Strategies For the Caribbean Region and Gulf Coast States  

Learn Best Blue Community Practices at 

Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida USA
May 3-6, 2011

At the Blue Community Conference 2011, you'll interact with celebrated sustainability, disaster reduction and economic development leaders, innovators, and change-agents. Learn best Blue Community practices, critical knowledge, and develop winning partnerships to prepare your company or community, for a world where people, profits and the environment are uniquely interconnected. The conference is brought to you by the International Oceans Institute Waves of Change campaign, Friends of the United Nations and The Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce.

Early Bird Offer Expires

December 31, 2010

The Conference is being held at the Walt Disney World Coronado Springs Resort, Florida.

Click Here to Make Hotel Reservations

Who Should Attend?

• Government officials
• Resorts and related tourism industry
• College and University Students, Faculty, and Administrators
• Economic Development staff
• Environmental Ministers and/or staff
• Environmental NGO’s
• Individuals interested in the Blue Community conference topics and agenda
   
  

Sustainability, Disaster Reduction, and Economic Development will be the three major themes of the Blue Community Conference.

Sustainability 

The Blue Community conference provides sustainability strategies for energy, water, food, transportation, health, and much more.  Each topic includes models of best practices and a hands-on opportunity to see how Walt Disney World is strategically addressing these concerns.

Disaster Reduction & Vulnerability Management 

The United Nations International Strategies for Disaster Reduction program has identified sustainability as the best way to prevent, mitigate, and recover from potential disasters. The Blue Community conference will provide a number of best practices for disaster reduction and vulnerability management.

Economic Development & Eco-Friendly Tourism

For a travel and leisure company to utilize Blue Community strategies they must be economical. Walt Disney World shares the economic benefits of their sustainability program. The Blue Community program will provide strategies to enhance eco-friendly tourism and reduce costs in areas such as: energy, fertilizer, water, transportation, and other strategies to both attract tourism, and reduce costs of resort operations.

As a field biologist with a quarter century of experience I felt anxious about how nature and people would cope with the times ahead.

So far this year, globally, the weather patterns, insects, wild fires, melting glaciers, sea ice and the oceans all appear to be on performance-enhancing drugs eclipsing, in some cases, thousand year events.

The first half of 2010 shattered many weather records since the inception of continuous record keeping in 1879. Of immediate concern is the lightning speed of 34,000 square miles, each day in June, that Arctic sea ice melted; it was more than 50 percent greater than the average rate of 20,000 square miles a day set in 2006.

Ice, be it on polar seas or land, is crucial for reflecting incoming solar radiation and keeping Earth cool, particularly at night.

Let me remind you that we are using four times more energy than our forbearers did 100 years ago. Our consumptive use of fossil fuels is 16 fold over the same time period. And fossil fuels release CO2 which traps heat and raises Earth's temperature.

Last week a chunk of ice four times the size of Manhattan Island broke off the Petermann Glacier on Greenland, the third chunk since 2001; it will contribute to raising sea levels and likely cause havoc in shipping lanes off Newfoundland.

Whenever Earth warms up a few degrees the Arctic appears to multiply that factor by about three. Polar bears will not only perish due to missing sea ice but also from exposure to melting ice releasing persistent organic pollutants including flame-retardants and bisphenol A (BPA) used to harden plastics. The latter is a horrid chemical which disrupts all animals (including humans) endocrine system and it's a synthetic estrogen which lowers sperm counts in males. Globally, we manufacture six billion pounds of BPA a year.

It stores in fat cells of seals, which are the main food source of polar bears. These contaminants are bio-accumulated and bio-magnified up the food chain. So the higher you are, the higher the contaminants.

As Arctic soils -- which were permanently frozen -- thaw, about 1.5 billion tons of CO2 is being released. In comparison, cars and light truck in the U.S. emit about 300 million tons of CO2 per year.

In April in the Andes a chunk of ice measuring 1,640 feet by 665 feet broke off from the Hualcan glacier crashing into a lake creating a 75-foot tsunami-like wave that swept away at least three people and destroyed the water processing plant serving 60,000 people in Carhuaz, Peru.

Indonesia's high elevation Papuan glacier has been decimated by 80 percent of its ice since 1936, two-thirds of that melted since it was last measured in 1972. One square mile that is 32 yards deep is all that remains. Inside glaciers are flecks of dust and trapped miniature air bubbles; they hold all the answers to ancient weather shifts. Globally, glaciers are disappearing faster than scientists can decipher them.

Even more distressing news recently revealed that 40 percent of the world's phytoplankton is missing. The culprit is the warming surface oceans' that are preventing nutrients from mixing effectively in the upper layers and denying natural fertilizer to green life. Phytoplankton, incidentally, is responsible for removing one third of the rising CO2 from our stratosphere.

Two weeks ago the State of Climate report was released by 300 scientists from 48 countries and they unequivocally; that is, 100 percent of them agree: Human-induced global warming is undeniable.

As ocean temperatures rise coral reefs are mass bleached. In other words, the corals that hold a symbiotic relationship with algae, expels them -- they both die and the coral turn white. So far this year sever bleaching has occurred in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, and scientists are waiting with baited breath to see the outcome on Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, Hawaii. Some of the most potent pain and cancer medicines ever discovered (and awaiting discovery) reside in coral reefs around the globe.

Almost three million acres of forestland have burned in Russia including 20,000 dried-up peat bogs as it's experiencing what their top weatherman is now calling a one in one thousand year heat wave. Moscow reached 100 degrees for the first time in recorded history.

This spring and summer, forest fires have charred six million acres in northern Canada and now NASA's Aqua Satellite has recorded enormous plumes of carbon monoxide from the fires forming a ring around the planet and as it moves northward.

Billions of native bark beetles have laid waste to 81 million acres of forests in Alaska, Alberta, British Columbia, Colorado and Wyoming in the largest feeding frenzy in modern times. As temperatures rise, forests dry out and trees are unable to manufacture gooey pitch, there only means of protection against the beetles.

Those forests are of paramount importance for holding winter snowpacks, which have been diminishing over the past 50 years, releasing moisture slowly in the springtime and providing fresh water to about 55 million people across the West. And Lake Mead the enormous reservoir of the Colorado River that feeds Arizona, Nevada, California and Northern Mexico is the lowest it's been since first being filled in 1930.

Droughts in Russia have caused one third of the grain crops to fail and the price on the world markets has spiked wheat by 70 percent and barley by 50 percent.

In April Australia experienced a biblical plague of crop-destroying locusts encompassing 190,000 square miles or the size of Spain. Another swarm is now amassing and $1.8 billion worth of pastures, cereal and forage crops are at risk.

Torrential monsoonal rainfall has affected 14 million people (6 million children) in Pakistan. Over 700,000 people have been evacuated to 450 relief camps.

Interestingly, there is a link between the torrential rains in Pakistan and inferno heat in Russia. As air was pumped into the upper stratosphere by monsoonal Asian winds it created a high pressure condition thousands of miles away conducive to heat waves now blanketing Russia.

Energy efficiency in America is a necessity.

The law-makers in Washington, DC must retro-fit all government buildings, colleges and military facilities across our nation. About five million people on Main Street need jobs. Moreover, by painting rooftops white, air conditioning costs on government buildings will be reduced by $750 million dollars a year, which can help offset workers salaries. In addition, white roofs will mimic millions of square miles of missing sea ice, helping to cool the Earth's temperature.

Texas oil giants Valero Energy and Tesoro Corp have mounted a fear campaign to thwart AB 32, California's Global Warming Law this November. Californians have always valued the environment first and foremost. It's time to take a stand, once and for all, and allow innovation to deliver a made-in-America green technologies energy solution.

Dr Reese Halter is a Science Communicator: Voice for Ecology, and a conservation biologist at Cal Lutheran University. Contact him through www.DrReese.com

The President’s policy comes from the Final Recommendation of the Ocean Policy Task Force, which resulted in the creation of the National Ocean Council.

However, experts at the Center for Biological Diversity think the new policy doesn't go far enough:

“The policy announced on this week is a good and necessary step toward coordinated planning and conservation, but we have yet to see if it will translate into good management,” said Miyoko Sakashita, director of oceans. “We need continued public participation to secure better assurances that decisions under this policy are based on sound science and are made with conservation and restoration as a primary goal and the precautionary principle in mind.”

According to Makashita, the Obama administration’s proposal creates a governance structure for the management of the oceans and sets out a program for marine spatial planning, which, like zoning on land, would designate certain areas for diverse uses such as drilling, fishing, shipping and protection. But the proposal lacks guarantees for conservation and biodiversity protection. And the overwhelming need for prevention of climate change and ocean acidification is also overlooked by the policy. Instead the Obama administration focuses on adapting to these changes, while completely ignoring what we need to do to avoid allowing them to escalate into potentially devastating environmental transformation.

After the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, both organizations agree that it is critical to move forward with protections for the ocean’s ecosystems, wildlife, seabirds, and marine life.

***Jean Williams 2010
Primary sources press release from Center for Biological Diversity and Ocean Champion's News letter

That’s because Key West’s “wolf” is the 74-foot gaff-rigged topsail Schooner Wolf, a majestic tall ship that’s been headquartered in the island city for some 25 years.

The flagship of the Keys’ Conch Republic, the Wolf is patterned after the 19th-century blockade runners that once plied the waters of the Florida Straits. The classic schooner has appeared in several movies, stars in Key West’s annual Pirates in Paradise festival, and is renowned for its humanitarian relief sails to needy Caribbean and Bahamian island communities.

But the Wolf is most notable for something else entirely: its owner and skipper, Captain Finbar Gittelman.

The epitome of an old salt, Captain Finbar bears a slightly unnerving resemblance to the wicked Barbossa in “Pirates of the Caribbean.” He has lived in Key West since the early 1970s and built his classic schooner in the early 1980s.

As admiral-in-chief of the Keys’ picturesque Conch Republic Navy, Finbar presides over the navy’s yearly sea battle with “federal invaders” — a highlight of the annual Conch Republic Independence Celebration. (By a strange coincidence, the navy ALWAYS wins). He’s also a legendary pirate king who, with his lady Julie McEnroe (a.k.a. Blossom), oversees Key West’s rollicking Pirates in Paradise festival.

However, there’s more to the captain than the personas he assumes with devil-may-care enthusiasm. In 1980 Finbar survived a deadly Caribbean hurricane at sea, spending three harrowing days in a tiny life raft after the ship he was piloting sank in the storm.

He has since sailed the Wolf on several missions of mercy after hurricanes and other natural disasters, carrying cargoes of relief supplies to desperate people in stricken Caribbean regions.

On Feb. 20, the Wolf departed Key West’s Historic Seaport for earthquake-ravaged Haiti, carrying more than 10 tons of food, water, medicine, tools and other supplies donated by Florida Keys residents and businesses.

Finbar and Julie expect the crossing to Haiti to take between five and seven days. Their final destination is a remote coastal area not accessible to larger relief ships, where members of the local fishing fleet will paddle their dugout canoes out to meet the schooner.

Not only will the Wolf bring these people lifesaving supplies — it also carries the good wishes of hundreds of Keys residents, and a part of the island chain’s vital spirit.

“People keep asking me why we’re doing this, and my answer is simple,” said Finbar. “We’re islanders, and we need to take care of our fellow islanders.”

So raise a glass in salute to the Wolf, to Finbar and Julie and the rest of the Haiti-bound crew. May they find fair winds and smooth seas, and a safe journey home.

Editors Note:  The Schooner Wolf is the Ambassador ship of the Waves of Change campaign since it helped launch the initial Waves of Change program on Ocean Day 2007.  It recently has graciously donated its boat for sunset sails in the Bahamas and Jamaica begining December 2010 to help sponsor the Waves of Change Blue Community confrence  Click Here for Details

And, each island must do everything in its power to cultivate the love and respect for the environment from its countrymen so this can become an immediate deliverable. So what exactly is meant by sustainable tourism? Sustainable tourism is managing all resources in a way that economic, social and aesthetic needs can be fulfilled while maintaining cultural integrity, essential ecological processes, biological diversity and life support systems.

According to the World Tourism Organization´s definition (2004), "sustainable tourism should:

1) Make optimal use of environmental resources that constitute a key element in tourism development, maintaining essential ecological processes and helping to conserve natural heritage and biodiversity.

2) Respect the socio-cultural authenticity of host communities, conserve their built and living cultural heritage and traditional values, and contribute to inter-cultural understanding and tolerance.

3) Ensure viable, long-term economic operations, providing socio-economic benefits to all stakeholders that are fairly distributed, including stable employment and income-earning opportunities and social services to host communities, and contributing to poverty alleviation.
Sustainable tourism development requires the informed participation of all relevant stakeholders, as well as strong political leadership to ensure wide participation and consensus building. Achieving sustainable tourism is a continuous process and it requires constant monitoring of impacts, introducing the necessary preventive and/or corrective measures whenever necessary. Sustainable tourism should also maintain a high level of tourist satisfaction and ensure a meaningful experience to the tourists, raising their awareness about sustainability issues and promoting sustainable tourism practices amongst them."

The eight key components to the development of responsible tourism are:

1. Minimization of negative economic, environmental and social impacts.
2. Generation of greater economic benefits for local people and enhances the well being of host communities.
3. Improvement of working conditions and access to the industry.
4. Involvement of local people in decisions that affect their lives and life chances.
5. Making positive contributions to the conservation of natural and cultural heritage embracing diversity.
6. Providing more enjoyable experiences for tourists through more meaningful connections with local people, and a greater understanding of local cultural, social and environmental issues.
7. Providing access for physically challenged people.
8. Ensuring that it is culturally sensitive, encourages respect between tourists and hosts, and builds local pride and confidence. (derived from The Cape Town Declaration on Responsible Tourism in Destinations, 2002) What measures have been taken in 2008? 2008 International Year of the Reef (IYOR)
   
   
   The first IYOR was declared and implemented in 1997 in response to the increasing threats and loss of coral reefs and associated ecosystems. It was a global effort to raise awareness and understanding of coral reefs and the threats they face, and support related conservation, research and management efforts.

Despite its success in raising global awareness of coral reefs and associated ecosystems, ten years later, there remains an urgent need to increase awareness, to take action, further conserve and manage coral reefs and associated ecosystems, and appreciate their value to humanity. With this in mind, the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) and its members designated 2008 as the International Year of the Reef 2008 (IYOR 2008) during its General Meeting in October 2006.

IYOR 2008 was a year-long campaign of events and initiatives hosted by governments, individuals, corporations and schools around the world to promote conservation action and strengthen long-term constituencies for coral reef conservation.

Certifications

A number of certification processes have been put into place worldwide which provide third party ratings of the quality of environmental changes a property has in place. The Caribbean Alliance for Sustainable Tourism (CAST) promotes and supports three certification programs in the Caribbean: the Blue Flag initiative for beaches and marine activity, Green Globe Certification for Hotels and Buildings and Quality Tourism for the Caribbean (QTC).

Green Globe 21 is a global benchmarking and certification program which facilitates sustainable travel and tourism for consumers, companies and communities. This global program is based on Agenda 21 and the principles for Sustainable Development endorsed by 182 governments at the United Nations Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit in 1992. To be considered environmentally and socially responsible, operations must meet all of the requirements of the GG21 Standard and be independently audited before becoming certified and earning the right to display the GREEN GLOBE logo.

Quality Tourism for the Caribbean (QTC) is a program which seeks to strengthen the overall quality and competitiveness of the Caribbean tourism industry through the establishment and promotion of quality standards and systems.  These systems are designed to ensure healthy, safe and environmentally conscious products and services.  Participating countries include:  Barbados, the Bahamas, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and the nine countries of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).  

Blue Flag is an international voluntary certification scheme for beaches and marinas operating in Europe by the Foundation for Environmental Education in Europe (FEEE) since 1980’s.  The Blue Flag program in the Caribbean is managed, for a fee, by a Caribbean Blue Flag Consortium which is comprised of CAST, the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) and the Caribbean Conservation Association (CCA). It has proven to be effective as an environmental tool to enhance safety management and environmental quality of beaches and marinas. 

Under the Blue Flag award system, beaches that fulfill a number of exacting criteria regarding factors such as bathing water quality, cleanliness, and safety are given the right to fly the Blue Flag.  The Blue Flag has become a European symbol of coastal environmental quality and is sought by local authorities for the status it confers upon them and the attraction it has for beach tourists.  Other regions, such as the Caribbean, are adopting the program to meet the required criteria without disregarding their particular regional characteristics.

The International Jury decided to award the Blue Flag to 56 beaches and nine marinas in the Bahamas, Dominican Republic, French Departments and Territories, New Zealand, Puerto Rico and South Africa. The International Jury also extended the pilot phase and gave the Blue Flag Certificate to 3 beaches in Aruba and to seven beaches in Brazil as a step towards achieving full Blue Flag status. Thirty-six countries are currently participating in the Blue Flag Program with three in the Caribbean. Meanwhile, the Bahamas, Jamaica, Puerto Rico. Aruba, Brazil, Chile, and the Dominican Republic are currently running the program in the pilot phase.

Although many Caribbean destinations such as Belize, Costa Rica, Tobago, the Caymans and Jamaica have been working on these issues for years, and are to be applauded for their foresight, here is what has occurred regionally in 2008:

Antigua and Barbuda

At Hermitage Bay, the owner and developer’s true love for the raw space and appreciation for the natural island beauty can be found in all of the property details.   All guest accommodations and public spaces are built into the hillside and beachfront where the “land dictated placement” rather than a blueprint, with each lodging and public space carved out by a hand machete, creating natural edifices rather than a resort full of foreign objects.   All materials used have an eye towards preservation and environmental awareness, utilizing indigenous materials, and installing energy conserving utilities and systems throughout.   All recycled water is used to irrigate their tropical gardens and only locally purchased organic fruits and vegetables are utilized in their kitchens. A grey water system and solar panels are used throughout the resort.

The Curtain Bluff resort has been awarded Green Globe certification status. This prestigious certification is only given to those properties that actively participate and strive to be environmentally friendly, and work as a team, not only within their establishment but within their community. In addition to regular property assessments, they have ongoing training programs for all aspects of the resort.

The Veranda has identified key environmental aspects related to the operation of its resort in Antigua. These include: the rational use of energy and water; solid waste and wastewater disposal; reduction of greenhouse gases; proper disposal of hazardous materials; noise reduction; and the use of biodegradable cleaning materials. The Verandah has a comprehensive Environmental Management System in place addressing key environmental issues as well as issues of health, hygiene and safety. The resort actively supports a carbon offset program.

Aruba

In Aruba, Bucuti Beach Resort’s owners are passionate about conservation and have been influential in the Caribbean’s green movement for more than 20 years. The resort reaches out to government officials, locals and tourists to teach and implement green practices. Years ago, the resort owner organized a community-wide awareness and educational plan with hundreds of school children and concerned citizens. Since then, CEO Ewald Biemans has been considered the island's most passionate and prolific environmentalist and hasn’t stopped helping the region since.

In 2008, the resort’s projects included a gray water recycling system and a turtle protection program. Bucuti went green long before it was trendy, and the resort strives to constantly improve with ongoing projects. In-room sensors were installed to detect occupancy of rooms – when rooms are not occupied, air conditioning units are turned off to save energy, and this fall the resort proactively restricted imported glass and plastic bottles to reduce waste while supporting local bottlers.

All rooms and suites at Bucuti are equipped with separate waste bins for recycling, energy saving lamps and water saving toilets, showerheads and taps.  Wastewater from the toilets flows to the government treatment plant for re-use by businesses and the two golf courses on the island. All-natural cleaning products are used by the housekeeping staff.

IN 2008, BUCUTI WAS OFFICIALLY CERTIFIED GREEN GLOBE 21 FOR THE SIXTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR AND ISO 14001 FOR THE FOURTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR

Bucuti is a major sponsor of Aruba’s Sea Turtle Foundation and Aruba’s chapter of Widecast, a network involved in sea turtle protection; they also sponsor the island’s Reef Care Foundation, and have been utilized as a best practice example for other resorts in the Caribbean, including hotels that are part of large chains. A member of the Eagle Beach Area Coalition for Aruba’s Sustainable Tourism (EBA-CAST), Bucuti was the first in Aruba to achieve Green Globe certification.  In 2008, Bucuti was officially certified Green Globe 21 for the sixth consecutive year and ISO 14001 for the fourth consecutive year.

Barbados

Barbados is promoting nature-based tourism with their Adopt-a-Beach program, informative brochures and pamphlets and citing hotels such as Casuarina for adopting clean operations.  Examples of the ways in which eco-tourism and nature-based tourism are being promoted also include activities of the Future Centre Trust (through their exhibits) and the Environmental Park at Bawden's Nature trail development, proposed Discovery Route System.

Almond Resorts have made it their business to implement programs minimizing use of energy, water and non-renewable resources. They also invite guests, staff and business partners to participate in these efforts to protect and enhance the environment, promote local food, art, crafts, music and culture, as well as to mitigate environmental impacts to precious ecosystems such as tropical forests, mangroves, beaches, sea grass beds, coral reefs and beach vegetation. But most importantly, Almond reviews their environmental policies annually and monitors their performance in order to maintain their continuous commitment.

Cancun, Mexico

HACIENDAS DEL MUNDO MAYA HAVE PLAYED A KEY ROLE IN POVERTY ALLEVIATION AND CULTURAL HERITAGE PRESERVATION

The Haciendas del Mundo Maya are found in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and represent outstanding architecture, historical preservation and one of the world’s most unique and luxurious travel experiences. The partnership between the Grupo Plan Company, Starwood Hotels and Resorts and the Foundation Haciendas del Mundo Maya represents the true meaning of travel and tourism being an Investor in People. Working closely with local Mayan communities, the Haciendas del Mundo Maya have played a key role in poverty alleviation and Mayan cultural heritage preservation.

They have brought literacy training and micro-enterprise development workshops, revived traditional handicraft making and helped to secure legal land ownership for thousands of Mayan villagers. The Haciendas del Mundo Maya are showing how responsible tourism can be a successful business strategy and directly help to alleviate poverty at the same time. As an example of this, the Mayan villagers they work with today own and manage their own businesses which operate in partnership with the Haciendas.

Caymans

Set for completion in March 2009, The Cayman Dive Lodge will be the first completely ‘green’ luxury resort on Grand Cayman island. The property will consist of 12 one-bedroom condominiums, 12 guest rooms/suites, a dive centre and more, all built to meet today’s green standards and designed to support responsible and sustainable eco-tourism. On the East End of Grand Cayman, the lodge is being built of completely recycled materials and powered by solar panels and a wind turbine.  Dive and snorkel trip operators in the Cayman Islands are beginning to use biofuels to power their boats and have proposed plans to make the dive industry carbon neutral over the next five years. DiveTech in Grand Cayman is hydrating their guests with complimentary filtered water during their stay with the purchase of a reusable Sport Bottle. Potentially saving local landfills from over 10,000 plastic bottles each year, visitors can refill their bottles at DiveTech’s dive shops and dive boats.

Island Supply, the island’s main provider of foodservice supplies, paper products and equipment has launched a full line of bamboo disposable products to replace plastic and Styrofoam, and the Cayman Islands Brewery recycles and reuses all of its returned CayBrew bottles.

Also, coming to Grand Cayman, on West Bay, is Lighthouse Point, another environmentally friendly resort that plans to generate 17,000 watts of its own power daily. Lighthouse Point is registered as a member of the US Green Building Council. The U.S. Green Building Council, the US’s foremost coalition of leaders from across the building industry, works to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work.  Lighthouse Point is working to attain LEED® Certification on the Project. The LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System™ is a voluntary, consensus-based US national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. Some of the eco-friendly features of Lighthouse Point include solar lighting, a Skystream wind generator to offset carbon, gas on demand hot water heating, Energy Star appliances, waste water recycling for landscaping, and grey water recycling.

Curacao

Curacao has implemented a plastic bag ban through the cooperation of local supermarkets and the Island Government.  During a recent beach cleanup they found that plastic bags greatly outnumbered the paper removed. Preliminary results of an online survey conducted by Sundial School students indicated that the vast majority of the 90 respondents support a ban on plastic shopping bags. Now new, durable shopping bags are sold at the cost price for one guilder, roughly .60 USD.

This year, the island has also just approved a Deep Sea Air Conditioning Project that begins construction in February, 2009. The project will supply the Piscadera Bay area, which includes the Curacao World Trade Center, the Curacao Marriott, Hilton, Piscadera Bay Resort and Floris Suite Hotel with cold water from the ocean to be utilized for air conditioning.

Dominican Republic

TERRAZAS DE COSON, IN LAS TERRENAS, IS A PRISTINE ECO-RESORT THAT HAS BEEN CREATED TO HAVE LITTLE TO NO ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

Terrazas de Coson, in Las Terrenas on the Samana Peninsula in the Dominican Republic is a pristine eco-chic resort that has been created to have little to no environmental impact while at the same time upholding the desired luxury and design that high end travelers expect. Some of their environmental projects include: managing storm water run-off, solar power, utilizing cisterns to provide water and garden tiled roofs.

Additionally, Las Terrenas, Balcones Del Atlantico, is a second home development which is very involved in bettering their community by educating area school children about pollution and working with experts to preserve the beaches and coral reefs.

Dominica

Dominica’s newest developments are nature-oriented and eco-minded. On the luxury end, opening in late January 2009 is Rosalie Bay - A Nature Resort built on a 22-acre plot along a black-sand beach that is a “prime nesting area” for endangered turtles. The resort also features a utility-scale wind turbine and has a micro hydro-electricity system to supplement its green solar power.  The resort will compost all kitchen and garden waste, and use that compost to help grow as much organic food as can be eaten at the eco lodge. The resort plans to minimize water consumption, with grey water going through grease traps used in the garden. As well, campers will use dry toilets. Whenever possible, the staff purchases local, recycled and used biodegradable products, and plans to keep its waste products to a minimum.

Employees are from local villages, and will be trained in sustainable living tenets. The resort will offer a number of community-based ecotourism activities and will showcase environmentally sound practices such as the hosting of free school eco-education visits and providing guided tours and workshops to all interested parties. The tours will include explanations of renewable energy, organic farming, and the sustainable lifestyle in general. The resort plans to become involved in various local community projects, too.

Puerto Rico

Trump International Golf Club & Residences, Puerto Rico (TIPR) is another eco-sensitive property pursuing the LEED certification and has focused its efforts on elements that will make an impact on generating an environmentally respectful resort. These efforts include: energy conservation, pollution reduction, water treatment and conservation of mangroves. They are also studying the use of solar-packages for use in the Estate Homes, and have hired experts to employ Hydrogen producing technology to power electric generators for storm backup. At the foothills of the El Yunque Rainforest, TIPR covers 1000 acres of land and represents a $600 million dollar investment in its ultimate luxury residences. To keep this investment perpetually green, TIPR has implemented pollution control measures minimizing soil erosion, controlling dust emissions and prevention of oil spills to any bodies of water. Plans include utilizing its own recycled water to irrigate the PGA Tour Golf Course, and to protect the growth of mangroves. So far, the project has established 100 acres of mangrove and wetland areas as a conservation easement and planted 7,000 new trees and palms.

FIRST GOLF COURSE IN THE ENTIRE CARIBBEAN REGION TO ACHIEVE CERTIFICATION THROUGH AUDUBON COOPERATIVE SANCTUARY PROGRAM

St. Kitts

The Royal St. Kitts Golf Course, operated by Marriott Golf, continues to function in keeping with the island’s principles for sustainable tourism development, having implemented a variety of programs that led to the course becoming the first golf course in the entire Caribbean region to achieve certification through the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses. Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuaries enables golf facilities to protect the environment by enhancing precious natural areas and wildlife habitats.  In order to achieve Audubon Certification a golf facility is required to demonstrate that it is maintaining the highest degree of environmental quality in several areas, including Environmental Planning, Wildlife and Habitat Management, Outreach and Education, Chemical Use Reduction and Safety, Water Conservation, and Water Quality Management.

As part of the property’s overall green efforts, one of the programs the Royal St. Kitts Golf Club implemented to demonstrate its commitment to environmental stewardship was the installation of Seashore Papsalum during golf course construction.  Seashore Papsalum, a specialized turf grass that utilizes alternative water sources, enables the Club to use a combination of storm, recycled, and seawater to irrigate the golf course, therefore conserving natural water supplies. 

The Beach House restaurant opened on May 20, 2008.  Tucked under the swaying palms of one of St. Kitts’ most beautiful beaches with panoramic views of the Caribbean Sea and Nevis, the Beach House exudes island elegance throughout its 60-seat restaurant, 30-seat lounge and private rooftop lounge. Completely transformed in an extensive refurbishment by new owners/management, this restaurant retains its authentic atmosphere and maintains sustainable practices such as advanced wastewater treatment, seaweed collection and composting for reuse in landscaping and solar hot water heating.   

In fact, several of St. Kitts’ new resort developments have demonstrated a commitment to environmentally-friendly and sustainable practices in keeping with strict government requirements.  They each have been designed to complement the landscape and preserve the character, key attributes and natural environment that set the island apart from others.  Currently in the planning or construction phases and employing various eco-friendly practices are Ocean’s Edge, Kittitian Hill and the Christophe Harbour Development on St. Kitts’ Southeast Peninsula.   Underwater, divers and snorkelers, who above all, seek the tranquility and beauty of the underwater world, praise St. Kitts for the pristine condition of its coral reefs, its numerous historic shipwrecks, and colorful marine life.  A glimpse of life under water reveals a distinctly serene setting, as the island also boasts dozens of marked dive sites that include shoals, hot water vents and swim-throughs.

With the objective of sustain and enhancing this environment. the island has been working with the respected marine conservation organizations C.O.R.A.L. (the Coral Reef Alliance) and Philippe Cousteau’s EarthEcho on a comprehensive assessment of the conditions of the reefs and ecosystems in the waters surrounding St. Kitts.  The island’s goal is to create Marine Protected Areas, which will help preserve and protect its marine environment for now and years to come through strict regulations and policies.
 
AN AMERICAN OCEANIC RAINFOREST, ONE OF THE RAREST TYPES FOUND ON THE PLANET … IT’S ACTUALLY EXPANDING RATHER THAN SHRINKING!

On land, St Kitts is well known for its lush and picturesque central mountain chain, which rises to nearly 4,000 ft at its highest point and is covered by a verdant, thriving rainforest.  To help protect this precious natural asset, the St. Kitts and Nevis National Parliament has declared all land above the 1,000 ft contour to be a National Forest Reserve, effectively protecting most of the island’s lush rainforest.  Classified as an American Oceanic Rainforest, it is one of the rarest types found on the entire planet and it’s actually expanding rather than shrinking!  Those who choose to venture into the rainforest on one of many winding trails will be embraced by a canopy of rich green leaves sprinkled with brightly colored flowers and the soothing sounds of nature.  

Turks and Caicos

Turks & Caicos Sporting Club (TCSC) is an exclusive, private island residential community on the pristine Caribbean island of Ambergris Cay located 50 miles south of Providenciales that has been created by DPS Sporting Club Development (DPS). All DPS projects are heavily focused on environmentally conservative planning, construction and sustainable development. With over 30% of the 1,100 acre island preserved as natural space, eight miles of unspoiled beachfront and breathtaking flats and reefs for world-class bone fishing (all catch and release), deep water and blue water fishing, Turks & Caicos Sporting Club is an environmental paradise.

With the recent opening of the Environmental Learning Center with resident Staff Naturalists, all members of the sporting club are invited to learn what they can do to preserve and conserve Ambergris Cay’s natural flora and fauna (including the native Rock Island iguana and the Turks’ Head Cactus). Two of our internationally involved projects include working closely with Dr. Glen Gerber of The San Diego Zoo to preserve and relocate some of Ambergris Cay’s native Rock Iguanas to uninhabited Cays for repopulation.

Presently, this extinct population thrives on Ambergris Cay because of the lack of feral animals and the preservation measures to relocate them will significantly increase the populations of this almost extinct species.  The second project of TCSC is also in partnership with The Royal Kew Gardens of London, working closely to preserve a variety of seeds from a selection of plant species found on Ambergris Cay to store in The Millennium Seed Bank (MSB).The MSB is a worldwide effort dedicated to safeguarding 24,000 endangered plant species from around the globe. In addition, Turks & Caicos Sporting Club also has set the standard for recycling programs in the TCI, by implementing two programs: one, specifically collecting all glass used on-island and two, ensuring that all waste water is filtered and reused in landscaping.  

Education and conservation of Ambergris Cay doesn’t stop on island, as resident Environmental Learning Center Naturalists travel to the nearby island of Providenciales to educate Primary School students on the importance of environmental awareness through an exotic show and demonstrate the story by using a Bahama Boa Constrictor and a Curly Tailed Lizard.  All children have taken part in an Algae Dissection program and have discovered the natural wonders indigenous to their home country of the Turks and Caicos Islands. This is currently extinct on islands other than Ambergris Cay.

NEVIS WILL BE THE FIRST CARIBBEAN COUNTRY TO BE 100% SELF-SUFFICIENT WITH RENEWABLE POWER FROM UNDERGROUND ENERGY SOURCES.

Nevis

The major ecological initiative that began this year is a project undertaken by West Indies Power (WIP) and the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) to capture geothermal power at five viable sites across Nevis.  The first site, Nevis 1, at Spring Hill, blasted steam with temperatures of approximately 480 degrees Fahrenheit from a depth of 3,720 feet beneath the surface of the earth on June 2nd, marking a geothermal milestone.  Since that time two other drill sites, Nevis 2 and 3, have also proven viable.  

Based on the success of this drilling, WIP will construct a geothermal power plant capable of generating hundreds of megawatts of electricity, enough to fulfil the entire energy demand for Nevis and St. Kitts and will also allow Nevis to export power to other islands in the region. Once completed, this project will make Nevis the first Caribbean country to be 100% self-sufficient with renewable power from underground energy sources.  

During the summer of 2008, Four Seasons Resort Nevis’ Kids for All Seasons Center hosted the island’s Third Annual Sea Turtle Camp in conjunction with the experts at Nevis Turtle Group and the nonprofit Caribbean Conservation Corporation.  The team delivered an award-winning educational program, open to children from nine to sixteen years who had not previously attended the camp.  The three-day program was complimentary.

Earlier this year, the Nevis Air and Sea Ports Authority installed 100 environmentally friendly moorings along the leeward coast for visiting yachts. This will negate the need for boats to anchor and do untold damage to the fragile sea bed in the most desirable anchorages. In 2008, the Nevis Historical Conservation Society helped fund the Nevis Solid Waste Management Department (NSWMD) in their efforts to purchase a compressing machine. This machine will enable the NSWMD to package tires, plastic bottles and cardboard for shipment to recycling outlets. While “going green” can be a heavy financial burden, the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives has also helped contribute EC $107,527 (approx. $40,272) to Nevis’ recycling efforts.

St. Thomas

A short boat ride from St Thomas will take you to a new green resort known as Virgin Islands Campground on Water Island. Very eco friendly, with wood-frame and canvas cottages overlooking the soothing sea, some of its sustainable efforts include: three wind generators operating lighting and refrigeration; composting toilets (waterless); use of composite decking materials; solar heated water for the showers and hot tub; water saving shower/sink faucets; grey water collection; rain water collection; recycling aluminum cans (the only product recycled in the Virgin Islands), and encouraging on island transportation modes such as biking and walking, although ferry and beach pick-up are available.

The Role of the Tourist

So the Caribbean has not been resting on her beautiful laurels, and has made some important strides in preserving her natural heritage. As travelers, however, we cannot let the island governments, people, and developers shoulder all of the responsibility. We owe it to ourselves, and the countries we love to visit, to do our own share in shaping the future of our planet.

Here are some initiatives that allow tourists to measure their own carbon footprints, book with responsible tourism companies and hotels, and maintain a healthier world while traveling:

•    One of the most impressive travel websites focusing on sustainable hotels and resorts around the world is Whole Travel. Currently, they show 120 properties that meet their criteria in the Caribbean alone.

Whole Travel’s definition of sustainable travel is “visiting incredible places, meeting great people and creating memorable experiences and adventures. Whole Travel helps you minimize your ecological footprint and support local socioeconomic growth while you’re enjoying an amazing trip.”

•    Ethical Escape is another website focused solely on environmentally friendly tourism companies. All of the properties and holidays selected for their website have indicated that they meet at least five out of the six guidelines outlined by the International Centre for Responsible Tourism.

•    Founded in 2002, Sustainable Travel International (STI) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, dedicated to providing education and outreach services that help travelers, travel providers and related organizations support environmental conservation and protect cultural heritage while promoting cross-cultural understanding and economic development.

•    Another site featuring eco-tourism is responsibletravel.com. Responsibletravel.com provides a directory of carefully screened holidays run by hundreds of specialist operators and accommodations. All the holidays have been screened to ensure that they increase the benefits of your holiday to local people, while minimizing any negative environmental impacts in the destination. Responsibletravel.com offers Travelers Philanthropy and a Green Travel Market, as well as carbon offsets and eco certification.

•    For cultural eco-tours and guided adventures, check out Amerika Venture

•    The Earthwatch Institute offers expeditions throughout the world, evaluating critical issues with leading environmental researchers.

In a recent interview with Andy Dumain of shrinkingfootprint.com, a strategic marketing firm, Andy pointed out some of the islands he has been successfully assisting with the development of sustainable tourism. He explained, ”At the end of the day, how every nation chooses to implement sustainable tourism policy is up to them. The Cayman Islands is working on an excellent voluntourism program for cruise ship passengers.   Grand Bahama is developing a culinary trail that will increase direct spend opportunity between visitor and residents.   Dominica has an excellent hiking program.   Any program that encourages a more meaningful connection between visitor and residents is an exciting step in the right direction.  This is the most dynamic time to be in tourism.”

THE REGION HAS ENCOURAGED THE WORLD TO FALL IN LOVE WITH THE CARIBBEAN FOR HER BODY WHILE IGNORING HER MIND, SMILE, PASSION, COOKING, COMMUNITY, SENSE OF PEACE AND JOY OF LIFE

Andy went on to say that it is all about engagement. “Engagement is the currency of tourism.  Everything else is just business.  I’ve visited too many places where the visitors are only skimming the surface.  Sun, sea, sand and lots of frozen cocktails do not differentiate.  Every time an island serves up an experience a visitor can get anywhere, it is one less reason to be there.  For too long the region has encouraged the world to fall in love with the Caribbean for her body while ignoring her mind, smile, passion, cooking, community, sense of peace and joy of life.”

When Andy was asked if sustainable tourism will make any impact on the struggling tourism industry during these tough financial times he replied, “Sustainable tourism is the best shock absorber for difficult economic times.  Sustainable travelers travel because it is in their DNA.   Status quo tourism caters to price sensitive, opportunistic travelers who travel because they have a $10 coupon.   Mass tourists will be the first to stay home when price and convenience disappear.  Sustainable travelers will be the last travelers standing.  The sooner destinations develop meaningful relationships with sustainable travelers the better. “ 

So regardless of the project or amount of money spent, sustainable tourism is here to stay and it can no longer be perceived as “a good thing to do,” but a necessity. As Andy said, let us love the Caribbean for all of her attributes, not just her body.

Author: Lea Ann Fessenden-Joseph is no stranger to the Caribbean. Employed by American Airlines for 27 years, she spent most of that time traveling the world and in particular, the Caribbean. She is now living on the beautiful island of St Lucia and is a freelance writer for several ezines.

Email : Lea Ann Fessenden-Joseph

There were 6 endangered Kemp's Ridley sea turtles and 2 green sea turtles brought to the Animal Kingdom by Disney's Animal Programs research scientist and veterinarian Dr. Andy Stamper.

The turtles were saved from enduring the poisonous effect of the oil any longer, and will be receiving top notch care and rehabilitation. Disney's goal is to re-release the turtles back into the wild, but not before undergoing intense treatment for the next several months. Disney isn't stopping there, however. They will continue to offer assistance where they can to save other animals from the oil spill.

They are equipped to handle turtles and birds affected by the spill at their facilities in Animal Kingdom. The Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund has donated $100,000 to help with environmental and animal rescue efforts. Sign-up for daily Magical Mountain Disney news email Have you missed any Disney news from the past? Visit our Disney news archive to help you get your magical news of Disney days of yore. Follow Magical Mountain on facebook and twitter. Get great deals on everthing online by following Blue Sky Media Solutions Deals twitter.

TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes.

Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on design, Jill Bolte Taylor on observing her own stroke, Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child, Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, Bill Gates on malaria and mosquitoes and "Lost" producer JJ Abrams on the allure of mystery. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Watch the Top 10 TEDTalks on TED.com, at http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/top10

In some cases, the Coast Guard approved BP’s requests even though the company did not set an upper limit on the amount of dispersant it planned to use.

The dispersants contributed to “a toxic stew of chemicals, oil and gas, with impacts that are not well understood,” Representative Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts, the Democratic chairman of the House Subcommittee on Energy and Environment, wrote in a letter sent late Friday to Thad W. Allen, the retired Coast Guard admiral who is leading the federal response to the oil spill.

In a conference call on Saturday morning, Admiral Allen and Lisa P. Jackson, the E.P.A. administrator, said they had worked together closely and had come very near to achieving the agency’s goal of reducing dispersant amounts by 75 percent.

On May 26, the E.P.A. directed BP to stop using dispersants on the ocean surface, except in “rare cases when there may have to be an exemption,” and to limit use of the chemicals underwater.

But Mr. Markey’s letter pointed to more than 74 exemption requests in 48 days, of which all but 10 were fully approved by the Coast Guard. In some cases, BP asked for permission after it had already applied the chemicals, the letter said. And in one case, the Coast Guard approved the use of a larger volume of dispersants than the company had applied for.

As an example of the conflicting numbers, Mr. Markey said that in a request filed on June 16, BP told the Coast Guard that in the previous several days it had used a maximum of 3,365 gallons of dispersant in a single day. But in e-mails to members of Congress giving updates on the spill response, the company said it had used 14,305 gallons of dispersant on June 12 and 36,000 gallons on June 13.

Admiral Allen and Ms. Jackson said they had reduced dispersant use by 72 percent. “In any government program I’ve worked in, that’s pretty significant progress,” Admiral Allen said.

Admiral Allen said his agency would try to reconcile the conflicting numbers that were issued during what he called “the equivalent of an environmental war.”

The two officials said the government would conduct a postmortem evaluation of the effectiveness of skimming, burning and spreading dispersants to determine what had worked best.

But Ms. Jackson said, “There’s absolutely no doubt that use of dispersants was one of several essential tools to mitigate this spill’s impact.”

A spokesman for BP, Scott Dean, also said he could not respond in detail because the company had not seen Mr. Markey’s letter. But he said, “From the outset we’ve operated in a unified command that has included E.P.A. and the Coast Guard.”

Mr. Dean said BP had worked “hand in glove” with the two agencies on dispersant decisions. Under the “joint command” structure set up in the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, the federal government and the oil company mount a response to a spill.

While it was known that BP continued the use of surface dispersant after the May 26 directive, it was not clear how much was being used. According to the documents analyzed by the committee, the company did cut back substantially on the use of underwater dispersants after the directive was issued.

The E.P.A. and the Coast Guard have both described the use of the dispersants as a trade-off. The chemicals break down blobs of oil into smaller droplets that are easier for naturally occurring bacteria to digest. But they can also have harmful effects on marine animals. And if the dispersants are too successful and allow a proliferation of bacteria, the bacteria can use up all the oxygen in the water and kill the fish and other organisms.

In testimony before Congress on July 15, Ms. Jackson said her agency had been looking for signs of unusually low oxygen levels and had not found them.

In his letter, Mr. Markey said the May 26 directive had “become more of a meaningless paperwork exercise than an attempt to abide by the directive and eliminate surface applications of chemical dispersants.”

In fact, other government correspondence disclosed by Mr. Markey indicates a dispute within the E.P.A. about the proper use of dispersants. At one point, the Dallas regional office of the agency agreed that the incident command center, run by the Coast Guard and BP, should get blanket approval to use 5,000 gallons of dispersant a day, to “improve operational efficiency.”

But the next day, the Dallas office rescinded that policy, saying that the center should make a request each evening about the amount it wanted to use the next day and that the agency would make a decision overnight.

Mr. Markey said that while the agency said on May 26 that applications for surface dispersant use should be rare, the Coast Guard, in approving the applications, cited routine factors like there being too much oil to skim. 

"After 100 days at sea," David de Rothschild suggests, "you realise that it should be called planet Ocean rather than planet Earth." De Rothschild is speaking from the island of New Caledonia – "an odd little bit of France in the South Seas" – the night before his boat, the Plastiki, embarks on the final leg of a voyage that should finish in Sydney harbour in a fortnight.

The Plastiki, a revolutionary catamaran, is kept afloat by 12,500 plastic bottles in its hulls; the "eco-adventure" has been designed to draw attention to our systematic pollution and over-fishing of oceans. In the three and a half months since De Rothschild, the refusenik 31-year-old son of the banking dynasty, and his crew of five set out from San Francisco they have discovered many things, but mainly, he says, they have learned about the sea, about its power and about its fragility.

The power was amply demonstrated on the leg of the journey just completed, the 1,700 miles from Samoa, during which the vessel's unconventional construction was rigorously tested by 13ft swells and 35-knot winds for days on end. It is hard not to be reminded of your insignificance in the universe, De Rothschild says, when hanging off the side of a yacht made partly of plastic bottles, 1,000 miles from land in the pitch dark, while the Pacific breaks over you.

The ocean's fragility they witnessed in the place where much of the world's discarded plastic ends up, the "eastern garbage patch". This, the focus of their voyage, is a floating "continent" of debris. Nothing that the crew had read in advance could prepare them for what they found navigating an area twice as large as the North Sea. "You don't see it at first," De Rothschild says. "But when you get into the sea, and under the water, you realise that it is all like a soup, millions and millions of tiny fragments of plastic, suspended in the water. It is mostly microscopic, but once your eye adjusts you start to see the reflectiveness of some of the larger pieces. The red fragments stand out most clearly."

The garbage patch was first identified 12 years ago within the "North Pacific gyre" – a vortex where the ocean circulates slowly because of light wind and extreme high pressure systems. Oceanographers have since suggested that perhaps 100 million tonnes of plastic are held in suspension in these waters. One of the things that the Plastiki voyage has demonstrated is just how durable modern polymers are: the pressurised bottles of its hull have hardly been knocked out of shape, let alone broken up by the 8,000-mile voyage. "That's why just about every plastic bottle that has been made still exists," De Rothschild says.

The voyage has been overshadowed by the more graphic pollution of the BP oil spill, but even that is dwarfed by the scale of the problem the Plastiki highlights. While the deaths of seabirds and marine life in the Gulf of Mexico are still being measured in the hundreds, according to the UN Environment Programme, plastic debris causes the deaths of more than a million seabirds every year, and more than 100,000 marine mammals. Back in 2006, the UN concluded that every square mile of ocean contains 46,000 pieces of floating plastic. Since then the problem has only grown.

"One of the difficulties in conveying it to people," De Rothschild says, "is that you can't photograph it, the flecks are too small. What perhaps makes it most relevant and real for individuals is the health aspect of it. These particles are ingested by marine life and pass into our food chain. We all do it: we throw this stuff, this packaging, what I call dumb plastic, into the bin, and we think it has gone. But it comes back to us one way or another. Some of it ends up on our dinner plates."

The voyage was inspired by Thor Heyerdahl's Pacific journey on the Kon-Tiki in 1947. Olav Heyerdahl, the Norwegian explorer's grandson, has been aboard for part of the Plastiki adventure. The comparison between the two voyages illustrates other aspects of the ocean's fragility, De Rothschild believes.

"When you watch the film of Kon-Tiki and read Heyerdahl's account, you are struck by how alive the ocean seemed then," he says. "They were literally having to throw fish off the raft." That has not been the Plastiki experience at all. "For us it has been much more, where is everybody? We have seen a couple of dolphins, a couple of distant whales, a few flying fish, [but] other than that, nothing." Heyerdahl could survive on fish, but on board the Plastiki they have caught only a couple of tuna in three months, despite having their lines in the water every day. "When you start reading about 80% of the world's fish stocks being gone, it's hard to believe," De Rothschild says. "But then you come out here."

Even in the middle of the world's largest ocean it is hard to avoid some of the habits that have created the problem. At Christmas Island, where much of the food arrives in American packaging, "popsicle bags are a scourge". On Samoa, villages compete over recycling plans, but as soon as villagers were out of their backyard De Rothschild watched young and old throwing plastic bottles into the sea.

One of the more gratifying aspects of the voyage has been the way that the message seems to have been communicated. Plastiki has a vivid ship-to-shore blog – "talking about the ocean from the ocean" – and there has been excitement wherever they have docked. In New Caledonia, De Rothschild says, perhaps three quarters of the people who have seen the boat in the harbour said they had read about it and supported the project. That didn't stop him witnessing one "supporter" subsequently chucking bags full of rubbish over the side of his boat. "None of us likes the idea of fouling our own nest," he says. "But we are not good at thinking of the whole world as our nest."

The Plastiki team do not do pessimism, though sometimes De Rothschild admits he feels like he is banging his head against a brick wall. Their own on board efforts at self-sufficiency have gone well, composting waste, powering batteries with a mixture of solar panels and bicycle-powered turbines. Even so, he is confronted by the fact that, however good your intentions, it is hard to live a life without plastic. When we speak, De Rothschild has just done the shopping for the Sydney leg of the voyage. In the supermarket all the vegetables and all the salad were wrapped in plastic. "It's like a disease," he says. "But we have to believe the argument can be won. Getting rid of dumb plastic, bags in particular, could be a very simple piece of legislation; making supermarkets use reusables is not so hard."

The crew's website is full of stories of people "doing their own Plastiki", pledging to eliminate plastic bottles from their school or workplace, or creating a zero waste policy. De Rothschild hopes the voyage can be a metaphor for this. "We are just a bunch of citizens, we are not scientists or marine biologists, but we want to show that if we work together we can do something."

That sense of teamwork has no doubt been tested on board the catamaran. I saw the Plastiki in San Francisco before it set off, and was struck by how limited the space was – a tiny geodesic dome of cabin – not least for the 6ft 4in de Rothschild: how have they coped?

"Usually you are so exhausted by the end of the day that you could sleep anywhere," he says. "It's a really odd contrast, you are on this tiny platform and yet you have this enormous space around you. It becomes a little dance, in a way: you are fantastically aware of the other people, how they move. But we have a rule that if you say 'fuck, you are annoying me', which we all do, then it has to be done in a spirit of jest."

Sydney is not so far away, but there are some rough seas and weather forecast, so he is trying not to look too far ahead. "It will be a chapter over," he says. "But we are only just beginning to get this message across. The boat will go around the world, I hope, as a symbol of that. I feel, in every sense, that we are in the calm before the storm."

Humans are remarkable problem solvers. We have found cures for polio and smallpox, landed on the moon and likely within a decade humans will visit Mars. There is every reason to believe that also within the coming decade we will make a remarkable transition away from being totally dependant upon fossil fuels by entering the Age of Energy Transformation.

Plumes of crude oil filled with 40 percent methane, which are still gushing one mile beneath the ninth-largest body of water on the globe, have killed at least a trillion forms of life — and this senseless and deplorable destruction bitterly reminds us that oil and gas are toxic and finite.

For any addiction, and make no mistake we are all currently addicted to oil, gas, coal and plastic (a petroleum byproduct) — we must first admit it. The second step is remembering that for every problem there are at least three solutions.

There are more than 6.8 billion people on Earth, and unless our species carefully plans for the future we will be exposed to risks that threaten our existence. At this very moment we have left deep footprints all over the globe from the Gulf of Mexico to the tar sands of northern Alberta to the deforestation of the Amazon and the dismantling of the largest remaining temperate rain forest along the coast of British Columbia.

Necessity is the mother of invention and if $18 billion per annum tax credits are directed away from the offshore drillers and coal producers and redirected to kick-start renewable, green energy technologies, we have not only a very bright future, but millions of jobs to look forward to in the next 10 years.

Let me remind you that disruptive technology has occurred at least twice in the past 100 years benefitting humankind.

For instance, Ford’s Model T disrupted the horse and buggy and the silicon microchip disrupted millions of stenographers, enabling each of us the opportunity to own a personal computer. Renewable, green technologies will disrupt our oil, gas and coal energy dependencies.

Change is opportunity in disguise. Business leaders like Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Bank of America’s Chairman Chad Holliday and top venture capitalist John Doerr and many others in the American Energy Innovation Council all agree that the U.S. government needs to significantly increase funding for more efficient green technologies and develop a national plan to deploy it.

The United States has excellent colleges with access to a potent pool of brainpower. Centers of Excellence marrying corporate America with strategic college alliance will work toward replacing our current carbon-based oil and gas energy sources.

Coal-fired power plants each use at least 2.2 billion gallons of fresh water each year, and the southern half of America is drying out rapidly. Moreover, each year between 5 and 10 tons of mercury vapor are entering Earth’s atmosphere from burning coal; 18 months later, it rains onto the Arctic ice. More ice than ever is melting and a known deleterious toxin — mercury — is entering our oceans and our food chain. More than 3.5 billion people rely on fish as their only source of daily protein.

Plastics are choking the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. The U.S. produces 15 billion pounds of plastic annually, and only 1 percent is recycled. The chemical titan DuPont is using corn-based polymers as a substitute for conventional plastics. The international agriculture conglomerate Cargil has developed a replacement for oil-based foams in cushions from soybeans.

A landmark decision earlier this year enabling offshore wind farms to be deployed across America opens up a brand new horizon to capture wind and power our cities. This will enable 27 coastal states that use 73 percent of the energy in America to begin harvesting renewable wind power. A recent study clearly showed that by connecting wind farms with long-haul DC transmission lines, they could overcome the biggest downside of wind power: intermittency.

Every hour the sun bathes the Earth with as much energy as all human civilization uses in an entire year. Innovations in the burgeoning solar industry have an enormous role to play in the carbon-free, green-energy field.

General Electric and Google have partnered together on a “smart” electricity grid including storage points with computerization management overlays allowing the new grid to intelligently deploy the energy along the way, enabling users to manage electricity more efficiently, with significant lower emissions, while America begins changing over its petroleum-based energy to green technologies.

Efficiency is an essential short-term bridge to innovation, which requires a federal government capital investment of at least $18 billion a year.

There are many lessons we have learned from the BP Deepwater Horizon blowout; it’s time to put aside partisan investments and make a strong, bold commitment to a made-in-America solution.

Reese Halter is a conservation biologist at Cal Lutheran University who has been following the oil spill since its beginning.

Sylvia Earle, Mission Blue

Sylvia Earle, who has been called “Her Deepness” by The New Yorker and a “Living Legend” by the Library of Congress, has logged more than 6,000 hours underwater and led more than 50 ocean expeditions. Earle said the actual Gulf of Mexico, which is the 9th largest body of water on earth, has received less attention than the coastal marshes. She showed a video of coral birth, illustrating the diversity and complexity of the ocean ecosystems within the Gulf. The Gulf’s Flower Garden Banks and underwater salt dunes provide important habitat. The Ewing Bank is a key habitat for whale sharks, and other areas provide key mating grounds for blue fin tuna, now an endangered species.

On the oil spill, Earle said it won’t be long before the loop current will pick up the oil and dispersants and move them up the East coast and towards the Gulf Stream, and then eventually towards the critical Sargasso Sea, a “floating golden sea.”

While we now have Google Earth, space observation systems, and other powerful ocean monitoring tools, she said we’ve gotten these great tools only ”because we’ve burned through all our assets. It took billions of years to produce these fossil fuels.” These fossil fuels have also “driven us to a magical crossroads of understanding” — whether we use this new understanding to chart a more sustainable path using renewable energies is still not certain.

Learn more about Mission Blue, and watch an earlier TED talk on one of their expeditions.

Susan Shaw, Marine Environmental Research Institute

Dr. Susan Shaw, a marine toxicologist and head of the Marine Environmental Research Institute, said the dispersants will have a major impact on marine life. Worldwide, oceans now function as global pollution sinks, and more than 1/3 of all ocean mammals are in danger of going extinct. Each ocean animal is already loaded with chemical compounds. To study this, Shaw has been working on a program, Seals as Sentinels, a region-wide eco-toxicological investigation, which has looked at a range of chemicals in seals. She found that brominated flame retardants are among the most hazardous chemicals found in seal tissue. Flame retardants are used “in everything” in the U.S. (Shaw joked that at least the seals won’t catch on fire anytime soon).  

Even among the U.S. human population, chemical compounds are found at a much higher rate, some 10-40 times higher, than in Europe. “We have looser regulations than the E.U. In the U.S., most chemicals aren’t regulated properly. Each year, an additional 20,000 new chemicals are created and go through mimimal review process before they are released and used in products.”

Shaw actually jumped into oil slicked-Gulf of Mexico water wearing only a wetsuit in an effort to understand the effects firsthand. A few days later, Shaw got a wretched sore throat. From her view, she saw a “web of death as you go down the water column.” Shaw said someone decided that it was a case of wetlands vs. oceans and decided to save the wetlands by using ocean-based dispersants — up to 2 million gallons of Corexit. She said clean-up workers haven’t been passing out on boats because of heat stroke, as has been reported by officials, but because of the toxic fumes that come off of Corexit.

“Corexit is the most toxic line of dispersants. It gives off volatile petroleum fumes.” She said direct human exposure to Corexit 9527, the formula that has been used the most, “causes internal bleeding.” Now that BP has run out of 9527, the 9500 formula is now being used. “These dispersants break down lipid membranes, making it easier to pass through skin and organs in wildlife.” Shaw added that ”Corexit has also been known to cause birth defects and mutations.”

The Gulf of Mexico includes 33 wildlife refuges, where protected wildlife will be impacted. “Corals will get hit hard. Corexit inhibits coral fertilization by 100 percent.” Plankton and plankton eaters, piscivorous fish, and other fish species will face catastrophic impacts. “For fish, when Corexit hits their membranes, it will feel like they’ve got pnemonia.” For air breathing mammals like dolphins and whales, the problem will be every time they come up for air they will breathe in toxic Corexit fumes. “It’s like a chemical pnemonia.”

Shaw said the U.S. needs to change its lifestyle and move towards an alternative energy system. Learn more about her research.

Carl Safina, Blue Ocean Institute

Dr. Carl Safina, a prominent ecologist and president of the Blue Ocean Institute, said the use of dispersants means that “we can’t clean, touch, or deal with this huge mess. We can’t suppress what’s going on.” Dispersants have been used to “hide the body” of the oil spill.

Safina thinks the spill will be catastrophic for marine life. He got very emotional talking about a dolphin seen by a fisherman. Apparently, the dolphin was spurting oil from its blowhole. “The dolphin came up to the boat, which they apparently never do, as if to ask for help.”

He called the spill a “hemispheric issue that will have enormous biological effects.” Safina was highly critical of the “lack of response plan and equipment,” saying that booms aren’t made for use in the open ocean. “Booming a bird colony doesn’t do it. Birds make a living by diving in the water in search for food.” Instead, ecologists should just “destroy their nests so they don’t come back for a year.” He also said it was great that birds are getting cleaned, but then they are sent back to the oil slicked ocean. “It’s like cleaning up someone coming out of a burning house and then sending them back in.”

Safina was highly critical of BP, arguing that “this was not an accident, but negligence.” He had strong words for the Mineral Management Service (MMS), saying it “failed” and was the result of a ”culture of deregulation.” This is just an example of “government bought out by big private enterprise. The regulatory failures were much like those that caused the financial crisis.”

He concluded that people are “still lighting things on fire for energy,” using the same stone age-energy technology. Calling for a move towards renewable energy, Safina said “energy is always a moral issue.” 

On moving towards a new energy system, Mike Tidwell, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, said the 4,000 oil rigs in the Gulf that access some 32,000 wells, a “galaxy of wells,” can be replaced with more efficient offshore wind farms. In fact, the state of Virginia just concluded that its offshore wind capacity could provide energy for 3.6 million cars. Reid Detchon, UN Foundation, called for a shift in subsidies towards renewable energy. Jigar Shah, Carbon War Room, and founder of SunEdison, said “50 percent of all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions can be profitably eliminated with today’s technology.” Klaus Lackner, Earth Institute, Columbia University, said we can use “synthetic trees” to strip carbon from the air.

Also, of interest: Google is using its data management capabilities to supportcrisis response in the Gulf of Mexico. Peter Geineke, Google Data Engineer, said Google is “building tools to surface near-real time data.” Google aims to collect and publish all relevant data sets, enabling ecology researchers to share and mash-up data. “Some data isn’t available or hasn’t been made available,” Geineke added.

Lastly, the X Prize announced a campaign to raise $10 million and create a new contest for a fix for the oil spill clean up. “We are looking for clean-up and bioremediation innovation. In contrast with other X prizes, this one will be dynamic.” The X Prize is still looking for ways to frame the prize. E-mail concepts to francis@xprize.com

Go to the TED Oil Spill Web site to learn more and watch videos.

Image credit: Extent of oil spill as seen via satelitte, mid-May 2010 / NASA

The incident for me, personally, brought up memories of the Santa Barbara, Califorina oil spill.  At the time of the Santa Barbara oil spill, I was attending college a few miles down the road in Thousand Oaks, California.  At the time the 11 days to cap the spill seemed like an eternity and the 200,000 gallons spread out on a 800 mile slick seemed hard to comprehend.   The numbers of this oil spill now seem to be dwarfed by the mammoth spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Some have noted that it was the Santa Barbara Oil spill that was the catalyst for the first Earth Day and the passage of several new environmental laws such as the National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and more.   We even had a U.S. President in the 70’s calling for a reduction in oil imports, increased conservation, energy efficiency, use of renewable energies, the creation of the new Solar Energy Research Institute and symbolic solar panels put on the White House roof.   

But then we faced new leadership in the form of Ronald Reagan who as one of his first acts symbolically took down the solar panels off the White House, and put more emphasis on oil, gas, and nuclear power and less on conservation, efficiency, and renewables.  Reagan told the American people what they wanted to hear, that there would be no need for sacrifices or changing lifestyles as President Carter had suggested.  Ever since no American President has had the courage to try to change course as Jimmy Carter did.  The result, our oil imports from Carter through Bush have doubled from 5 million barrels a day to 10 million barrels a day according to the U.S. Energy Administration.  See: http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=MCRIMUS2&f=A

Despite many warning signs such as the Three Mile Island accident (1979), the Exxon Valdez incident (1989), the Prudhoe Bay oil spill (2006), and several tragic refinery fires and mine disasters, the nation continues to pursue an unsustainable and increasingly dangerous energy policy.   Not even the Pentagon commissioned report published in the book Brittle Power by Amory Lovins, released in 2001 after the 9/11 attacks, warned of the national security threats of U.S. energy policy was enough for politicians to change course.

So now we have the inevitable result of a  poorly regulated energy industry, who has been taking increasing risks, to satisfy the increasing fossil fuel appetite of Americans, the tragic Gulf oil spill.

The losses are incredible and include destruction of wetlands, sea grasses, and other important ecosystems, the destruction of thousands of birds with the risk of more to come when the migratory season beings this Fall and birds return from the North, the loss of human life with the deaths of those killed on the oil rig explosion, the increasing number of health problems being reported, the loss and end for some of their family heritage of fishing, the loss of tourist dollars, and the loss of jobs, to name a few.  Consider the following:

• Over 40% of the U.S. fragile wetlands are in danger.
• Louisiana is already estimating 12,000 in job loss and that is just the beginning.
• The U.S. Government has already declared Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama a  fishery disaster and closed 30% of the Gulf of Mexico to Fishing.  Louisiana alone supplies 40% of the U.S. seafood supply, a $2.4 billion industry employing 27,000 people.
• According to John Hofmeister, an ex-CEO from Shell Oil, the offshore moratorium could cost 50,000 jobs in the oil industry alone.  The Wall Street Journal says the number could reach 75,000.
• Florida hotels are already reporting as much as 50% decrease in reservations in the Florida Keys.
• Thousands of birds could die from the oil spill with more impact to com in the fall when the migratory birds return to the oil infested marshes and wetlands.
• Many fish species are in danger including the blue fin tuna, 90% who spawn in the Gulf Coast.  Other fish who may experience major impacts include grouper, red snapper, oysters, and spiny lobsters to name a few.
• 28 species of whales and dolphins inhabit the Gulf of Mexico plus sea turtles who are all at risk
• Depending on the path of the oil spill, mangroves, coral reefs, and beaches in the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida are all at risk.
• Health risks are increasingly being identified with over 70 people already diagnosed as ill from the Oil Spill with headaches, nausea, skin damage, respiratory problems, to name a few.  More serious long term effects are also possible.

While the full scale of this unfolding disaster is still unknown, the collective trauma, stress, and grief from this environmental disaster will not end when the the oil leak is finally plugged.  It will take years if not decades for ecosystems to recover, some communities and industries may never recover, and for many individuals life may never be the same again as they had known it.    The personal and cultural losses are at a scale that few in the U.S. have ever experienced.  Millions across the nation are expressing outrage and feelings of sickness as they view birds covered with oil and dolphins and sea turtles attempting to swim through the oil filled waters.  Fisherman who have had long family histories in this profession are grief stricken as they realize the family heritage and way of life may be ending, businesses dependent on tourism are stressed with the possibility of failing in an already tough economy, and the ecosystems that have supported much diversity in nature are threatened with a blow that may take them decades to recover if they ever do.

While the State of Louisiana has already deployed mental health workers to address this crisis, that comes not that long after Hurricane Katrina, the breadth and depth of the grief and trauma is likely to be to big to handle on an individual basis.

As my friend and colleague the late Dr. Howard Clinebell, founding President of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors, asked after 9/11, “What is the missing piece in facilitating wholistic healing of collective trauma and systemic grief?”

This question led Howard and I to collaborate and identify some tentative answers that include:

1.  The missing piece is an in-depth understandings of the unique dynamics and process of healing collective as compared with individual trauma, anxiety, terror, rage and grief.  Both the PTSD and the CISD (Critical Incident Stress Debriefing) literature focus mainly on individual and family trauma.  Although collective trauma trigger many responses like those elicited by trauma in individuals, the unique dimensions must be understood more fully and addressed effectively by caregivers who strive to be truly wholistic.

2.  The key dynamic in collective trauma are terrifying, disorienting shattering of the collective identities that give large social systems like communities, states, and nations a sense of shared security and meaning.  In trauma produced by disasters such as the Gulf oil spill, this identity shattering often produces intense, defensive in-group bonding.  This defense is often expressed in uncritical political and economic responses and immediate, non-rational transference elevation of key leaders, along with self-righteous glorification of "us" vs the totally evil "them".  In this case the people vs. BP  All this feeds the collective ethical craziness of the social psychology often found in disasters.

3.  The unique role of pastoral psychotherapists is illuminated by awareness of the tidal wave of collective existential anxiety triggered by the terrifying awareness of our extreme human vulnerability and the unpredictable nature of loss and death for all we love and for ourselves.  This deep, fear, anger, and pain often creates a wave of defensive religious passion and expressions intertwined with intense, uncritical response.  Mobilizing our expertise in diagnosing and treating pathogenic faith and value systems will enable us to help care-receivers eventually move toward more wellness and healthy values systems.  Our knowledge of the healing potential of group rituals should equip us to coach clients in creating and participating in healing rituals for PTSD responses long after the Gulf Oil Spill.  

4.  The Gulf Oil Spill and other collective trauma highlight the inadequacy and incompleteness of stand-alone, intrapsychic pastoral or mental health counseling and the urgent necessity of integrating systemic, prophetic strategies in our caregiving responses. 

The good news is like the Santa Barbara Oil Spill became a catalyst for new environmental awareness and a series of new environmental laws, the Gulf oil spill may become a catalyst for a serious shift in U.S. energy policy to get off its fossil fuel addiction and chart a new sustainable energy course.  The new sustainable energy course with an emphasis on conservation, energy efficiency, and renewables will also create new jobs, reduce the nations trade imbalance, reduce the national debt, and increase national security.   Groups like the Waves of Change campaign have already begun to chart a course for more sustainable, disaster resistant, and economically sustainable communities through its Blue Communities program.  see www.wavesofchange.org

The challenge of  the Gulf oil spill for pastoral caregivers and other mental health workers is immense and many faceted.  Let’s hope is that we who are trained to think in disciplined ways about cultivating spiritually-centered, wholistic healing will use this window of opportunity to make innovative discoveries of healing modalities for countless wounded persons and families but also for our deeply and collectively wounded nation and global community.  

Let’s hope and pray that we can somehow use our expertise to help our loved country stop contributing to the negative impacts of climate change and ocean acidification that will be experienced much greater in poor countries by increasing terrible poverty and economic oppression by our misguided energy policies.   

If we do this, we will help many individuals and families experience healing of their collective grief and, equally important, we will perhaps also help our country to grow into a more mature and ethical member of the family of nations!

We need to channel the public outrage, into concrete practical actions, and move our nation decisively onto the path of a sustainable energy future.

Lets use the opportunity of the tragic crisis of the Gulf oil spill to say no more to energy companies dictating our national energy policy and begin moving toward a sustainable future.  This is perhaps the one thing that can bring rapid healing to the collective grief and trauma from this horrific event.

Dr. David W. Randle is a Pastoral Care Specialist in the American Association of Pastoral Counselors, President & CEO of the WHALE Center, and Managing Director of the International Ocean Institute Waves of Change Campaign

I keep thinking back to a private conversation we had, even before he hired me as CEO of The Cousteau Society.

It was January 1997, when I had the privilege to spend several days with him. He was the honoree at a fundraising dinner for Ocean Futures, a nonprofit that I chaired.  Cousteau shared some insights from his vast experience that suggest a different approach to changing public policies. While it could apply to most any issue, I am struck by the application to the current challenge of greenhouse gases and energy sources.

At age 86 Jacques was deeply concerned about the planet that we were leaving to future generations, with issues ranging from a deteriorating ocean, to fresh water supplies, to climate change. Several conversations focused on the challenge of changing public awareness and policy. Late one night I asked, “How do we change the world?” With a dismissive wave of his hand, in his distinctive French accent, he began:

Forget the politicians––they all think short term….  But there is something I have found that works. Identify an issue with a campaign that has emotional appeal. Advocate a specific policy. Get letters, petitions, and faxes.  With thousands of signatures, the politicians will join the parade––No––they will try to lead the parade.

I did this three times with success.  To push for the Antarctic treaty; to end French nuclear testing in the Pacific; and to promote a new legal concept at the U.N., ‘The Rights of Future Generations.’ We must appeal to the public directly with a powerful message and tie it to a specific action or change in policy. I think this is the only way.

How direct and sensible. Cousteau’s guidance was to build strong public support for a particular policy, in order to create the political backing for it. Contrast that with the current efforts to prevent devastating climate change by mid-century. We find ourselves advocating passage of complex legislation, without even being able to explain what’s in it. Or we advocate a goal such as a 20% reduction in greenhouse gases, but without developing public support for a clear way to achieve it.

It is widely accepted that the key driver of climate change is increased greenhouse gas emissions. Specifically the greatly elevated CO2 level is wreaking havoc with the oceans that Cousteau worked so hard to protect.  The effects range from coral bleaching, to ocean acidification, to sea level rise. I believe the most efficient way to reduce carbon emissions is to institute a pricing mechanism. We need a coordinated sustained campaign to develop popular support for one, so that the lobbyists are not the only presence on Capitol Hill.

Cousteau’s final advice was to engage the public by means of petitions––now greatly facilitated by the Internet. His experience was that politicians will likely join the parade, once they see grass roots enthusiasm for a new policy. Individuals and organizations can state their clear support for a carbon pricing policy, starting now. The commemoration of his 100^th birthday is a good time to apply his insight and wisdom to the climate challenge––the one that will determine the viability of our ocean planet.

John Englander, former CEO of The Cousteau Society, now consults and advises about climate change and ocean impacts; his website is www.johnenglander.net

Contacts:

In Washington, DC: Veronica O'Connor

+1-202-540-6352
voconnor@pewtrusts.org

June 8, 2010

Washington, DC — More than 245 marine scientists (PDF) from 35 countries are calling for the establishment of a worldwide system of very large, highly protected marine reserves as "an essential and long overdue contribution to improving stewardship of the global oceanic environment."

While small marine reserves are known to protect some species, large reserves—comparable to large national parks on land—are necessary to better protect sea life in our oceans, which cover 71 percent of the planet.

By signing the statement (PDF), the experts endorsed the scientific case for designating very large, highly protected marine reserves and called on policymakers to take bolder action in establishing these areas. The statement issued by Global Ocean Legacy, a project of the Pew Environment Group, was released today for World Oceans Day.

"The need to set aside more and larger marine reserves as one means of ensuring the continued health of our oceans is well-accepted among marine scientists," said Dr. Bernard Salvat, noted coral reef scientist and professor emeritus at the University of Paris' Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes (EPHE) and the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). "We have to work on very large trans-boundary marine protected areas with intergovernmental agreements. We now need to speak out to educate governments and the public about the crisis facing our oceans and the long-term benefits of establishing large, no-take marine reserves."

Overfishing, pollution and climate change are adversely affecting the health of the world's oceans, and ultimately threatening the livelihoods, food security and economic development of millions of people. Very large reserves can help reduce these problems, according to a recently published book, The Unnatural History of the Sea, by Dr. Callum Roberts with the University of York.

Less than 0.5 percent of the world's oceans are fully protected from extractive or destructive activities. Large, no-take marine reserves have been shown to blunt the effects of excessive commercial fishing by offering a refuge for sea life to breed and spawn, providing for healthier fisheries as the fish swim into surrounding areas, and thus ensuring more resilient coastal economies. Because the ecosystems in ocean reserves are healthier, they are also more resistant to the damage caused by pollution, climate change and a wide range of other development activities.

"More than a century after nations had the foresight to protect important landscapes like Yellowstone National Park in the United States and Kruger National Park in South Africa, they have just begun to turn their attention to protecting similarly significant places in the sea," said Jay Nelson, director of Global Ocean Legacy. "The world's leaders need to recognize what more than 245 marine scientists from across the world understand: that the designation of very large, highly protected marine reserves is critical to maintaining the health of the ocean environment."

Global Ocean Legacy, a project of the Pew Environment Group in partnership with the Oak Foundation, Lyda Hill, the Robertson Foundation and the Sandler Foundation, strives to protect and preserve Earth's most important and unspoiled oceanic ecosystems. Its goal is to work with local citizens and governments to secure the designation of a handful of world-class, no-take reserves that will provide ecosystem scale benefits and help conserve our global marine heritage.

BACKGROUND: To date, Global Ocean Legacy's work with local partners and governments has been pivotal in the designation of some of the world's largest ocean reserves, including the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in the northwestern Hawaiian Islands, the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument in the Commonwealth of the Mariana Islands and the British Chagos Protected Area in the Indian Ocean. Collectively, these areas contain more than 70 percent of the world's no-take waters.

# # #

• Read the science statement (PDF)
• French transalation of the science statement (PDF)
• List of scientists who signed the statement (PDF)
• Senior scientists and marine specialists: please show your support for marine reserves.

A detailed computer modeling study released today indicates that oil from the massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico might soon extend along thousands of miles of the Atlantic coast and open ocean as early as this summer.

The modeling results are captured in a series of dramatic animations produced by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and collaborators. The full article can be read at http://www2.ucar.edu/news/ocean-curre...

It was no exaggeration. Consider the following:

Since April 20, a vast amount of oil has bled into the Gulf of Mexico. According to BP, it’s about 200,000 gallons a day; researchers at Florida State University estimated about two weeks ago it was at least 1 million gallons a day; and even more recently engineers from Purdue University estimated it’s probably closer to 2.5 million gallons a day.

The ominous plumes of oil venting from this pipe at the equivalent of 152 atmospheric pressures — one mile beneath the surface — are behaving unlike any other oil spill ever observed before. That is, oil is rising to the surface but in some cases is sinking, just how deep, so far, remains unclear.

Allowing the plumes to naturally disperse has many consequences. Microbes that eat oil require oxygen and they suck it out of the sea, creating oxygen-depletion zones. Crude that washes onshore is deleterious to all life, so thousands of miles of boom have been deployed to prevent it from landing.

In an attempt to break up these massive slicks of oil, BP has used over 910,000 gallons of Corexit oil dispersant, over 55,000 gallons near the leak site. Dispersant has never been trialed deep in the ocean before.

Dispersants contain molecules that look like a snake; the head likes water and the tail likes oil. Dispersant pulls the oil into the water in the form of tiny droplets. Essentially, the dispersant increases the surface area, spreading smaller droplets that contain more toxic components of oil throughout the marine ecosystem.

Oil contains a suite of toxic chemicals, including known carcinogens called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

The dispersant increases the exposure to oil by creatures that live or feed in surface water (algae, fish eggs, jellyfish, whale sharks) or on the sea floor (sea squirts, shrimp, blue crabs, lobsters, oysters). The oil droplets look like food to filter feeders, such as oysters. These droplets can also clog fish gills.

A lot of lessons were learned from the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska’s Prince William Sound. A form of the dispersant Corexit was used there too. Nineteen months after that spill the dispersant was not only evident in the marine ecosystem but mussels were still poisoned. And the effects of spreading the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were far and wide as they caused developing hearts of Pacific herring and salmon to fail.

Research from Israel in 2007 clearly showed that dispersant kills coral reefs and significantly retards re-growth.

Florida is the only state in the continental United States to have extensive (about 6,000) shallow coral reefs near its coasts; most are located in the Florida Keys. These reefs, from 5,000 to 7,000 years old, are the third-largest coral reef formation on Earth.

Surrounding the corals are extensive beds of sea grasses. Between the reefs and the sea grasses are more than 500 species of fish; spiny lobsters; snow crabs; Caribbean manatees; American crocodiles; leatherback, loggerhead, Kemp’s ridley and green sea turtles.

Coral reefs have been likened to the Amazon rainforest because of the rich array of life forms.

Potent medicines come from coral reefs. Philippine cone snails are 100 times stronger than morphine; the powerful drug Prialt comes from them. Soft corals from northwest Australia are the most efficacious cancer compounds ever found. Caribbean sea squirt is used to treat melanoma and breast cancers. Sponges from Florida Keys have been used to treat leukemia since 1969. And research from sponges led scientists to develop the AIDS drug AZT.

Ocean-derived pharmaceuticals are so important that Lilly, Merck, Pfizer, Hoffman-Roche and Bristol Myers Squibb have all established marine biology divisions.

Worldwide, coral reefs are our grandchildren’s legacy.

Some of the dispersants and oil have entered the Loop Current — a powerful conveyor belt that carries the warm Gulf of Mexico water through the Straits of Florida. It contains 80 times the volume of water of all rivers combined on Earth.

It then joins the Gulf Stream Current, which barrels past Miami carrying 1 billion cubic feet of water per second. As it passes Georgia and South Carolina it triples its volume, and after it reaches Cape Hatteras, N.C., it heads out into the Atlantic toward the only open sea on the globe, the warm Saragossa Sea.

Eventually the Gulf Stream becomes the North Atlantic Current destined for Western Europe, where its fan-like tendrils become the Norwegian Current.

The moment the dispersant and/or oil enter the Atlantic our oil spill becomes global.

The solution to pollution is not dilution. Each time we lose one species we impoverish our planet. Spreading cancer-causing poisons throughout a marine ecosystem from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean is not acceptable — especially since these lessons were learned at the expense of Prince William Sound and the Pacific Ocean.

Reese Halter, Ph.D., a visiting academic and biologist at California Lutheran University, may be contacted through www.DrReese.com.

In order to understand this consider the following:

A vast amount of oil one mile beneath the surface has bled since April 20 into the Gulf of Mexico. According to BP, it’s about 200,000 gallons a day; researchers at Florida State University estimated about two weeks ago it was at least 1 million gallons a day, and even more recently engineers from Purdue University predicted it’s probably closer to 2.5 million gallons a day.

The ominous plumes of oil venting from this pipe at the equivalent of 152 atmospheric pressures — one mile beneath the surface — are behaving unlike any other oil spill ever observed before. That is, oil is rising to the surface and in some cases sinking, just how deep, so far, remains unclear.

Allowing the plumes to naturally disperse has many consequences. Microbes that eat oil require oxygen and they suck it out of the sea creating oxygen depletion zones. Crude that washes onshore is deleterious to all life so thousands of miles of booms have been deployed to prevent it from landing.

In an attempt to break up these massive slicks of oil, BP has used more than 700,000 gallons of Corexit oil dispersant. More than 55,000 gallons have been deployed near the leak sites. Dispersant has never been tested deep in the ocean before.

So what is a dispersant? They are molecules that look like a snake; the head likes water and the tail likes oil. Dispersant pulls the oil into the water in the form of tiny droplets. Essentially, the dispersant increases the surface area, spreading smaller droplets that contain more toxic components of oil throughout the marine ecosystem.

Oil contains a suite of toxic chemicals including known carcinogens called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

The dispersant increases the exposure to oil by creatures that live in surface water or feed at the surface including algae, billions of fish eggs, jellyfish and whale sharks; or on the sea floor like sea squirts, shrimp, blue crabs, lobsters and oysters. The oil droplets look like food, the same size as algae to the filter feeders such as oysters. These droplets can also clog up fish gills.

There were a lot of lessons learned from the Exxon Valdez spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska, in 1989. One form of dispersant Corexit was used there too. Nineteen months after that spill, the dispersant was not only evident in the marine ecosystem but mussels were still poisoned. And the effects of spreading the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons ranged far and wide as they caused developing hearts of Pacific herring and salmon to fail.

People exposed to Corexit suffered a number of long-term respiratory and other serious ailments.

Research from Israel in 2007 clearly showed that dispersant kills coral reefs and significantly retards regrowth.

Florida is the only state in the continental United States to have extensive (about 6,000) shallow coral reefs near its coasts; most are located in the Florida Keys.

These reefs range in age between 5,000 and 7,000 years old. They are the third-largest coral reef formation on Earth.

Surrounding the corals are extensive beds of sea grasses. Between the reefs and the sea grasses are more than 500 species of fish, spiny lobsters, snow crabs, Caribbean manatees, American crocodiles, leatherback, loggerhead, Kemp’s ridley and green sea turtles.

Coral reefs have been likened to the Amazon rainforest because of the rich array of life forms.

Potent medicines come from the coral reefs. Prialt, the blockbuster drug 100 times stronger than morphine, comes from Philippine cone snails. Soft corals from northwest Australia are the most efficacious cancer compounds ever found. Caribbean sea squirt is used to treat melanoma and breast cancers. Sponges from Florida Keys have been used to treat leukemia since 1969. And research from sponges lead scientists to develop the blockbuster AIDS drug AZT.

Ocean-derived pharmaceuticals are so important that Merck, Lilly, Pfizer, Hoffmann-La Roche and Bristol-Myers Squibb have all established marine biology divisions.

Worldwide, coral reefs are our grandchildren’s legacy.

Some of the dispersants and oil have entered the loop current — a powerful conveyor belt that carries the warm Gulf of Mexico water through the Straits of Florida. It contains 80 times the volume of water of all rivers combined on Earth.

It then joins the Gulf Stream current, which barrels past Miami carrying 1 billion cubic feet of water every second. As it passes Georgia and then South Carolina it triples its volume and once it reaches Cape Hatteras, N.C., it heads out into the Atlantic toward the only open sea on the globe, the warm Sargasso Sea.

Eventually the Gulf Stream becomes the North Atlantic current destined for Western Europe, where its fanlike tendrils become the Norwegian current.

The moment the dispersant and/or oil enters the Atlantic, our oil spill becomes global.

The solution to pollution is not dilution. Each time we lose one species we impoverish our planet. Spreading cancer-causing poisons throughout a marine ecosystem from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean is not acceptable — especially since these lessons were learned at the expense of Prince William Sound and the Pacific Ocean.

Dr. Reese Halter is a conservation biologist at Cal Lutheran University.

In the wake of the devastating Gulf oil spill, amongst all the dead sea life, the importance of conservation of the oceans is highlighted. The Chinese, Japanese and Russians will not support a world measure to stop over-fishing sharks and the United Nations will not unanimously protect the endangered Atlantic blue fin tuna. It is up to the citizens our of planet to help nature.

Fish is an important source of low-fat protein and vitamins; omega-3 fatty acids are brain food, reducing heart attacks and strokes and slowing the symptoms of arthritis and osteoporosis in humans. Since the 1850s over-fishing has changed life under the sea. Northern cod, North Sea skate, marbled rock cod of Antarctica and blue fin tuna are fished out, like the great whales before them, and they are not recovering.

Sharks, rays and seahorses are on the road to extinction. East Coast cod has declined 96 percent over the past 150 years.

Researchers from the University of New Hampshire believe that haddock, herring, mackerel, yellowtail flounder and winter flounder have also declined as much as cod populations. Since the mid-19th century more than 90 percent of the pre-industrial population of large, spawning fish has vanished.

Fish biologists at the University of British Columbia discovered that the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, which has reported global catches yearly since 1950, began to see the problem in the 1980s. Yet it took 12 more years in order for this to become public.

The FAO reported 44 million tons of catch in 1950; by the early 1990s it was 88 million tons. The trend continued despite the Newfoundland and Grand Banks collapses in the early 1990s. The total world harvest rose to 110 million tons by 2000.

The reason for the enormous and grossly unsustainable numbers was due to false reporting by China. Since 1988 the actual decline has been at least 700,000 tons a year.

Fewer older fish

Essentially, the sea is becoming empty of older fish, and older fish are vitally important for reproduction. For example, plaice is harvested by the time it reaches 6 years old, yet they are able to live for 40 years.

Extreme fishing pressures on cod and haddock have resulted in breeding one year earlier - a rare example of human-induced evolution.

Fishing technology today enables fisherman to hunt anywhere with a high accuracy of catch. Over the past 30 years humans have begun hunting deep, greater than 3,300 feet into the ocean. Now ling, tusk, Greenland halibut and blue whiting are all fair game. As a result, all known commercial deep-sea fish populations have fallen to around 20 percent of the 1970s levels.

One of the most prized and rare fish left on the globe is blue fin tuna. It accelerates faster than a Ferrari and warms its blood through an ingenious heat exchange system. Eastern Atlantic blue fin is an endangered species and western Atlantic blue fin is worse off; it's listed as critically endangered.

The FAO estimates that there are about 1,556 long-line fishing vessels of larger than 99 tons with freezing capacity catching tunas around the world. At almost 4 million tons of tuna harvested annually the populations are all set to crash.

Conserving the oceans resources are clearly the only way forward in this century.

Innovative approach

An innovative, sustainable approach to harvesting fish in Iceland and elsewhere is that of individual transferable quotas, which enable boats to own shares of the overall quota determined by scientists. The Marine Stewardship Council certification of sustainable fisheries that McDonald's (which serves over 275 million fish sandwiches in North America annually), Unilever and Wal-Mart have adopted is

helping to protect the oceans from piracy.

Satellite monitoring, naval and marine support with harsh penalties including enormous fines and stiff jail sentences will reduce the large pirate fleets from Spain and Russia.

Underwater reserves in New Zealand, New England, St. Lucia, Florida and the Bahamas clearly show the awesome ability over time of the ocean to regenerate its fish populations. Fish biologists predict that 50 percent of the ocean will need to be placed in reserves in order to feed 10 billion people by 2050.

Each of us can make a huge difference with our buying habits. As voters and consumers, we can exercise a unanimous voice for the conservation of all wild fish stocks and life within the ocean.

(Dr. Reese Halter is a conservation biologist at California Lutheran University)

Muriel chats with Dr Noel Brown, former Director of the United Nations Environment Program – who was one of the founders of UNEP, he worked there from 1973-1995 .

Dr. Brown, Former Director of UNEP (North America) and is now President, Friends of the UN

Dr. Brown has been considered an environmental diplomat and a great champion for the cause of earth. He spends a great deal of his time these days focusing on the Oceans, as a Member of the Board of Governors of the International Ocean Institute (IOI) and a director of Training for IOI, Canada in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The IOI is about to launch a five Year Global Campaign under the banner: Wave of Change for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Sustainable Use of its Resources.
He’ s also actively involved in the organization of the: Coastal Cities Summit: Values and Vulnerabilities , scheduled to be held in St. Petersburg, Florida, Nov. 17-20, 2008.

Listen to Dr. Noel Brown Interview

http://www.DrReese.com/

http://www.GlobalForestScience.org/

http://DrReese.wordpress.com/

http://twitter.com/DrReeseHalter

The current oil spill has brought on environmental, economic, and health challenges that could have been prevented if the U.S. had been willing to make the shift to sustainability years ago.

What we are faced with now includes:

• degradation of large amounts of wetlands, mutation, deformity, death of fish and wildlife, and destruction of many fragile ecosystems.
• potential catastrophic economic losses to the fishing and tourism industry.  The damages to the fishing industry alone could amount to tens or hundreds of millions of dollars.  Tourism on the Gulf Coast is a multi-billion dollar industry with hundreds of thousands of employees whose jobs may be at stake.
• potential economic damages to Gulf Coast ports that transfer over a million tons of trade cargo per year.
• health risks to humans from the toxic effects of oil that according to Physicians for Social Responsibility include headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, irritation of the eyes, and difficulty breathing. (see http://www.psr.org/environment-and-health/confronting-toxics/blog/a-toxic-brew-in-the-gulf-of-mexico.html)
• potential long term effects to the food supply where the contaminates from the oil can cause elevated cancer risks for decades.  Louisiana says that there are over 400 species of oysters, shrimp, and fish that depend on the area the oil spill is impacting.
• risks from chemical dispersants that are poisons used from the belief that they can’t be worse than the oil itself.  The ingredients of these dispersants are claimed as “proprietary information” by Nalco the Company that makes Corexit the main dispersant being used in the Gulf of Mexico.  The impact of these dispersants on fish and shellfish and the ocean ecosystems are largely unknown.

As catastrophic as the Gulf oil spill is, it may be in a larger perspective just a small glimpse into the future of what may be coming if the U.S. does not address its oil addiction and the pressing issues of climate change and ocean acidification.

The U.S. has wasted the past decade when its international leadership was needed to address the global challenge of moving the world toward sustainability.

Senate Bill  1733, the Clean Energy Jobs & American Power Act proposed by Sen. John Kerry and Sen. Joe Liberman is at best is a small and weak start.  While the bill has many good features it is not near enough to get the U.S. economy off its dependence on foreign oil and reduce carbon emissions to meaningful levels to address climate change and ocean acidification threats.

A few years ago the World Business Academy publication “Freedom From Mid-East Oil”  outlined a blue print for a more sustainable energy policy to (see: http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/energy-and-environment) 

In the plan the World Business Academy noted what needs to be done including: 

• increase the CAFE Standards to a minimum of 40 MPG
• accelerate the use of plug in electric and plug in hybrid vehicles to a million per year along with 100,000 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles
• increasing our electricity production from renewables to at least 20%  of total.
• improve energy efficiency as the cheapest source of energy.
• raise the price of carbon so there are meaningful incentives to make the transition off oil to renewable technologies more quickly.

These simple strategies would eliminate the need for new nuclear power plants and off shore drilling for oil while creating thousands of new jobs, reduce the balance of trade deficit, and reduce the national debt.  

It has been argued that while the World Business Academy makes both economic and environmental sense, that our U.S. Senate has to follow a mediocre plan due to their ties to big oil.

Leadership on behalf of humanity and other living creatures is needed now.   Planet Earth can not wait for the U.S. Senate to be ready to respond to a crisis. 

The Obama administration along with leadership in State and Local governments is going to have to take initiatives with or without the U.S. Senate support.

Fortunately there are many excellent blue prints for how State and Local governments can act independent of the U.S. Government.  Both Green and Blue Community initiatives provide an abundance of strategies that state and local governments can act upon. (see two examples at: http://greencities.com and http://www.wavesofchange.org/topics/view/17903)

At the same time, the Obama administration can use the regulatory power of the EPA to address climate change and can push for regulatory reform to hold both oil and chemical companies more accountable for incidents like the Gulf oil spill.

It is time for real political leadership to take a stand on behalf of both present and future generations.  It is time that political leadership be willing to take stands such as Senator Bill Nelson has done against off shore drilling.  It is time that political leadership put first the health safety and environment over that of short term corporate profits especially with the consequences of climate change, ocean acidification, and other challenges before us.  We can not waste another decade.  There really is no other choice.  The time to create more sustainable communities is now. 

Ethical questions have rose regarding the truth of reporting the crisis, the precautions and response related to economic and environmental impacts, and the current energy policy that led to this disaster.

This is not the first oil spill by BP.  In 2006 BP was investigated by a Federal Grand Jury for possible criminal prosecution related to 267,000 gallons spilled into Prudhoe Bay field, the largest spill ever on Alaska's North Slope..  The investigation related to failure to maintain the safety of the pipeline.  BP countered that it was just management failure and employee mistakes as if that were a better excuse.  Eventually BP pled guilty to a federal misdemeanor charge and paid $20 million in fines.

This followed the 2005 felony conviction of BP in relationship to the Texas refinery explosion that killed 15 and injured 170.

Less than 48 hours after the recent oil spill begain BP and the Federal government both revised their estimates of the oil spill from 1000 barrels to over 5000 barrels a day per day after Sky Truth used satellite data to call the initial estimates into question.  The estimate has now been increased to 25,000 barrels per day or a total spill of more than 11 million gallons making it the largest spill in American history.                                  See:  http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-oil-spill-measure-20100502,0,1279704.story

Why is it that a small one person not-for-profit organization can provide better information on the size of the spill than both BP and the U.S. Government.  The low estimates resulted in a delay in the response by the Federal Government declaring this a disaster situation which in turn delayed the response.   What are the ethics of a oil company deliberately misleading the public?  What are the ethics of the federal government taking the oil companies word for the estimates rather than using their own satellite capabilities to determine the truth as Sky truth did?    The Federal government apparently chose to go with BP’s figures despite the recent history of it’s criminal convictions.

The potential and already existing environmental impacts of the Gulf oil spill include soaking the grass marshes of Southern Louisiana which are home to nurseries for baby shrimp and blue crab.  The more serious impact is that the oil in the wetlands can deliver toxins that will last for years. It is one thing to wash oil off a rock, it is quite a larger challenge to remove from the wetlands.

The timing of the spill could not be worse for many birds and animals such as the Brown Pelican and alligators which are now reproducing in the area.  The spill is also impacting the favored breeding grounds of the endangered bluefin tuna whose numbers have already decreased by 90%.   The impact on the Blue Tuna is yet to be determined.

The Washington Post reported that NOAA administrator Jane Lubchencho notes that 40% of all remaining coastal wetlands in the United States are in Louisiana and that 97% of commercial fish and shellfish rely on wetlands and estuaries during their life cycle.  see: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/30/AR2010043001788_2.html?sid=ST2010043001050

About 20% of Louisiana’s commercial fishing is now closed by NOAA and the situation can still grow worse.     See may of closed area at: http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/sf/deepwater_horizon/DWHEmergClosure2.pdf

While the mainstream media has been slow to report on the economic impacts, ironically Al Jezerra has covered this story.

The financial firm Bernsteain says that the spill could cost the fishing industry $2.5 billion.   Others estimate the cost is already going to be $12.5 billion and this is just for starters.  See:  http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2010/05/03/oil-spill-cost

While President Obama says that BP will be held accountable, Congress has set a limit on the liability of BP at a mere $75 million for costs not directly related to cleanup.  It may be the taxpayers and fishing industry that will pay the bulk of the real costs of this spill.

How is it that both industry and government could allow such risk with inadequate means to respond to potential disasters.

To answer that ethical question, we have to go back to the oilmen like Dick Cheney of the previous administration who were determined to deregulate the oil industry and not require the kind of stringent safeguards as you would find in Norway to prevent such a disaster.

See the story on this most unreported aspect of the story below.

The Gulf region now faces tremendous environmental and economic consequences due to the ethical decisions that Congress and BP both made not to invest in the best safeguards, not to have an adequate plan of action to respond to this crisis, and their willingness to risk the Gulf regions economy and environment to support the U.S. addiction to oil.

With the need to reduce carbon emissions to mitigate climate change, is it ethical to be doing any off shore drilling at all when other alternatives are available.

The Gulf oil spill has brought devastating ocean pollution impacts, the additional pressure on our marine food security, and a seeming total disregard for the need to reduce oil consumption to mitigate climate change.

The U.S. addiction to oil like the addiction to drugs is not without risks, costs, and unintended consequences.

Perhaps the greatest ethical question of the Gulf oil crisis is whether can we separate the oil money from the people we elect to develop energy policy and regulate corporate business to protect the health, safety, and welfare of our nation.

Our Sea, Our Future
(Original)

Christ Soselisa
 (Age 11, Indonesia)
SD Kristen Kalam Kudus Ambon

In my life, there are some people that inspire me. People that come from different backgrounds, but they were in common for their spirit to fight for what they believe and made a dream come true. People who dedicated themselves to make a better world for everybody else. They are Mahatma Gandhi for his life principle of truth and non-violence, Albert Schweitzer for his cares, love and respect for all living things, Thomas Alfa Edison the great inventor of modern science, and Jacques Cousteau for his passionate love for the sea.

Sea is two-thirds of the world. I live in Ambon, the capital of Moluccas province, Indonesia, where sea is ninety three percent of the total province. Moluccas has more than ten thousand six hundred kilometers long coastal side. Indonesia has eighty one thousand kilometers long coastal side. The sea and the coastal areas play important roles in our small place. We have many kinds of dishes made from sea product. In some area fishermen grow seaweeds to export. Sea vehicles are important as transportation infrastructure. Many people are depending on the sea.

But I am surprised to see that not too many people are taking good care of the sea. Many people only take benefit from the sea but give nothing except pollutant and damages in return. It is like symbiosis of parasitism. There are a lot of garbage, especially plastic garbage are floating, cast along the coastal side and sinking at the bottom of the sea. I saw also sedimentation of the sea as the impact of deforestation which damages the beach and coastal life.

I believe we should give something good to the sea as a return thanks for all the delicious food we eat, nice pearl accessories we wear, a wonderful scene it offers, and so on. Then we can continue to get a quality of sea products and its carried benefits. It is a cycle of life of giving and receiving.

I live in the time where the world is getting old. Pollution, deforestation, green house effect, climate change, global warming, are words that I often hear. All those give direct impact to quality of life of sea creatures. I want to participate in action to minimize all of them, even though in the future I want to become an oceanographer astronaut.

Currently, there are some research on the micro algae or also known as phytoplankton, like Bacillariophyceae and Chlorophyceae. These sea products can produce bio diesel, bio ethanol, and its waste used as a fodder. There is no waste product, and minimize pollution. I want to participate in this kind of research, to find more products to replace fossil oil. They are non pollutant, support the endurance of food, benefit to use also for medical purpose and all come from the sea.

Ambon has huge potential and facilities to support me in this research, in nature, expert people, and traditional knowledge. In nature, beside the sea and the coastal areas, we get sunshine almost every day of the year for the photosynthesis process. There are laboratory and library to use in the local university, and local expert both modern and traditional to consult.

I hope by the time more people realize there is so much life support we can get from the sea, then everybody will start to treat the sea with care and responsible manner with some respect.

In the future, I am going to continue this research to the next level. There are some planets which are like earth and possible to discover as the next earth, and has a sea. Micro algae are one of the living creatures that can survive with very limited living support. Micro algae also absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. This research shall make micro algae as one of living pioneer to carry to the new earth. Some scientists believe that life has started from the sea. I believe sea is our future land. Our future life. 

       As atmospheric carbon dioxide levels continue to rise -- in large part due to the burning of fossil fuels – much of it dissolves into the world’s oceans. As a result, the oceans are becoming less alkaline. Today at St. Petersburg’s Eckerd College, scientists and people from a range of faith communities gathered to discuss the implications and solutions for this “ocean acidification.”

As oceans decline in alkalinity, many organisms that form shells -- such as some photosynthetic plankton that form the basis of the marine food web -- may be unable to continue to make their shells. And no one knows exactly what will happen to the rest of ocean life if populations of these phytoplankton collapse. Peter Betzer is president and CEO of the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership and is Dean Emeritus of the University Of South Florida College Of Marine Science.

One reason why global issues like ocean acidification need to be solved through regulation is because of the “tragedy of the commons,” according to Stetson University College of Law professor Paul Boudreax. In a physical space that is open to everyone, such as the two largest commons – the oceans and the atmosphere – there is an incentive to exploit. That’s because when an individual takes resources from a common space, the harm is shared among everyone but the gain all goes to that individual. But Bodreaux says that due to “fuzziness” in current international environmental laws, new treaties are likely needed to solve the problem at the root of ocean acidification.

In order for people to become active on the issue of ocean acidification, Noel Brown says the issue needs to be personalized. Brown is the former director of the United Nations Environment Programme’s North American regional office. Brown says that if participants from the Eckerd roundtable can come up with a way to frame ocean acidification in a way that shows how it affects a typical person, then they can work with the UN to form an international policy.

One of those ‘value builders’ at Monday’s Eckerd College roundtable hosted by their Center for Spiritual Life is Drew Willard, pastor of Holiday United Church of Christ in Pasco County.

Members of several different faith communities -- including Bahá'í, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and several Christian denominations – learned more about ocean acidification from marine scientists. They then shared their concerns and insight from a faith perspective. One even commented on the apparent double standard of holding the meeting in an over-air-conditioned room with close to fifty ceiling lights. These fossil-fuel-powered amenities add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere which will further acidify the world’s oceans. David Weizman is a rabbi at Congregation Beth Shalom in Clearwater.

Imam Wilmore Sadiki is president of St. Petersburg Islamic Center and teaches classes on philosophy and religion at Eckerd. He says that religions should get more involved in environmental issues.

Samir Padhye says that there are several schools of thought in Hindu traditions, but a person’s relation to the universe is common to most of them.

Members of the Bahá'í Faith are involved with environmental issues from a local level to an international level, according to Owrang Kashef.

The roundtable on ocean acidification was sponsored by the Waves of Change Campaign of the International Ocean Institute.

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The resolution states “ Resolves that, as from 2009, the United Nations will designate 8 June as World Oceans Day;

The resolution also called attention to other focus issues of the Waves of Change campaign and set a global agenda for the oceans and ocean governance.

Some of the highliights related to to the Waves of Change Focus areas include:

Ocean Pollution

16. Also recognizes the need to build the capacity of developing States to raise awareness of, and support the implementation of, improved waste management practices, noting the particular vulnerability of small island developing States to the impact of marine pollution from land-based sources and marine debris;

98. Emphasizes once again the importance of the implementation of Part XII of the Convention in order to protect and preserve the marine environment and its living marine resources against pollution and physical degradation, and calls upon all States to cooperate and take measures consistent with the Convention, directly or through competent international organizations, for the protection and preservation of the marine environment;

101. Also encourages States to ratify or accede to international agreements addressing the protection and preservation of the marine environment and its living marine resources against the introduction of harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens and marine pollution from all sources, including the dumping of wastes and other matter, and other forms of physical degradation, as well as agreements that provide for preparedness for, response to and cooperation on pollution incidents and that include provisions on liability and compensation for damage resulting from marine pollution, and to adopt the necessary measures consistent with the Convention aimed at implementing and enforcing the rules contained in those agreements;

102. Further encourages States, directly or through competent international organizations, to consider the further development, as appropriate and consistent with the Convention, of environmental impact assessment processes covering planned activities under their jurisdiction or control that may cause substantial pollution of or significant and harmful changes to the marine environment;

104. Also encourages States, in accordance with the Convention and other relevant instruments, either bilaterally or regionally, to jointly develop and promote contingency plans for responding to pollution incidents, as well as other incidents that are likely to have significant adverse effects on the marine environment and biodiversity;

111. Recognizes that most of the pollution load of the oceans emanates from land-based activities and affects the most productive areas of the marine environment, and calls upon States as a matter of priority to implement the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities48 and to take all appropriate measures to fulfil the commitments of the international community embodied in the Beijing Declaration on furthering the implementation of the Global Programme of Action;49

112. Expresses its concern regarding the spreading of hypoxic dead zones in oceans as a result of eutrophication fuelled by riverine run-off of fertilizers, sewage outfall and reactive nitrogen resulting from the burning of fossil fuels and resulting in serious consequences for ecosystem functioning, and calls upon States to enhance their efforts to reduce eutrophication and, to this effect, to continue to cooperate within the framework of relevant international organizations, in particular the Global Programme of Action;

Ecosystem Restoration

134. Reaffirms the need for States to continue and intensify their efforts, directly and through competent international organizations, to develop and facilitate the use of diverse approaches and tools for conserving and managing vulnerable marine ecosystems, including the possible establishment of marine protected areas, consistent with international law, as reflected in the Convention, and based on the best scientific information available, and the development of representative networks of any such marine protected areas by 2012;

138. Encourages States and relevant international institutions to improve efforts to address coral bleaching by, inter alia, improving monitoring to predict and identify bleaching events, supporting and strengthening action taken during such events and improving strategies to manage reefs to support their natural resilience and enhance their ability to withstand other pressures, including projected ocean acidification;

139. Encourages States to cooperate, directly or through competent international bodies, in exchanging information in the event of accidents involving vessels on coral reefs and in promoting the development of economic assessment techniques for both restoration and non-use values of coral reef systems;

Maritime Food Security

Recalling that marine science is important for eradicating poverty, contributing to food security, conserving the world’s marine environment and resources, helping to understand, predict and respond to natural events and promoting the sustainable development of the oceans and seas, by improving knowledge, through sustained research efforts and the evaluation of monitoring results, and applying such knowledge to management and decision-making,

117. (b) Notes that ecosystem approaches to ocean management should be focused on managing human activities in order to maintain and, where needed, restore ecosystem health to sustain goods and environmental services, provide social and economic benefits for food security, sustain livelihoods in support of international development goals, including those contained in the Millennium Declaration, and conserve marine biodiversity;

Ocean Literacy

100. Encourages States, individually or in collaboration with relevant international organizations and bodies, to enhance their scientific activity to better understand the effects of climate change on the marine environment and marine biodiversity and develop ways and means of adaptation;

106. Welcomes the activities of the United Nations Environment Programme relating to marine debris carried out in cooperation with relevant United Nations bodies and organizations, and encourages States to further develop partnerships with industry and civil society to raise awareness of the extent of the impact of marine debris on the health and productivity of the marine environment and consequent economic loss;

142. Calls upon States, individually or in collaboration with each other or with relevant international organizations and bodies, to improve understanding and knowledge of the oceans and the deep sea, including, in particular, the extent and vulnerability of deep sea biodiversity and ecosystems, by increasing their marine scientific research activities in accordance with the Convention;

Climate Change & Ocean Acididification

Reiterating its serious concern over the current and projected adverse effects of climate change on the marine environment and marine biodiversity, and emphasizing the urgency of addressing this issue,

Expressing concern that climate change has increased the severity and incidence of coral bleaching throughout tropical seas over the past two decades and has weakened the ability of reefs to withstand ocean acidification, which could have serious and irreversible negative effects on marine organisms, particularly corals, as well as to withstand other pressures, including overfishing and pollution,

Reiterating its deep concern over the vulnerability of the environment and the fragile ecosystems of the polar regions, including the Arctic Ocean and the Arctic ice cap, particularly affected by the projected adverse effects of climate change,

99. Notes the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, including its findings on the acidification of oceans, and in this regard encourages States and competent international organizations and other relevant institutions, individually and in cooperation, to urgently pursue further research on ocean acidification, especially programmes of observation and measurement, noting in particular paragraph 4 of decision IX/20 adopted at the ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, held in Bonn, Germany, from 19 to 30 May 2008,45 and to increase national, regional and international efforts to address levels of ocean acidity and the projected negative impact of such acidity on vulnerable marine ecosystems, particularly coral reefs;

105. Welcomes the World Ocean Conference, to be held in Manado, Indonesia, from 11 to 15 May 2009, as an opportunity to enhance understanding of the link between oceans and climate change and the impact of climate change on marine ecosystems and coastal communities, thus promoting the urgency of mainstreaming climate change-sensitive policies and enhancing adaptation capacity at all levels, especially among developing countries and small island developing States;

]

Summary

166. Encourages States to work closely with and through international organizations, funds and programmes, as well as the specialized agencies of the United Nations system and relevant international conventions, to identify emerging areas of focus for improved coordination and cooperation and how best to address these issues;

The Waves of Change Campaign looks forrward to supporting the United Nations in the protection of the oceans and using ocean resources sustainably.

See Waves of Change Focus Areas

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