his visit, Cousteau used video of his global travels to illustrate his messages.

"If you give the environment a chance, it will come back," he told students. Through influencing their parents to make better environmental decisions, he said they can affect change.

"You guys have an amazing amount of power," he said.

Cousteau is also president of EarthEcho International, a nonprofit environmental education and conservation organization he founded with his sister, Alexandra Cousteau. He said he doesn't doubt that climate change is a major threat to the world, though some people dispute such claims.

"I know Atlanta itself just last year was within six weeks of total drought," he said. "That's really caused by a changing climate."

Russell Elementary Principal Nancy Dipetrillo said her students are passionate about animals and protecting the earth in which they live. She called Cousteau a "wonderful visitor."

"He talks really well with students in their own language," she said.

Russell Elementary, like other Cobb Schools, incorporates the Discovery channel's educational programming - which often features the topics Cousteau discussed - into classroom curriculum through Georgia Public Broadcasting.

"Everything is correlated to Georgia's standards, so it's completely relevant," said Andy Schaefer of Discovery Education.