Solo diving II. In the late 1940s, after the invention of the Aqua-lung by Cousteau and Gagnan, the first retail underwater breathing apparatus for sport was commercially marketed. As the sport expanded through the 1950s, several sporting organisations – notably the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) – began scuba training programmes for swimming enthusiasts, thus began the codification of what was believed to be proper practices for the expanding amateur sport of scuba diving. The buddy system was thought to be a useful corollary to the "never swim alone" edicts of the YMCA swimming and lifesaving programmes. Cousteau independently implemented a buddy
Alexandra Cousteau first went on expedition with her father, Philippe Cousteau and learned to scuba dive with her grandfather, Jacques-Yves Cousteau, when she was seven. Cousteau earned a Bachelor's degree in political science (International Relations) from Georgetown College in 1998. In May 2016, she received an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from Georgetown University, her alma mater. In 2000, Cousteau co-founded EarthEcho International with her brother Philippe Cousteau Jr. to further her family's legacy in science, advocacy, and education. From 2005 to 2007, Cousteau worked on ocean conservation issues in Central America as an advisor for MarViva. In 2010, Cousteau