Today is World Fisheries Day.  I also happen to be writing a huge article for my Masters that pertains to fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico.  Therefore, I don’t have a spare second to write more about the matter than this.  Go to the link above and educate yourself.  Then go to the Seafood Watch website and get yourself a seafood guide or sushi guide.

Green Porno is back for a third season, and once again, it’s blue!  This time around, Isabella Rossellini adds to her sexual repertoire by teaming up with marine biologist Dr. Claudio Campagna to address sustainability.  Stripping shrimp, squid sex, and anchovy orgies are all served up this season.  And be sure not to miss the elephant seal birth!

So for those who haven’t been paying attention, I have been celebrating June as National Oceans Month. George W. Bush declared June 2007 and 2008 as National Oceans Month, and I waited and waited to hear something about National Oceans Month 2009.  And Obama let me down.  There was no announcement from the White House declaring June as National Oceans Month.

…Until today!

NATIONAL OCEANS MONTH, 2009
- – - – - – -
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

Oceans are the Earth’s dominant feature. They cover more than 70 percent of the planet’s surface and affect our lives in a variety of ways. This month we celebrate the wonder of the oceans, and we commit to protecting and sustaining them for current and future generations.

The oceans are critical to supporting life. From the abyssal plains of the Pacific to the shallow coral reefs and seagrass beds of the Florida Keys, oceans support an incredible diversity of marine life and ecosystems. The base of the oceanic ecosystem provides most of the oxygen we breathe, so oceans are critical to our survival. These bodies of water also drive weather patterns and affect climate.

Our Nation’s economy relies heavily on the oceans. Goods and services are transported across them constantly. They support countless jobs in an array of industries, including fishing, tourism, and energy. The economies of entire regions depend on the oceans.

The United States has been a leader in exploring and protecting this critical resource. We have gained new insights into the ocean ecosystems through research and monitoring. We have promoted innovative conservation efforts, such as setting aside special areas as national marine sanctuaries. We have also reduced overfishing, made great strides in reducing coastal pollution, and helped restore endangered species and degraded habitats.

My Administration continues to build upon this progress, and we are taking a more integrated and comprehensive approach to developing a national ocean policy that will guide us well into the future. This policy will incorporate ecosystem-based science and management and emphasize our public stewardship responsibilities. My Administration also is working to develop a systematic marine spatial planning framework for the conservation and sustainable use of ocean resources. I am committed to protecting these resources and ensuring accountability for actions that affect them.

During National Oceans Month, we celebrate these vast spaces and the myriad ways they sustain life. We also pledge to preserve them and commend all those who are engaged in efforts to meet this end.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2009 as National Oceans Month. I call upon all Americans to learn more about the oceans and what can be done to conserve them.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twelfth day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.

BARACK OBAMA

It made me really happy to see this today, even if it comes two weeks into June.  Every person on this planet is dependent on the oceans.  Sylvia Earle sums it up perfectly, “No water, no life.  No blue, no green.”  We finally got the green movement going, now we have to get people thinking blue too!

A second notice from the White House outlines the growing need to change our ocean policy:

We have a stewardship responsibility to maintain healthy, resilient, and sustainable oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes resources for the benefit of this and future generations.

Yet, the oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes are subject to substantial pressures and face significant environmental challenges. Challenges include water pollution and degraded coastal water quality caused by industrial and commercial activities both onshore and offshore, habitat loss, fishing impacts, invasive species, disease, rising sea levels, and ocean acidification. Oceans both influence and are affected by climate change. They not only affect climate processes but they are also under stress from the impacts of climate change. Renewable energy, shipping, and aquaculture are also expected to place growing demands on ocean and Great Lakes resources.

The oceans are facing numerous threats.  We can’t keep living the way we do and expect things to get better.  Changes must be made….big changes.  In this line of thinking, Obama has established the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force, composed of senior policy-level officials from the executive departments, agencies, and offices represented on the Committee on Ocean Policy.  In the next 90 days, the Task Force will develop recommendations including:

1. A national policy that ensures the protection, maintenance, and restoration of the health of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes ecosystems and resources; and enhances their sustainability.
2. A framework for policy coordination of efforts to improve stewardship of the oceans, our coasts, and the Great Lakes.
3. An implementation strategy that identifies and prioritizes a set of objectives in order to meet the objectives of a national policy for the oceans, our coasts, and the Great Lakes.

Obama is right.  Policy needs to change.  The way we think needs to change.  Most importantly, the way we act needs to change.  I have never doubted that people can make a difference in the world, much as Margaret Mead did.  People may think this naive of me, but I genuinely believe that one person can make a difference.  My rebuttal to them is the starfish story, or some variation of it.  One person may only be one person….but if everyone believes in the power of one and tries to make a difference….well it starts to add up.  Every little change contributes in some small way.  So what will you do?

(Hint: You can start by making smart seafood choices.)

Due to unforeseen circumstances, I missed posting for World Water Day.

In 1992, the United Nations declared March 22nd as World Water Day to draw international attention to the critical lack of clean, safe drinking water worldwide.  Each year highlights a different aspect of water, with this year’s theme being Transboundary Waters.

The United Nations has named clean water access as one of its Millenium Development Goals because it contributes to increased poverty, high child mortality rates, lower education levels, and more.

FACTS

• Less than 3% of Earth’s water supply is fresh water
• The past century has seen the world’s population triple while water consumption has increased sevenfold.
• 1/7th of the world’s population does not have access to safe drinking water.
• Nearly one billion people do not have access to sufficient amounts of safe water.
• Contaminated water causes the death of more than 5,000 people each day.
• Every year, more than 2 million people die from causes related to drinking contaminated water.
• Waterborne illness is the second largest killer in children under 5
• Every eight seconds, a child dies from a disease caused by drinking contaminated water.
• A person needs about 50 litres of safe water per day to meet their basic needs.
• It takes 10 litres of water to make a sheet of paper.
• A kilogram of meat requires 5 to 20 times more water than is used to produce a kilogram of cereal.
• Bottled water can cost up to 10,000 times more than tap water.
• By 2013, 36 U.S. states anticipate water shortages

What can I do?

Find a restaurant that is participating with the Tap Project during World Water Week (March 22-28).  These restaurants will ask patrons to donate $1 for their tap water, a donation that provides a child with clean drinking water for 40 days through UNICEF.

Follow @chlorine or @worldH20 on twitter and join the group on Facebook.  For every member that joins the group, the American Chemistry Council will contribute five chlorine tablets designed to disinfect 100 liters of water.

For every person who visits SaveWaterAmerica.com and takes the 3 question quiz, Kohler will donate $1 in water-saving products to Habitat for Humanity.  After going through the quiz, I found out that New York City’s per capita water usage rate is one of the highest in the country, and that some cities offer a toilet retrofit rebate program so you can upgrade one toilet in your home to a newer, more eco-friendly model.

If you have to buy bottled water, then I suggest you buy a brand like Ethos, whose mission is to help children around the world get clean water and raise awareness of the world water crisis.  A portion of profits goes towards their goal of making $10 million in grant commitments toward humanitarian water programs by 2010.  So far, Ethos has helped an estimated 420,000 people around the world and committed more than $6.2 million in grants.

“There is a water crisis today. But the crisis is not about having too little water to satisfy our needs. It is a crisis of managing water so badly that billions of people – and the environment – suffer badly.”  World Water Vision Report

Hey everybody!  Together we’re gonna kick off World Water Weekend here at OH, FOR THE LOVE OF SCIENCE!

Perhaps you have heard of World Water Day, which occurs March 22nd every year as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.  Well, I’ve decided that this issue is so important that it deserves your attention for the entire weekend!

Today I want as many people as possible to help out an organization called ONE DROP, founded by Guy Laliberté (who also founded Cirque du Soleil).  ONE DROP’s mission is “water for one, water for all”, or to  fight against poverty by providing access to water and raising awareness among individuals and communities about the need for mobilization in order to make safe water accessible to all, in sufficient quantity, today and tomorrow.

Guy Laliberté presents The ONE DROP Foundation from One Drop Foundation on Vimeo.

Where can I Digg for water?

• Support World Water Day: Digg For Water!
• Global Crisis Kills 5,000 People Yesterday
• Best 5 Ways to Save Water

With Thanksgiving just two days away, I thought it would be a good idea to share a few ways to green your holiday and try to make it as sustainable as possible.  If you are traveling this holiday, you can pay to offset carbon emissions.  If you are preparing a holiday feast, then here are a few tips from the World Wildlife Fund: