Tag Archives: defending our oceans

Our domestic WAR on whales and dolphins

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The Navy's plan to test sonar and explosives underwater will directly impact whales like this humpback.

Over the past couple of years the Obama Administration has demonstrated great international leadership on the conservation of whales. This includes the US supporting the creation of the South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary at the last International Whaling Commission meeting, President Obama imposing diplomatic sanctions on Iceland for their commercial hunting of endangered fin whales and numerous other conservation initiatives. However here at home it’s a very different story with the Obama administration supporting multiple activities that will result in the harm to millions of whales and dolphins. Continue reading →

WHAT IS THE U.S. THINKING? And whose interests are they defending?

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"Why we don't show this same leadership in the international arena is a mystery as deep as the Mariana Trench."

Here I sit for the first time in a rather large conference room at the United Nations building in New York. I’m here for the final informal sessions developing draft text that will be the heart of negotiations next month in Rio at the World Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio+20. As usual, I’m focused on ocean issues, emphatic about the fact that our oceans desperately need a global agreement to stop their ongoing destruction.

Oceans outside areas of national jurisdiction are being plundered by a handful of rich and technologically advanced nations at the expense of the rest of the World. Rio+20 is where we can stop this nonsense, and turn this deplorable situation around. To do that, we need nations to agree on a way forward. Continue reading →

Anderson Cooper’s 60 Minutes Segment on Marine Reserves Has Our Heads Swimming

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If you saw 60 Minutes last night, you were likely amazed yet alarmed by Anderson Cooper’s piece on marine reserves. You can find it here, in case you missed it.

The footage from his dive of a massive coral reef off the Cuban coast was stunning. In stark contrast was Cooper’s description of the environmental assault on our planet’s reefs — a perfect storm of unsustainable fishing, global warming, pollution and other factors.

As explained in the story:

“Scientists say coral is succumbing to a complex combination of environmental factors including pollution, agricultural run-off, coastal development, over-fishing, and rising ocean temperatures, which researchers believe is causing a phenomenon called ‘bleaching,’ that causes the coral to turn white and sometimes die.”

But you can help turn the tide.

We’re working to designate 40% of the world’s oceans as marine reserves — protecting the reefs and the incomprehensibly rich variety of aquatic life they sustain.

Sign the Hands Off! ocean-protection petition today!