Moir’s Environmental Dialogues: Recent Episodes
Rob Moir
With the knowledge of Carson and the courage of Achilles, individuals are steadfastly going the distance to defend wildlife and ecosystems from assaults of environmental degradations and destructions. Join environmental studies scientist Dr. Rob Moir for lively dialogue and revealing narrative inquiry into how individuals are overcoming the obstacles turning forlorn hope into effective actions for oceans, rivers, watersheds, wildlife and ecosystems. Discover how listening to individuals, thinking locally, and acting in concert with other, you can act to save ecosystems. Got environmental stewardship? Become an Eco-steward. Act to bring about a greener and blue Planet Earth.
Maya K. van Rossum, the Delaware River Keeper and author of the book: The Green Amendment, securing our rights to a healthy environment talks with Rob. It is always an uphill battle to stop polluting. People believe they may do whatever they like on property they own without regard for how their actions harm neighbors and people downstream. When fracking threatened to destroy land and drinking water, Maya van Rossum and other petitioners, successfully made the case that people have rights to clean water and clean habitation in their homes and neighborhoods. They won a watershed legal victory that protected Pennsylvania communities from ruthless frackers. They also launched the Green Amendment movement to affirm as a constitutional right a clean and healthy environment. Maya talks about battles won for clean water and the battles waged today.
St. Johns (FL) Riverkeeper, Lisa Rinaman talks about cleaning the waters of a river once labeled #6 on a list of America’s Ten Most Endangered Rivers. The new State of the Lower St. Johns River Basin Report looks at water quality, fisheries, aquatic life and contaminants. With the link between excess lawn fertilizing and harmful algal blooms established, FL Friendly landscaping ordinances have been implemented. Nutrient levels have declined. Worsening trends are salinity rising, nonnative species increasing, and much habitat loss. Success for Jacksonville’s Manatee Protection Plan. Improved conditions for manatee, bald eagles, and wood stork. Finfish stocks are sustainable. More work to be done on algal blooms, fecal coliform levels, and to improve grass beds. The St. Johns River is no longer one of America’s endangered rivers and is improving as an amenity for Florida.
Tom Sanders with the Worldly Adventures of Archibold Clutterbuck and Friends talks with Rob about a new homeschooling education program featuring endangered wildlife teetering on the brink of either survival or extinction. To learn more about tigers of the sea known as bluefin tuna, educators and students are invited to visit the Ocean River Institutes page webpage. Tom presents an innovative and engaging education program. Rob describes why save the infamous orangutan, rhinos and pangolin, as well as the giant ibis of Cambodia. The saiga antelope has a nose that reminds one of Gonzo the Muppet, suffered a disease outbreak in 2015 and may now have the distinction of being the most endangered mammal. Just as rare, the saola has straight horns that remind locals of “spinning wheel posts” was only discovered by scientists in 1992. Tune in for life histories of seven endangered species that may soon be gone.
This week ORI Intern Morgan Berman and Rob focus on the element that makes up all life: carbon. Excessive carbon in the atmosphere is the driver of climate change. First, we talk with Ed Smith, Head of Carbon at Indigo Ag, a budding agricultural technology company. Ed speaks about Indigo’s newly-announced Terraton Initiative, which is garnering global attention and local business in our native city of Boston. Indigo Carbon is a two-pronged program, using seed microbiology and artificial intelligence, to reduce atmospheric carbon. Ed explains how anyone and everyone can educate themselves on carbon capture and carbon markets.
Next, David Wagner, environmentalist and former energy consultant, explains the workings of utilities and the electric grid. He provides helpful tips for homeowners about peak usage. Efficiency is the name of the game in the energy sector. Energy conservation is often more than half of the battle.
The importance of efficiency and new approaches to carbon management becomes clear when the two talk about carbon emissions. Capturing carbon and reducing emissions are the ways to a more sustainable future.
This week on Moir's Environmental Dialogues Morgan and Jessie speak with two environmentalists from different perspectives. First, they speak with Carla Giannattasio who works for Hilton International on their Corporate Responsibility Team. Carla speaks about her experience working with smaller nonprofits in comparison to the larger corporate atmosphere of which she is currently a part and explains what she has learned so far from her post. Next, Jessie and Morgan Speak with Melissa Shackleton Dann who has held several varied positions in the environmental realm. Melissa speaks about strategy and how she has worked to bring attention to the holes of environmental coverage.
On this week’s program, Jessie and Morgan host two guests to discuss issues of food access from different perspectives.
Erica Satin Hernandez, Coordinator at Shape-Up Somerville, speaks with interns Morgan and Jessie this week on the radio show about many of the wonderful initiatives in the works to offer healthy options to residents of Somerville. Erica discusses her trajectory through the food security world, and talks about the intersectional nature of tackling community health initiatives. This weekend is the first weekend of Shape-Up’s Mobile Market, a traveling farmers market put on by the city aimed at offering fresh produce in an accessible way. The Mobile Market, in addition to being accessible in its location (which moves 4x a week) is also fully available to all people in the city receiving nutritional assistance. For more information on Shape-Up’s programs, visit their site: https://www.somervillema.gov/departments/health-and-human-services/shape-somerville.
Charlotte Mondale is a senior at Tufts who just finished a 5 month long semester examining the dynamics of food security and food systems in four different continents. Charlotte sat down with Morgan and Jessie to discuss the relationship between the environment and climate change, food justice, the role of colonization, agriculture policy, and global governance structures on food security. We discussed the erasure native foods and how globalization affects availability of certain foods. Do you believe that GMOs are harmful or beneficial? Tune in to hear more about the debate between climate change, food and economic security, and GMOs.
Sea scallops have black eyes and bay scallops are blue-eyed. Skylar Bayer describes the survival strategies of bay and sea scallops in Maine. Bryce Stewart tells of the life of king and queen scallops in Scotland. Young king scallops wear byssus threads to hold onto to high-rise hardscapes. Adolescent scallops loose the threads to become remarkably active, out maneuvering crabs at the click of a claw. Adult scallops settle in to a low-profile couch-potato lifestyle on ocean floors where the sediments are not too fine or pebbles too big.
Skylar reveals the truths behind the story of two buckets of scallop gonads lost during a hand-off outside a convenience store on Mount Desert. Flyers of missing scallop parts went up and out to media. Journalists from the Colbert Report traveled to the far-flung lobster state and were shocked by what they imaged – an obsessed woman with diabolical intentions to take over the world by doing science from her laboratory.
Rupert Read and Alison Green talk with Rob about a new movement of rabble-rousers speaking truth to power, out of the UK, calling all to address Climate Change, to action to avert the climate crisis affecting us all, and to put off the Anthropocene extinction. The Extinction Rebellion is an international social movement that aims to drive radical change, through nonviolent resistance, in order to avert climate breakdown and minimize the risk of human extinction and ecological collapse. We’ll call on governments to tell the truth about the climate and wider ecological emergency, reverse inconsistent policies, and to enact legally binding policy measures to cut back on all luxuries, eliminate waste, and to reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2025.
Paul Holthus talks about saving the ocean by bringing industries and corporations together to form the World Ocean Council. Paul will tell us about some of the international ocean conservation issues the Council is working on, including adaptations for climate change, port waste facilities, plastic pollution, biodiversity in international waters, mineral mining, environmental impact statements in vast ocean areas, marine spatial planning, and responsible management of the Arctic’s Northwest Passage. That diverse corporations can work in concert together is remarkable and how Paul helped to bring this about is of interest to communities of all sizes.
Swedish Climate Change Activist Greta Thunberg with Dad, Svante, and Marten Thorslund, We Don’t Have Time spoke at UN Conference in Poland. Greta holds adults responsible for stealing the future of children to live in luxury. Svante tells of the changes his family had to make in response to the crisis. Marten tells of finding and interviewing Greta before the Parliament House with a black and white cardboard sign “School Strike for Climate.” Rob Moir tells of their time together in Katowice presents their words on two panel presentations. Plus Greta's private talk to the UN Secretary.
In June President Trump repealed the National Ocean Policy created by executive order by President Obama. What does this mean for regional ocean planning, particularly in New England and the Mid Atlantic as well as impacts on ocean conservation in America is discussed when Rob talks with Jenna Valente, Ocean Policy Manager for American Littoral Society, and Sarah Whelan, Ocean Policy Program Director, American Littoral Society.
Rob Moir talks to Don Blair, a physicist at the Center for Civic Media in Somerville, and Kyle Neumann, a marine science PhD student at UCSB, about an ingenious device that measures salinity and changes in temperature and depth to find the thermocline, the boundary between water masses. While aboard the RV Nautilus in the Pacific, Don created a small circuit board that fits into a honey bear squeeze bottle to measure water temperature with depth. They added mineral oil and fitted a rubber glove on top for the changing pressure. It dove successfully to 1,000 feet. Don is enlarging with a salinity sensor that will go into a decoy duck. The “bathythermo-duck” will be used to find the thermocline, to document climate change impacts on the ocean. Ocean River Institute’s Deep Sea Canyon Rangers are working to protect sperm whales from ship strikes, cold water corals from trawls, and to prevent mining, oil and gas drilling in NE Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument.
Home of the endangered Everglades Snail Kite, Wood Storks, Mottled Duck, White-tailed Deer, Bobcat, Peninsula Cooter and Florida Softshell, the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge has a great diversity of wildlife dwelling in five different habitats.
The Ocean River Institute is mounting a national campaign to save the Loxahatchee refuge from being closed by the state and reverted back to a water management district.
Max Wagner, student at Northeastern University, Owen Worth, recent grad of U Mass Lowell, and Shesha Manning, student from Maynard High School are working with individuals to develop in their own words with precise descriptions and accurate observations as to why this place is a national treasure and cultural amenity worthy of federal support.
Max, Owen and Shesha talk with Rob about the wildlife, the 5 habitats, top 3 issues, and what individuals from far away, from all fifty states, have to say about the Loxahatchee.
Talking the River of Turtles on radio.
Rolf Olson, Refuge Manager, Mark Musaus, former Refuge Manager, and Elinor Williams, president, Friends talk with Rob.
The Loxahatchee is an awesome threshold brimming with wildlife between Lake Okeechobee, agricultural lands, and pine flatwoods to the north and the Everglades to the south, partially bounded by the largest remaining remnant of a cypress strand. An invasive plant, Old World climbing fern, is smothering about 72% of the Refuge. This tenacious vine with 100-foot-long tendrils kills plants by either blocking out light or by causing trees and other native plants to collapse under the weight. Because aerial spraying kills all plants, the climbing fern stems must be hand-cut. Then the lower portions are sprayed. Crews, brought to each island by air boat, often stand in nearly waist high water.
The Refuge is known for having the greatest number of alligators in America, not the greatest biomass of alligators, just the greatest number of snapping jaws per foot. Snakes,too
Sea scallops have black eyes and bay scallops are blue-eyed. Skylar Bayer describes the survival strategies of bay and sea scallops in Maine. Bryce Stewart tells of the life of king and queen scallops in Scotland. Young king scallops wear byssus threads to hold onto to high-rise hardscapes. Adolescent scallops loose the threads to become remarkably active, out maneuvering crabs at the click of a claw. Adult scallops settle in to a low-profile couch-potato lifestyle on ocean floors where the sediments are not too fine or pebbles too big.
Skylar reveals the truths behind the story of two buckets of scallop gonads lost during a hand-off outside a convenience store on Mount Desert. Flyers of missing scallop parts went up and out to media. Journalists from the Colbert Report traveled to the far-flung lobster state and were shocked by what they imaged – an obsessed woman with diabolical intentions to take over the world by doing science from her laboratory.
What began with 4 Anishinawbe Grandmothers quickly included women and men walking to raise awareness for the water Water is precious and sacred; it is one of the basic elements needed for all life to exist. They walked around the Great Lakes and the St Lawrence to the sea. Each of the 24,113,700 steps taken was a prayer for the water.
Now the 2011 Mother Earth Water Walk to Wisconsin from 4 directions has begun. April 10, 2011, at Olympia, Washington, under the watchful eyes of loon and bald eagle, water from the Pacific Ocean was collected in a copper pail. Walkers will gather sea water in Gulfport, Mississippi, Machias, Maine and Churchill, Manitoba and walk the waters to Bad River, Wisconsin. Telling me of the epic endeavour are Dawnis Kennedy, Joanne Robertson (coordinator) Sharon M. Day (South), Tina (West) and Madeleine Huntjens (East).To learn more and to assist please visit http://www.motherearthwaterwalk.com or view their progress at http://emptyglassforwater.ca/map/
Olivia Newton-John and her husband Amazon John Easterling talk with Rob Moir on what we each can do for a greener planet and about their work to save the Amazon Rainforest. Olivia tells why the rainforest is so important. Amazon John explains the remarkable health-giving properties of the Camu-camu fruit (www.DrinkCamu.com). This indigenous fruit is harvested from shallow boats and is a source of income for local peoples. In the 2nd half, Rob talks with Bert Lettsome, a.k.a. 'Washasha X', Chief Conservation Officer of the British Virgin Islands and the work of the Virgin Island Environmental Council. Bert describes why nature in the British Virgin Island is more diverse than anywhere else in the Caribbean. To protect it and maintain pristine, undisturbed nature in the Virgin Islands, we must all make choices. Listen to his song “Choices.” Bert tells us why mangroves are so vital with his song “Ras Mangrove.”
Fish are fighting back to unite rivers with oceans. Prescott Brownell of NOAA, Dr Piotr Parasiewicz and Joe Rodgers of the Rushing Rivers Institute talk with Rob about the ecological challenges confronting anadromous fish species. Fish have a vital role in the overall health of river ecosystems. Discover complex and interdependent relationships in the riverine and marine food webs of fish. Hear about the progress being made in restoration of anadromous fish species on the Atlantic coast and in our watersheds.
Eric Jay Dolin describes the history behind the Oscar Winner movie, The Revenant. Eric talks with Rob Moir about his acclaimed book Fur, Fortune and Empire. He separates fiction from the facts of Hugh Glass and Mountain Men working the Northwest to enable the development of the West Coast. Beaver, buffalo, seal and sea otter were all heavily exploited and only survived because market forces drove hunters westward. Finally, on the west coast sea otter were so over harvested that many of their populations never return. The book ends with the advent of conservation laws. Eric explains how he went from studying fiddler crabs to writing page-turning histories. No animals, nor men, were harmed in the making of this episode of Moir’s Environmental Dialogues.
In 1979 Raffi was kissed by a beluga whale. In that gentle gesture Raffi knew that for people to save wildlife or cleanup degraded environments there must be love for the other. Raffi’s Baby Beluga and Down by the Bay are songs cherished by families whose children are now adults continuing on. Raffi’s original philosophy of Child Honouring: How to Turn This World Around has become, more than a book, a covenant of nine principles: Respectful Love, Diversity, Caring Community, Conscious Parenting, Emotional Intelligence, Nonviolence, Safe Environments, Sustainability, & Ethical Commerce. Raffi tells how his work evolved from troubadour to champion of a global ethic that views life and communities through the lens of child honoring. Hear Raffi weave in the importance of stewardship and respect for families and environments from imperiled whales to global warming and climate change. Be inspired by a peacemaking culture of responsible stewardship for our world and all inhabitants on earth.
Ocean River Institute’s spring intern, Noa Randall, talks with Rob about kelp forests and sailing on a tall ship in Pacific Ocean. Noa discusses her experience snorkeling along the coast of Catalina Island. She spotted a sea lion gliding between kelp fronds, wanting to play but just as easily ready to attack. She found on the rocky wall tube snails with their plumed crowns swaying in the water attempting to catch zooplankton. As she swam back towards shore, Noa floated over congregating Leopard Sharks and some Shovelnose Guitarfish. We also talk about the giant black sea bass, their history and presence in that ecosystem as a popular sport fish. The program finishes up by telling listeners what campaigns ORI is currently working on and what they can do to help. Tune in!
Rob Moir’s guests are Noa Randall and Ryan Czekanski-Moir of the Ocean River Institute. They talk about proposing sanctuary for sharks in the Straits of Florida. Ryan covers the geology of the area and explains how to the east is the Oculina Reef with coral thickets and in deeper water the Blake Plateau, where a host of organisms live. Noa talks about the Lemon and Sandbar Sharks, as well as less abundant sharks. Recently, 40-50 sharks were seen off Jupiter and all were caught by long-liners. We are working with local communities to build a nomination for a National Marine Sanctuary and invite listeners to join with us.
Marty Baum is the Indian Riverkeeper. Marty is deeply connected to Florida's coastal with family ties back to 1866. The estimated annual economic value of the Indian River Lagoon is $3,725,900,000. Marty is alarmed by the recent deaths of 58 manatees and relates this to the shocking die-off of sea grass last summer. Pelicans are found suffering like never before. More than half of the Lagoon dolphins are sick, weakened by nitrogen pollution and poisoned by methyl mercury produced by nitrogen fertilizer. Everyone along Indian River Lagoon is directly dependent upon the health and vigor of the ecosystem. We must demand clean water. Every single one of us via our property values, wages, tax bases, services, recreation or our direct livelihoods, benefits from the Lagoon. Essentially, everything about our way of life here is enhanced and given greater value due to the influence of the Indian River Lagoon.
Leesa Souto talks with Rob from the shores of Indian River Lagoon. When at the University of Central Florida, Leesa surveyed lawn care practices and the advantages, including cost savings, of fertilizing one’s lawn once a year, early in the Spring with a slow release nitrogen fertilizer. This will save one effort on a hot June day. We must not spread fertilizer close to waterways. Instead let the plants in buffer zones to do what they do best, take up nitrogen. Leesa is Executive Director of the Marine Resources Council. Volunteers have for 20 years monitored water quality. Sea grass die-off is the big concern this year for the lagoon. MRC works also on shoreline restoration fighting back invasive plant species. Right Whales are observed by volunteers in the Lagoon. Finally, Leesa is doing much to improve interactive educational displays at the Lagoon House.
Today Rob Moir is back, hosting Captain Nancy Beaver of Sunshine Wildlife Tours and his intern Noa Randall, to talk about what’s happening in Indian River Lagoon and learn more about the special wildlife that inhabits this area. Captain Beaver tells us about how Bird Island was recently designated as a Critical Wildlife Habitat, which is super important in helping to inform the public about the importance of this region. In addition, the work ORI was helping with down along the lagoon has continued and finally all the counties lining this body of water have passed fertilizer ordinances! Great progress! Nancy explains more about some of the unique animals that call this lagoon, and Bird Island, home including the Roseate Spoonbill, the Magnificent Frigatebird, and the Bottlenose Dolphins. Though lots of good work has been done already, there is always more we can do to help protect and preserve our environment. Keep up your support!
Alanna Mitchell will take us on a dive 3,000 feet into a far Tortuga sinkhole where no one has gone before to discover new life forms, new chemical compounds, and new insights into how it all comes together on the ocean planet. Alanna Mitchell is journalist who travels with ocean scientists and marine biologists to discover how we live with oceans and depend on marine life. With her clear-eyed immediacy she writes in the style of Rachel Carson, yet more personable. We care that carbonic acid is increasing in seawater with increasing carbon in the atmosphere. During the last century and a half of human activity ocean water acidity has increased by 30%. What does it mean for you and me when calcareous sea critters start to fizzle in rising seas? Alanna Mitchell shares her experiences with us and will read of her dive from her book, Seasick: Ocean Change and the Extinction of Life on Earth.
Tales of Russia’s Sacred Sea, Lake Baikal are told by Peter Thomson, Environment Editor at the public radio program The World. Peter describes visiting the world’s deepest, oldest, and largest supply of fresh water in his new book, “Sacred Sea: A Journey to Lake Baikal.” For scientists, Baikal is an enigma: at once both a healthy and a dying ecosystem. Peter eloquently describes diving deep beneath cold, shimmering seas. The waters are unbelievably clear thanks to “the zillions of epischura trawling at any one time like a vast armada of aquatic vacuum cleaners, filtering Baikal’s water with extraordinary efficiency.” These shrimp-like critters are consumed by remarkable fish called “golomyonkas.” These fish swim perpendicular like seahorses and are, in turn, food for nerpas, the Baikal Seal. Despite the clash of two very different fundamental faiths, complete with mirages and miracles, Peter finds hope in those struggling to save Lake Baikal.
In 1979 Raffi was kissed by a beluga whale. In that gentle gesture Raffi knew that for people to save wildlife or cleanup degraded environments there must be love for the other. Raffi’s Baby Beluga and Down by the Bay are songs cherished by families whose children are now adults continuing on. Raffi’s original philosophy of Child Honouring: How to Turn This World Around has become, more than a book, a covenant of nine principles: Respectful Love, Diversity, Caring Community, Conscious Parenting, Emotional Intelligence, Nonviolence, Safe Environments, Sustainability, & Ethical Commerce. Raffi tells how his work evolved from troubadour to champion of a global ethic that views life and communities through the lens of child honoring. Hear Raffi weave in the importance of stewardship and respect for families and environments from imperiled whales to global warming and climate change. Be inspired by a peacemaking culture of responsible stewardship for our world and all inhabitants on earth.
Dyan DeNapoli, author of the newly released book The Great Penguin Rescue, tells the remarkable story of the largest and most successful wildlife rescue ever mounted. On June 23, 2000, an iron-ore carrier named the Treasure foundered off the coast of Cape Town between two of the main breeding islands for the African penguin. Already classified as a species vulnerable to extinction, the oil slick threatened to destroy nearly half the world population. Penguin experts, including Dyan, were flown in from around the world to manage a battalion of 12,500 volunteers who worked more than 556,000 hours force-feeding, washing, and rehabilitating 19,000 oiled penguins, and moving another 19,500 penguins from their islands to prevent them from getting oiled. Dyan’s account is an endearing tale of perseverance to overcome devastatingly daunting obstacles to bring the African penguin back from the edge of extinction.
The ocean has its stories to tell – as anyone who has ridden its waves or walked its shores knows. The stories are as simple as beauty and as complex as… well, say, watershed ecosystems or estuary ecology. Understanding the complexities help us appreciate our oceans and also helps us learn to take better care of them. This is what a new term is all about – Ocean Literacy. While complex, this Ocean Literacy doesn’t have to be confusing. In fact, it can be downright exciting, fun, and (who would of thought?) danceable. U.C. Berkeley's Craig Strang (of Lawrence Hall of Science, COSEE and MARE fame) along with environmental troubadours extraordinaire, the Banana Slugs String Band, will be our guides on this adventure. Doug Dirt Greenfield, “Airy” Larry Graff, “Marine” Mark Nolan, and “Solar” Steve Van Zandt of the Banana Slug String Band will give us the downstream low-down on watersheds and bays, salty and fresh. So get ready to get down!
David Helvarg, founder and Executive Director of Blue Frontier, spoke with Rob about what is happening in Washington and about his latest book: Saved by the Sea, Hope, Heartbreak, and Wonder in the Blue World. The Blue Vision Summit 5 was held in Washington DC with Peter Benchley Ocean Awards for excellence in stewardship, science, policy, marine exploration and youth activism. More than 200 ocean conservation advocates met with 163 legislators on the Hill. Rob talks of his New England delegation meeting with Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, as well as staff members of 7 other NE legislators. Issues of concern included support of the Illegal International Unregulated, Unreported Fishing Bill; opposition to Offshore Drilling in the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans; Bristol Bay Alaska fishermen and tribal groups’ effort to stop a 4 mile in diameter copper pit mine called Pebble Mine; and a Climate Change Education Bill involving families and adult decision-makers.
David Helvarg, founder and Executive Director of Blue Frontier, spoke with Rob about what is happening in Washington and about his latest book: Saved by the Sea, Hope, Heartbreak, and Wonder in the Blue World. The Blue Vision Summit 5 was held in Washington DC with Peter Benchley Ocean Awards for excellence in stewardship, science, policy, marine exploration and youth activism. More than 200 ocean conservation advocates met with 163 legislators on the Hill. Rob talks of his New England delegation meeting with Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, as well as staff members of 7 other NE legislators. Issues of concern included support of the Illegal International Unregulated, Unreported Fishing Bill; opposition to Offshore Drilling in the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans; Bristol Bay Alaska fishermen and tribal groups’ effort to stop a 4 mile in diameter copper pit mine called Pebble Mine; and a Climate Change Education Bill involving families and adult decision-makers.
Today Rob Moir is back, hosting Captain Nancy Beaver of Sunshine Wildlife Tours and his intern Noa Randall, to talk about what’s happening in Indian River Lagoon and learn more about the special wildlife that inhabits this area. Captain Beaver tells us about how Bird Island was recently designated as a Critical Wildlife Habitat, which is super important in helping to inform the public about the importance of this region. In addition, the work ORI was helping with down along the lagoon has continued and finally all the counties lining this body of water have passed fertilizer ordinances! Great progress! Nancy explains more about some of the unique animals that call this lagoon, and Bird Island, home including the Roseate Spoonbill, the Magnificent Frigatebird, and the Bottlenose Dolphins. Though lots of good work has been done already, there is always more we can do to help protect and preserve our environment. Keep up your support!
Rob Moir’s guests are Noa Randall and Ryan Czekanski-Moir of the Ocean River Institute. They talk about proposing sanctuary for sharks in the Straits of Florida. Ryan covers the geology of the area and explains how to the east is the Oculina Reef with coral thickets and in deeper water the Blake Plateau, where a host of organisms live. Noa talks about the Lemon and Sandbar Sharks, as well as less abundant sharks. Recently, 40-50 sharks were seen off Jupiter and all were caught by long-liners. We are working with local communities to build a nomination for a National Marine Sanctuary and invite listeners to join with us.
Ocean River Institute’s spring intern, Noa Randall, talks with Rob about kelp forests and sailing on a tall ship in Pacific Ocean. Noa discusses her experience snorkeling along the coast of Catalina Island. She spotted a sea lion gliding between kelp fronds, wanting to play but just as easily ready to attack. She found on the rocky wall tube snails with their plumed crowns swaying in the water attempting to catch zooplankton. As she swam back towards shore, Noa floated over congregating Leopard Sharks and some Shovelnose Guitarfish. We also talk about the giant black sea bass, their history and presence in that ecosystem as a popular sport fish. The program finishes up by telling listeners what campaigns ORI is currently working on and what they can do to help. Tune in!
Sturgeons and lampreys are truly ocean river dwellers. My understanding and awe of anadromous fish was forever altered by lamprey nest building behavior and what the behavior of two sturgeon told Dr Boyd Kynard last month. Many years ago, he discovered in his neighborhood the only Massachusetts tributary river of the Connecticut River watershed that is not dammed, the Fort River. We talk about an amazing fish, the lamprey, which stops feeding in Long Island Sound to travel to the Pelham Hills transporting carbon and ocean chemicals including boron to endow ecosystems far from the sea. Discover the many ways lamprey leave an environment better off than found. Don’t miss Dr. Kynard’s remarkable research findings of Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon populations in the CT and Merrimack Rivers. Both sturgeon and lamprey are resilient, long-lived fish, ocean wanderers with life histories and survival strategies very different from the well-studied salmon.
Live from Cape Cod, Rob will speak with the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies including Richard Delaney, Dr. Stormy Mayo and Tanya about what is being done and what you can do to save whales and to better the ocean environment that whales depend on. Ocean Champions will update on a bipartisan bill on Capital Hill for research and mediation of harmful algal blooms that includes red tide.
Randy Olson, marine biologist and filmmaker talks about “shifting baselines” for ecosystems and his newest film Sizzle to premier in NYC on Oct 23. Shifting baselines are the chronic, slow changes to an ecosystem or place that one is not apt to notice until. It is more difficult to appreciate and understand what has been lost in a degraded system if a baseline of what is there had not been established in the past. Sizzle, the documentary, addresses climate change without the graphs, but with disagreeable scientists and with sophisticated humor. Randy Olson explains the distinctions and advantages to “mockumentaries” versus documentaries, where media respects the better understandings that listeners have in order to get the parody. www.sizzlethemovie.com Dave Wilmot tells of marking-up a bill in DC for tackling harmful algal blooms and ocean hypoxia. www.oceanchampions.org Chukchi Sea hairy blob days are numbered.
Bristol Bay Alaska fishermen Katherine Carscallen and Brett Veerhusen talk with Rob about the world’s finest salmon fishery for indigenous people, for commercial fishermen and for recreational anglers. This is breathtakingly beautiful, awesomely wild country and a way of life that most of us assume no longer exists. Katherine and Brett want us all to care passionately for Bristol Bay and for the salmon known as “Alaska’s red gold.” Only then can we comprehend the problem with building the ginormous Pebble Mine at the head of all of Bristol Bay rivers. Will you care if Katherine’s and Brett’s livelihood is forever lost? Care if the land of walrus, seal, fish and eagle destroyed by a mining waste accident?
Alison Chase and Sarah Chasis (pictured) of the Natural Resources Defense Council talk with Rob about what Sarah calls “a recipe for smart ocean management that could set our oceans on track to long term health.” With so many American jobs and communities dependent on oceans, this is a most opportune time for ocean planning.
Let's dive in. Recently President Obama issued the final plan for managing our oceans, a call for collaborative communications and management across 27 federal agencies and departments in concert with state agencies, municipal, local groups and tribal nations. The National Ocean Policy directs federal agencies to use their authority under existing law to protect, maintain, and restore the health of marine ecosystems.
Carl Safina talks about, and reads from, his book The View from Lazy Point. A year of observations is presented in gripping details from the tip of the swallowtail that is Eastern Long Island. Carl takes us beyond the mysteries of fishing into deep connections with place and fish. Discover the compatible yet distinctive natural history of the Common Tern and its close relative the Roseate Tern. Three things that we need to understand are: that life is a fully networked community; we ought to act with reverence and caution; and “that the story we write with our lives affects those living near and far, and not just now but in the distant future.” To sail these complex and opaque waters with treacherous shores looming large to leeward, we must be more nibble in our steering and find our way with a “compass of compassion.” Carl’s television series on PBS is “Saving the Ocean.” His next book is Sea of Flames. For more info visit http://carlsafina.org
Rob’s guest is Radio Host, Actress and Singer, Christine Larkin. Christine reports on ocean life and storm changes to Long Island. In a reversal of roles, Christine interviews Rob about 7 animals of Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Cod and stockfish brought people long ago to Stellwagen. Declining cod stocks in 1639 alarmed the Pilgrims to pass a law protecting cod. It has been downhill for cod since 1620, until 2008 when a natural phenomenon on Stellwagen misled scientists to overestimate cod numbers. Rob describes what makes tuna a Boston Bluefin commanding high market prices, bubble netting by humpback whales, redfish of muddy bottom, haddock of gravel bottoms, goosefish or monkfish of sandy bottoms and the wolffish of boulder reefs. Christine and Rob suggest what one can do to save marine life and enjoy a more vibrant Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. For more information visit Ocean River
Darren Saletta has caught Striped Bass by hook & line for 20 years. The Striped Bass fishery is a well managed, clean, environmentally sound operation with plenty of fish. Industrial fishing operations are destroying the striper’s food base. Herring, Mackerel, & Menhaden are caught in massive nets that can kill tons of by-catch, including Striped Bass. Water quality is an issue for Striped Bass in the Chesapeake. Burgeoning Gray Seal populations are fouling inshore waters with excessive waste and decimating inshore forage, forcing Striped Bass to feed much further offshore to the dismay of surf fishermen. Seals are also cleaning out fishing weirs, another environmentally favorable method of commercial fishing. Striped Bass fishermen are under attack by a special interest group attempting to close the fishery, stripping us of the ability to buy Striped Bass at fish markets or restaurants. Discover what you can do to protect Striped Bass and this culturally significant fishery.
Richard Charter a senior fellow at the Ocean Foundation talks with Rob. A House Committee passed yesterday a measure to boost oil production off of California and leases for drilling off of the U.S. Southeast. Known for protecting CA shores, Richard also raises concerns for living in Virginia, New England, and the NW. He calls for expanding National Marine Sanctuaries. Methane gas hydrate is gas locked in an ice-like lattice of water molecules. There’s more of it to be had than natural gas. Extraction is very risky as there is evidence that a great release of gas hydrates, called the clathrate gun hypothesis, caused an ice age. There is stronger evidence that this methane “gun” caused the Permian extinction event 251 million years ago, when 96% of all marine species became extinct. Despite our destructive tendencies, Richard explains how he still finds hope for humanity.
Karen Palmer of the Pennsylvania Coalition for Mercury-Free Dentistry and Dental Amalgam Mercury Solutions talks with Rob about her personal experience with severe mercury poisoning. Karen, who worked as a dental assistant, is suffering from the effects of mercury exposure in the dentist's office as well as her own exposure through having nine amalgam fillings of her own. Karen is very active in working to educate the public on toxic dentistry and how it can be avoided. Laura Henze Russell talks about her experience, and how you can join Hidden River Health Challenge: A Social Innovation Enterprise and become part of a network of people and organizations starting to coordination communication, strategy and actions at the local, state and federal levels. Become part of a network of people and organizations starting to coordination communication, strategy and actions at the local, state and federal levels at http://www.oceanriver.org/hiddenriver.php
Lee Shepard of IntraCoastal Eco Systems talks with Rob about creating artificial reef communities to save Indian River Lagoon. Lee builds unique and custom-designed fish shelters to protect smaller fish from apex predators (Snapper, Trout, Redfish, Snook, Tarpon, and Grouper), as well as habitats for the predators. Lee’s artificial habitats include oyster shells so those oyster sprats are quick to catch on and swell the structure. Recent systems feature hide-away spots for cleaner fish and LED lights in 200 colors. Alarmed by the death of many dolphins and manatees, and in particular the death of 11 humans to harmful algal blooms, Lee took action as a River Warrior on a bus to Washington. In DC River Kidz gave oyster shells to legislators demanding clean water once more. Lee is succeeding, structure by structure, to reverse the damages and injustices that have been done to our precious estuaries, lagoons, and Intracoastal waterways in the last 40 to 50 years.
Laura Henze Russell, Director of ORI’s Hidden River Health Challenge, spoke with Rob about good health, integrated care and making chronic diseases history. Two MA Bills have been filed to protect the public from undisclosed health risks of mercury dental amalgam. Laura has met with the MA Dept. of Public Health and Executive Office of Health & Human Services to discuss broader reforms to integrate dental plans into health care and make it subject to medical necessity, patient rights and data-driven outcomes. Laura has a Warrant before Sharon Town Meeting asking President Obama for a Surgeon General Report on Dental Amalgam and Mercury Health Risks. Laura is reaching out to additional organizations to work For Good Health, attending the MA Health Policy Commission, and advocating for the Women’s Health Equity Plan to include gender, genes and toxins. The FDA was just sued for failing to respond a petition to reconsider its flawed 2009 Class II ruling after 54 months.
My guest today will by MA state Rep Jason Lewis who is running for state Senate and is saving the world for global warming and too much pollution by authoring MA's solid waste reduction and recycling bill. As well as co-sponsoring a ban plastic bags bill and a carbon tax bill, plus safer alternatives to harmful chemicals. Tune in for talk with a real blue green hero.
Jaco and Serena Vienings talk with Rob about their ambitious enterprise to save the natural world by producing Nature’s Voice. Jacu and Serena travel to remote shores of Hawaii and glaciers in Alaska to present two compelling videos. The first video they titled: Plastic for dinner? Explore with Jaco the biggest dump site on our planet in the ocean, a trash pile bigger than Texas. Their second video is “Who brought the sunscreen?” To answer how does global warming work; we go to Alaska to explore energy, deforestation, polar amplification, permafrost, and blowing up mountains. Jaco tells how problems start with mining fossil fuels. One can get woozy standing on a glacier, as Jaco does, that is melting back at an unnaturally high rate of retreat. Global warming is a very real. Fortunately, there are things one can do to reduce our carbon footprint. Tune in to begin to undo the warming and to learn what’s next on Jaco’s and Serena’s horizon for Nature’s Voice.
Randy Olson, marine biologist and filmmaker talks about “shifting baselines” for ecosystems and his newest film Sizzle to premier in NYC on Oct 23. Shifting baselines are the chronic, slow changes to an ecosystem or place that one is not apt to notice until. It is more difficult to appreciate and understand what has been lost in a degraded system if a baseline of what is there had not been established in the past. Sizzle, the documentary, addresses climate change without the graphs, but with disagreeable scientists and with sophisticated humor. Randy Olson explains the distinctions and advantages to “mockumentaries” versus documentaries, where media respects the better understandings that listeners have in order to get the parody. www.sizzlethemovie.com Dave Wilmot tells of marking-up a bill in DC for tackling harmful algal blooms and ocean hypoxia. www.oceanchampions.org Chukchi Sea hairy blob days are numbered.
Richard Charter a senior fellow at the Ocean Foundation talks with Rob. A House Committee passed yesterday a measure to boost oil production off of California and leases for drilling off of the U.S. Southeast. Known for protecting CA shores, Richard also raises concerns for living in Virginia, New England, and the NW. He calls for expanding National Marine Sanctuaries. Methane gas hydrate is gas locked in an ice-like lattice of water molecules. There’s more of it to be had than natural gas. Extraction is very risky as there is evidence that a great release of gas hydrates, called the clathrate gun hypothesis, caused an ice age. There is stronger evidence that this methane “gun” caused the Permian extinction event 251 million years ago, when 96% of all marine species became extinct. Despite our destructive tendencies, Richard explains how he still finds hope for humanity.
Rob’s guest is Radio Host, Actress and Singer, Christine Larkin. Christine reports on ocean life and storm changes to Long Island. In a reversal of roles, Christine interviews Rob about 7 animals of Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Cod and stockfish brought people long ago to Stellwagen. Declining cod stocks in 1639 alarmed the Pilgrims to pass a law protecting cod. It has been downhill for cod since 1620, until 2008 when a natural phenomenon on Stellwagen misled scientists to overestimate cod numbers. Rob describes what makes tuna a Boston Bluefin commanding high market prices, bubble netting by humpback whales, redfish of muddy bottom, haddock of gravel bottoms, goosefish or monkfish of sandy bottoms and the wolffish of boulder reefs. Christine and Rob suggest what one can do to save marine life and enjoy a more vibrant Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. For more information visit Ocean River
Molly Bolster, Executive Director of the nonprofit Gundalow Company http://www.gundalow.org and Jeff Bolster, Professor of History at the University of New Hampshire, talk with me about marine environmental history informing today’s ocean conservation and stewardship. We must understand the oceans of the past to protect the oceans of the future. According to a recent report the state of rivers and Great Bay that flow into Portsmouth NH are declining according to 11 out of 12 indicators. Molly Bolster addresses these trends by using a replica boat, modeled after the last gundalow, as an educational platform. A new gundalow is being built which poses challenges of its own. Jeff Bolster describes how skewed visions of the past have led to disastrous marine policies and why historical perspective is critical to revitalize fisheries and ecosystems. In The Fog Warning by Winslow Homer Jeff gives us new insights into ocean conservation.
Darren Saletta has caught Striped Bass by hook & line for 20 years. The Striped Bass fishery is a well managed, clean, environmentally sound operation with plenty of fish. Industrial fishing operations are destroying the striper’s food base. Herring, Mackerel, & Menhaden are caught in massive nets that can kill tons of by-catch, including Striped Bass. Water quality is an issue for Striped Bass in the Chesapeake. Burgeoning Gray Seal populations are fouling inshore waters with excessive waste and decimating inshore forage, forcing Striped Bass to feed much further offshore to the dismay of surf fishermen. Seals are also cleaning out fishing weirs, another environmentally favorable method of commercial fishing. Striped Bass fishermen are under attack by a special interest group attempting to close the fishery, stripping us of the ability to buy Striped Bass at fish markets or restaurants. Discover what you can do to protect Striped Bass and this culturally significant fishery.
David Helvarg returns with his new book: Golden Shore: California’s Love Affair with the Sea. CA resources once abused were followed by passionate stewardship. Not forgotten was CA oil spill and images of oiled seabirds. Today they’re first in the nation for ocean conservation. David gives many examples of returning wildlife. Blue whales swim just offshore of Los Angeles & Long Beach, two very busy ports. David, Wendy Benchley and a whole raft of us ocean advocates invite you to the Blue Vision Summit 4 and the Peter Benchley Oceans Awards, May 13-16, 2013. Discover what Dr. Sylvia Earle, Dr. Jane Lubchenco, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Representatives Ed Markey and Sam Farr, Sherman Lagoon cartoonist, a coast guard admiral, a port director, an oyster farmer, a young sub pilot and a coastal paddler all have in common? They and many others will gather and together we’ll tell Congress: “Now is the time. Our oceans are rising, none too cleanly, and our voices are too!”
Alison Chase and Sarah Chasis (pictured) of the Natural Resources Defense Council talk with Rob about what Sarah calls “a recipe for smart ocean management that could set our oceans on track to long term health.” With so many American jobs and communities dependent on oceans, this is a most opportune time for ocean planning.
Let's dive in. Recently President Obama issued the final plan for managing our oceans, a call for collaborative communications and management across 27 federal agencies and departments in concert with state agencies, municipal, local groups and tribal nations. The National Ocean Policy directs federal agencies to use their authority under existing law to protect, maintain, and restore the health of marine ecosystems.
Terry Gibson, Senior Editor of Fly and Light Tackle Anglers talks with Rob about stewardship, fishing and changes he’s seen over the years. Terry recounts a fishing trip encountering tarpon where the younger fishermen were astounded by the number of fish while Terry wondered how small the school was. Changing baselines is one problem. Declining ecosystem health is another. There are nearly no fish to be found in Indian River Lagoon due to the nitrogen-fed algal blooms killing sea grass. Pelicans, manatees and dolphins are dying. Brevard County Commissioners seem to be missing the critical economic role of clean water, beaches not slimed with algae, and sport fishing. Terry discusses population dynamics of tarpon and sailfish, tales of concern, tales of hope. Terry combats cynicism with accounts of how much fishermen deeply care for sustainability most obvious in catch and speedy release program.
Matt McKenzie, Ph.D.,UCONN & Patrick Paquette, striped bass fishing community organizer say where have all the herring gone, how Cape Cod has changed. McKenzie tells the social and ecological history of the rise and demise coastal fisheries in the 19th century. His book: Clearing the Coastline, includes Thoreau’s thoughts on Cape Cod fisheries and how these changed after his death.Matt also tells of helping out a family’s herring weirs on Cape Cod and of a fisherman well known to Paquette.Patrick explains early efforts to save herring through the CHOIR collaboration“where different voices needed to learn to sing in harmony.”He also noted a striped bass food shortage along the East Coast caused by industrial-scale fishing of coastal herring, mackerel and menhaden. NMFS and the New England Fishery Mgmt Council failed to take measures to stem the decline of sea herring, river herring, and shad populations. Visit Ocean River Institute for how you can help w ORI’s lawsuit to save herring.
Lew Hastings executive director of the Boca Grande Chamber of Commerce tells of a most remarkable fish the tarpon. The World's Richest Tarpon Tournament promotes conservation through education. It is all about protecting the tarpon and a sustainable fishery. In this tournament tarpon bite baited hooks, are drawn swiftly to boats where an observer records the catch with fish in the water. Tarpon is quickly released with minimum disturbance of the fish's energy reserves. Tarpon energy demands are so high that they gulp air rolling at the surface. This magnificent 2 meter fish is inedible. Hence there is no market, no reason to kill these apex predators. Tarpons are challenged to survive on a number of fronts. Lew tells what we can do to help tarpon. Preservation of tarpon is crucial for today and future generations.If the tarpon population collapses, the entire Boca Grande economy will follow. Much of Florida's economy will go as well. Discover and marvel the tarpon of Boca Grande.
Les Kaufman, CI and Boston University professor along with John Williamson, president of Stellwagen Alive talk with Rob about their whale watch voyage onto Stellwagen Bank August 5th where forage fish were running strong and humpback whales feeding voraciously. Les Kaufman explains the biology and feeding behaviors of humpback whales. John Williamson tells of decades working as New England fisherman often on Jeffrey’s Ledges. Williamson, nominated by two states (NH and ME), served on the New England Fisheries Management Council. He explains the work of managing fish populations where the corner has been turned on over fishing for sustainable seafood, and of the need for more ecosystem-based research. Stellwagen Alive, John’s friends group for the Sanctuary is actively recovering lost fishing gear http://www.stellwagenalive.org For more info on Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary visit Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
Marty Baum is the Indian Riverkeeper. Marty is deeply connected to Florida's coastal with family ties back to 1866. The estimated annual economic value of the Indian River Lagoon is $3,725,900,000. Marty is alarmed by the recent deaths of 58 manatees and relates this to the shocking die-off of sea grass last summer. Pelicans are found suffering like never before. More than half of the Lagoon dolphins are sick, weakened by nitrogen pollution and poisoned by methyl mercury produced by nitrogen fertilizer. Everyone along Indian River Lagoon is directly dependent upon the health and vigor of the ecosystem. We must demand clean water. Every single one of us via our property values, wages, tax bases, services, recreation or our direct livelihoods, benefits from the Lagoon. Essentially, everything about our way of life here is enhanced and given greater value due to the influence of the Indian River Lagoon.
Sustainability is good for business. Ed Humes, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author discusses his latest book: Force of Nature: The Unlikely Story of Wal-Mart's Green Revolution (Harper Collins, May 2011). The giant “box store” discovers that going green to address one’s carbon footprint saves money, no matter the product. Systems thinking where “carbon equals energy equals money” saves Wal-Mart’s bottom line. Discover Daisyville, cow power and the cow of the future. The pasteurization method is as much to blame for a cow’s carbon and methane footprint as is the cow. Grazing on grass is just one of the many steps diary farmers are now considering. A company can only save the planet if it can inspire all companies to make ecosystem services a market force. Hear about first corporate steps and partnerships on the quest of sustainability for planet Earth.
Lenni Armstrong talks with Rob about two of her eco heroes, Clair Patterson, a geochemist, and Herb Needleman, a pediatrician. These two men shared a passion about the dangers of lead and devoted their lives to measuring lead in the environment, finding out where it was coming from and how it was making people sick. Both men were willing to go to battle to get lead out of the environment to protect public health. Clair Patterson measured the age of Earth and in the process, discovered that the environment was contaminated with lead. Herb Needleman showed the effects of lead on the health of children. Lenni tells of the complex process resulting in a ban on the use of lead in gas and paint, which involved scientists, industry, government and the legal system. She then contrasts this story with the story of today's pollutants, CO2 and the other greenhouse gases.
The dolphins of Florida's Indian River Lagoon were dying at such an alarming rate that the situation was declared a marine mammal unusual mortality event. Most distressing is to see dolphins covered with skin-eating fungal infections. To save the dolphins, we must lessen the phosphorus and nitrogen entering the ecosystem. Rob talks with Stephen McCulloch, Founder/Manager of Marine Mammal Research and Conservation Program, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Florida Atlantic University at Fort Pierce. Steve rescued dolphins, manatees, and even Arctic seals in Florida. Since 1999 more than 200 marine mammals have been rescued. Steve recently helped transport and release almost 400 sea turtles; in FL effort that released 4,000 turtles. We can greatly reduce nutrient pollution in the Indian River Lagoon and lessen our subsequent role in the death of the lagoon dolphins by not using fertilizers with phosphorous and quick release nitrogen. Take Action with the Ocean River Institute.
Leesa Souto talks with Rob from the shores of Indian River Lagoon. When at the University of Central Florida, Leesa surveyed lawn care practices and the advantages, including cost savings, of fertilizing one’s lawn once a year, early in the Spring with a slow release nitrogen fertilizer. This will save one effort on a hot June day. We must not spread fertilizer close to waterways. Instead let the plants in buffer zones to do what they do best, take up nitrogen. Leesa is Executive Director of the Marine Resources Council. Volunteers have for 20 years monitored water quality. Sea grass die-off is the big concern this year for the lagoon. MRC works also on shoreline restoration fighting back invasive plant species. Right Whales are observed by volunteers in the Lagoon. Finally, Leesa is doing much to improve interactive educational displays at the Lagoon House.
No one has worked harder to defeat harmful algal blooms and to stop red tide outbreaks in Florida during the last six years than has Cris Costello of the Sierra Club. Cris talks with Rob about the many battles by both municipalities and counties across the state of Florida to pass strong responsible lawncare ordinances. Each ordinance has a “backbone” of responsible stewardship that Cris clearly points out. We talked the day after the city of Rockledge tabled the vote reduce nitrogen pollution to improved local ecosystems and economies. Cris and Rob also discuss how a good ordinance was defeated in Brevard County. Lessons learned along the way will with time, sufficient vetting, and burgeoning coalitions result in passage. Success in Tampa Bay when people modify their turf care practices lawns stayed green and water quality improved. Most remarkable has been the comeback and new growth of sea grasses – food for green turtles, nurseries for game fish.
Bristol Bay Alaska fishermen Katherine Carscallen and Brett Veerhusen talk with Rob about the world’s finest salmon fishery for indigenous people, for commercial fishermen and for recreational anglers. This is breathtakingly beautiful, awesomely wild country and a way of life that most of us assume no longer exists. Katherine and Brett want us all to care passionately for Bristol Bay and for the salmon known as “Alaska’s red gold.” Only then can we comprehend the problem with building the ginormous Pebble Mine at the head of all of Bristol Bay rivers. Will you care if Katherine’s and Brett’s livelihood is forever lost? Care if the land of walrus, seal, fish and eagle destroyed by a mining waste accident?
Patrick Paquette, a community organizer who represents bass fishing organizations in Massachusetts and Matthew McKenzie, Maritime History Professor at the University of Connecticut, talk with Rob about where have all the herring gone and how Cape Cod has changed over two centuries from a vibrant fishing community to something completely different. Patrick Paquette explains early efforts to save herring by collaborating with diverse interest groups through the CHOIR collaboration “where different voices needed to learn to sing in harmony.” He also noted a striped bass food shortage along the East Coast caused by industrial-scale fishing of coastal herring, mackerel and menhaden. Prof McKenzie tells the social and ecological history of the rise and demise of Cape Cod’s coastal fisheries in the nineteenth century. His book, Clearing the Coastline, includes Thoreau’s thoughts on Cape Cod fisheries and how these were adjusted by posthumous publishers to better fit what they wished to promote. Matt also tells of helping out at a family’s herring weirs on Cape Cod and of a fisherman well known to Patrick Paquette.
In 1979 Raffi was kissed by a beluga whale. In that gentle gesture Raffi knew that for people to save wildlife or cleanup degraded environments there must be love for the other. Raffi’s Baby Beluga and Down by the Bay are songs cherished by families whose children are now adults continuing on. Raffi’s original philosophy of Child Honouring: How to Turn This World Around has become, more than a book, a covenant of nine principles: Respectful Love, Diversity, Caring Community, Conscious Parenting, Emotional Intelligence, Nonviolence, Safe Environments, Sustainability, & Ethical Commerce. Raffi tells how his work evolved from troubadour to champion of a global ethic that views life and communities through the lens of child honoring. Hear Raffi weave in the importance of stewardship and respect for families and environments from imperiled whales to global warming and climate change. Be inspired by a peacemaking culture of responsible stewardship for our world and all inhabitants on earth.
Elizabeth Saunders talks with Rob about Clean Water Action’s work to prevent harm from toxic chemicals in consumer products by encouraging the use of safer alternatives to toxic chemicals. Elizabeth coordinates a broad coalition working to prevent harm to our health from toxic chemicals. There is concern for people being poisoned by cadmium, lead, mercury, pvc’s and flame retardant chemicals. The top priority is to create a groundbreaking program to systematically replace toxic chemicals with safer alternatives. The MA Safe Alternatives to Toxic Chemicals bill will set up a process where use of safer chemicals can be mandated to replace the use of a harmful chemical whenever a better alternative is established. This is an incentive that rewards development of alternative chemicals with a mandate for its use. With this bill, MA can become a national incubator for less toxic chemical compounds. Perhaps someday the region will become known as “Safer Chemical Valley.”
Laura Henze Russell has suffered for twenty years from mercury poisoning that vaporized from dental amalgam (silver cavity fillings) in her teeth. Laura describes regaining her health. She will present 3 articles at her town meeting in Sharon, MA. Laura’s goals are 1, to learn the health impacts and health disparities associated with mercury poisoning; 2, to reduce the hidden river of toxic mercury in people; and 3, improve general health & lower health care costs. Laura is directing the Hidden River SafeAMER project at the Ocean River Institute. The goal is to pass the state Safer Alternatives to Toxic Chemicals bill. This will set up a process where use of safer chemicals will be mandated. This is an entrepreneurial incentive that rewards the development of alternatives to toxic chemicals. By giving alternatives greater market share costs are brought down. Massachusetts can become a national incubator for less toxic, eco-friendly chemical compounds, “Safer Chemical Valley.”
It's the day after the 2012 election, Mike Dunmyer of Ocean Champions talks with me about how oceans benefitted. Ocean Champions is the political nonprofit that actively campaigns for good legislators. Currently Ocean Champions recognizes 31 decision-makers on the Hill as good on oceans. Setting a goal to up the number to 40, OC endorsed 46 candidates. Today the winners are 40 to 43 legislators with 3 of 4 leading in races too close to call. Ocean Champions are Democrats, Republicans and Independents Congressional leaders. Mike describes many of the endorsed candidates. Ocean Champions took the lead with others in a campaign to defeat a Congressman known as Ocean Enemy #1. Mike explains how despite failing to unseat progress is made in advancing ocean conservation. To discover who is and will soon be championing ocean conservation in Washington tune in and visit www.oceanriver.org for more information and biographies.
Mike Barrett is running for the Massachusetts State Senate. He is campaigning to represent the Third Middlesex district consisting of Waltham, Bedford, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Concord, Lexington, precincts 3, 8 and 9, Lincoln, Sudbury, precincts 1, 4 and 5, and Weston. In our talk Mike talks about his accomplishments in the House (1979-1985), including creation of the original hazardous waste super fund. In the State Senate (1987- 1995), Mike served as chief sponsor of the Toxic Reduction Act. If elected Mike will work on the Safer Alternatives to Toxic Chemicals bill authored by Jay Kaufman. Living in Lexington, Mike is an advocate for the Bruce Freeman bike trail and wants to prevent MassPort's civilian Hanscom Airfield from encroaching into the adjacent National Park. To reduce our carbon footprint, Mike also explains why he is for a gasoline tax that will pay directly into public transportation. Mike's campaign website is www.barrettforstatesenate.org.
Eric Jay Dolin talks with Rob about his newest book: When America First Met China, an exotic history of tea, drugs, and money in the age of sail. Colonial Americans were hooked on China’s high-tech instruments of leisure, including high-priced teas, silks, rhubarb, porcelains and lacquer-wear. To feed American consumerism, US traders went to the ends of the world, over-exploiting people & natural resources, especially seals, sea otters, sandalwood & sea cucumbers. Our voracious appetite for China-built goods drove tragedies of commons, the taking of public resources at a global scale. Dolin helps us to better understand our trading with China long ago and what informs China’s understanding of us today. Our relationship with China began in 1784, when the Empress of China set sail frm NY Harbor. The exploding demand for goods & rush for items to trade led a driven Stonington sealer to discover Antarctica in a very small boat. Foreign trade came with great benefits and bad detriments.
John Williamson, charter boat captain, former commercial fisherman, fellow member of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary talks with Rob about ocean policy planning, fisheries and seafood. John gives us a fisheries overview “from 30,000 feet” of the incredibly complex issues involved where fishing is the last hunting in a wilderness we can not see. The ocean, in particular the 200 mile ribbon encircling the nation, is a public trust resource. There are no property owners, no gatekeepers or gamekeepers. We don’t know who all the users of the resource are. Much of the planning work is now being done by regional councils. Tune in and discover the many ways you can assist and participate in national and regional ocean policy making.
Mike Dunmyer, Executive Director of Ocean Champions talks with Rob about advancing ocean conservation in Washington DC. Ocean Champions recently held an event attended by 20 legislators speaking passionately to clean up our oceans, to better ocean wildlife conditions, and to have less slimy beaches. Ocean Champions succeeds by being the political voice in Washington for ocean conservation. This c4 political nonprofit is not tax deductible because individual gifts influence decision-makers. Mike introduces Senators and House members who are working to save our oceans and who today face challenges in the upcoming elections. He also describes the ocean-worthy merits of new challengers of a few who are bad for oceans. Mike concludes with three ocean legislation items where we can assist during the lame duck period: reducing marine debris, harmful algal blooms that include ocean dead zones, and importance of catch-shares for fishermen from Alaska halibut to New England groundfish.
George Divoky, founder of Friends of Cooper Island, talks with Rob about his work studying the Black Guillemot seabird in Arctic Alaska. Lori Wark, web producer for Friends of Cooper Island, joined the conversation to explain how to get involved in this research.
Since 1975 George has spent his summers on remote Cooper Island. What began as an ornithologist's quest to understand the behaviors of a rare seabird, however, has turned into the story of a changing Arctic. Due to the recent melting of Arctic sea ice in summer, polar bears have begun visiting the island in search of food, reducing breeding success to near zero by 2009.
After that devastating year, George came up with a solution to protect breeding birds and their chicks. By modifying hard plastic cases, George created bear-proof nest sites. The Black Guillemots began moving into their new homes in 2010 with great success. Tune in to find out how you can sponsor a nest site and help to keep the research going.
Michael Hopper, President of the Sea-Run Brook Trout Coalition (www.searunbrookie.org) talks with Rob about saving sea run brook trout. Once preferred by anglers in the 1700’s, these are brook trout that leave fresh water for the ocean life. Trout rejoin their freshwater brethren better fed and bigger, more salmon like. Buttermilk Bay at the top of Buzzards Bay has the finest runs for salters (sea-run brook trout). Theodore Lyman, III, found with Louis Agassiz (1867) that Red Brook in Wareham was the finest remaining salter run. The Lyman family saved the brook’s watershed until recently. It is protected today by the State (428-acre Red Brook Wildlife Management Unit) and The Trustees of Reservation (210-acre Lyman Reserve). Salter populations are hanging on in tidal creeks and rivers, a remnant of their former abundance. Saving sea-run brook trout means saving all the other fish and animals of the watershed. Tune in to help save salters and coastal ecosystems.
Peter Alexander (www.northeastgreatwaters.org) talks with Rob about life on a Maine island. He describes some of the assaults to coastal waters and ocean wildlife, along with the robust planning needed for restoration. For the past 3 years Peter has been leading the Gulf of Maine Habitat Restoration Initiative, which expanded last year to include Cape Cod and Rhode Island. He will host a New England Coasts Restoration Initiative Summit open meeting with of 400 invited. Peter succeeds by working with representatives from state and federal agencies, the non-profit community, and with members of Congress to build awareness and consensus on ocean restoration needs. Peter is also a founding member of the America's Great Waters Coalition representing 19 major waterways like the Great Lakes, Ohio River, and Chesapeake Bay. Peter has a MS in Environmental Studies, Antioch New England. He is a professional musician, who serves as president of the Maine Songwriters Association.
Darren Saletta has caught Striped Bass by hook & line for 20 years. The Striped Bass fishery is a well managed, clean, environmentally sound operation with plenty of fish. Industrial fishing operations are destroying the striper’s food base. Herring, Mackerel, & Menhaden are caught in massive nets that can kill tons of by-catch, including Striped Bass. Water quality is an issue for Striped Bass in the Chesapeake. Burgeoning Gray Seal populations are fouling inshore waters with excessive waste and decimating inshore forage, forcing Striped Bass to feed much further offshore to the dismay of surf fishermen. Seals are also cleaning out fishing weirs, another environmentally favorable method of commercial fishing. Striped Bass fishermen are under attack by a special interest group attempting to close the fishery, stripping us of the ability to buy Striped Bass at fish markets or restaurants. Discover what you can do to protect Striped Bass and this culturally significant fishery.
Darren Saletta has caught Striped Bass by hook & line for 20 years. The Striped Bass fishery is a well managed, clean, environmentally sound operation with plenty of fish. Industrial fishing operations are destroying the striper’s food base. Herring, Mackerel, & Menhaden are caught in massive nets that can kill tons of by-catch, including Striped Bass. Water quality is an issue for Striped Bass in the Chesapeake. Burgeoning Gray Seal populations are fouling inshore waters with excessive waste and decimating inshore forage, forcing Striped Bass to feed much further offshore to the dismay of surf fishermen. Seals are also cleaning out fishing weirs, another environmentally favorable method of commercial fishing. Striped Bass fishermen are under attack by a special interest group attempting to close the fishery, stripping us of the ability to buy Striped Bass at fish markets or restaurants. Discover what you can do to protect Striped Bass and this culturally significant fishery.
Vicki Osis, marine education professor of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State U, tells how increasing acidity of the ocean was first documented by scientists researching around the globe. Carbon-loading of the atmosphere is having serious effects on the Ocean with increasing devastations of epic proportions expected by 2020. Already oyster larvae are perishing, wiping out oyster growing businesses in Oregon. And oyster sprats are just one in the cast of thousands of species that make up ocean zoo plankton. When the base of food chains fail entire suites of animals risk sudden extinction due to no food including striped bass, tuna and both baleen and toothed whales. The only way the oceans can be saved is by Americans reducing our carbon footprint. When 4% of the world population is responsible for 20% of the carbon into the atmosphere problem, we must lead the way in actions. Those who like to eat oysters will soon not be the only ones to suffer when carbon kills the ocean.
Mayor Lisa Wong takes Rob down to the Nashua River that is the reason for this New England industrial town. Once the river ran through mill factories; now walls that canalized and accelerated are coming down with the building of three green parks. Andria Freeman of the Trustees of Reservations, DPW Commissioner Lenny Laakso and Bob Jokela, Business Manager of the Fitchburg Public Schools all tell of their respective effort to green the city and strengthen community. When police cruisers are retired, reducing carbon footprint with donated motorcycles and pedal bicycles, not only do police interact more closely with community, a group of high school seniors ask the Mayor how they can become Fitchburg policemen. Hear why similar requests are being made of DPW, Parks & Recreation, and schools. The Fitchburg Mayor faces a tough reelection vote on November 8, 2011 due to out-of-town factors.
Jud Crawford, Ph.D. of the Pew Environment Group introduces a plankton-eating fish that is forage food for fish, birds and marine mammals. The Atlantic menhaden have been called the most valuable fish in the sea. The ecology of menhaden is described and a new initiative to restore menhaden by increasing the number left in the ocean and for finally taking into account the needs of menhaden predators. And so Castles Made of Sand Fall into the Sea, eventually… (Jimi Hendrix) Ben Kalina introduces his new documentary film, Shored UP. Ben experiences life on a barrier beach by spending a hurricane on Long Beach Island, NJ when all have left except for rescue personnel. Ben describes beach life on Long Beach New York where surfers arrive be subway. Shored Up is a feature documentary about our disappearing coasts and our irrational yet romantic urge to live on the edge of a sea that surges with unimaginable power.
E. K. Khalsa, Executive Director of the Mystic River Watershed Association (mysticriver.org) talks about the challenges of being a river hearing in the sea and in the river. He spoke on behalf of herring to the New England Fisheries Management Council and offers concrete actions one can take to save herring. The Fisheries Council is offering a short public comment period after years of research and deliberations. The Mystic River is alive with herring thanks to people turning out to lift fish over a dam and then the building of a successful fish ladder. Hardened shorelines and impervious watershed lands are a great problem that is being addressed from “depaving” neighborhood events to remediation of hazardous industrial corridors into green ways with natural filters and no toxins. With roughly 12 million herring lost every year to bycatch at sea, now is the time to speak up for herring – herring for our rivers, our tables, ecosystems both marine and fresh water.
Rob’s guests are Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary Craig McDonald and John Williamson, Fisherman, New England Fisheries Management Council former member representing fishermen from two states, and now president of Stellwagen Alive. After nineteen years of Sanctuary management and research, a proposal to close 14% of the area to fishing has been developed. Stellwagen Bank Sanctuary in its entirety has four bottom types, one third gravel, one third sand, one third mud and a bit of boulders. Subarea A, the 89 square miles to be closed (14% of 640 sq mi Sanctuary) also contains a third gravel, sand and mud plus boulders. Subarea B, 106 sq mi to the east, is proposed to be closed to commercial and open to recreational fishing; while subarea C 56 sq mi to the north, closest to Gloucester, would be closed to recreational fishing and open to commercial. Why ecosystem-based research is so important along with population-based research is explained. How the Sanctuary arrived at these specific research areas is a complicated tale of much research that features listening to local users to minimize potential hardships.
What is happening to Florida’s Indian River Lagoon and what homeowners can do for healthier Lagoon wildlife? George Jones, the Indian River Lagoon Riverkeeper, tells Rob about the uniqueness of the Lagoon and the importance of staying vigilant in protecting this invaluable resource. Jim Egan, Executive Director of the Marine Resources Council, tells of the current problems facing the Lagoon, what is causing them, and what people can do. Capt. Nancy Beaver joins the program later on to echo the alarm for the dying of seagrass beds that are being blotted out by algal blooms. Martin County Commissioner Patrick Hayes joins the conversation and comes to the rescue with an ordinance passed just before the summer rains arrived banning the application of lawn fertilizers from June 1 through September 30th as well as other measures to save Indian River Lagoon.
Matt McKenzie, Ph.D.,UCONN & Patrick Paquette, striped bass fishing community organizer say where have all the herring gone, how Cape Cod has changed. McKenzie tells the social and ecological history of the rise and demise coastal fisheries in the 19th century. His book: Clearing the Coastline, includes Thoreau’s thoughts on Cape Cod fisheries and how these changed after his death.Matt also tells of helping out a family’s herring weirs on Cape Cod and of a fisherman well known to Paquette.Patrick explains early efforts to save herring through the CHOIR collaboration“where different voices needed to learn to sing in harmony.”He also noted a striped bass food shortage along the East Coast caused by industrial-scale fishing of coastal herring, mackerel and menhaden. NMFS and the New England Fishery Mgmt Council failed to take measures to stem the decline of sea herring, river herring, and shad populations. Visit Ocean River Institute for how you can help w ORI’s lawsuit to save herring.
Les Kaufman, CI and Boston University professor along with John Williamson, president of Stellwagen Alive talk with Rob about their whale watch voyage onto Stellwagen Bank August 5th where forage fish were running strong and humpback whales feeding voraciously. Les Kaufman explains the biology and feeding behaviors of humpback whales. John Williamson tells of decades working as New England fisherman often on Jeffrey’s Ledges. Williamson, nominated by two states (NH and ME), served on the New England Fisheries Management Council. He explains the work of managing fish populations where the corner has been turned on over fishing for sustainable seafood, and of the need for more ecosystem-based research. Stellwagen Alive, John’s friends group for the Sanctuary is actively recovering lost fishing gear http://www.stellwagenalive.org For more info on Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary visit http://stellwagen.noaa.gov
Charlotte McDevitt, Executive Director of GreenVI.org, is working towards a vision of a green, clean, healthy and prosperous British Virgin Islands. Since 1995 trash on Tortola has surged from less than 10,000 tons to close to 40,000 tons. Charlotte explains why due to the nature of Tortola they must burn trash and what is being done to reverse that trend. Twice a year for a few days the incinerator has to be shut down so that people could scrape off the internal walls melted glass. Charlotte explains how with the help of businesses, Islanders are rallying to recycle and reuse glass. This includes a method that is saving the coral reefs and mangrove shores. See a video of their glass studio at GreenVI.org. BVI was awarded UNESCO funding for Environmental Education that emphasizes Sustainability. Be inspired by what an island community is doing with very limited resources to reduce their pollution and carbon footprints.
Sustainability is good for business. Ed Humes, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author discusses his latest book: Force of Nature: The Unlikely Story of Wal-Mart's Green Revolution (Harper Collins, May 2011). The giant “box store” discovers that going green to address one’s carbon footprint saves money, no matter the product. Systems thinking where “carbon equals energy equals money” saves Wal-Mart’s bottom line. Discover Daisyville, cow power and the cow of the future. The pasteurization method is as much to blame for a cow’s carbon and methane footprint as is the cow. Grazing on grass is just one of the many steps diary farmers are now considering. A company can only save the planet if it can inspire all companies to make ecosystem services a market force. Hear about first corporate steps and partnerships on the quest of sustainability for planet Earth.
Leslie Cox, Hampshire College Farm Center Manager talks with Rob about cow and grass management for happier cows, healthier consumers and a greener nation. The Farm, created by Prof. Ray Coppinger, is a place where college students and faculty integrate science and alternative technology for testing sustainable farming methods. The cows are Dutch Belted, a very rare and highly esteemed breed, developed in the Netherlands in the 1600s. With an excellent grazing ability and forage efficiency, these cows produce as much milk as larger, grain-fed cows. Known for intelligence and friendly disposition, except for Bethany who is short on the friendly but not intelligence, the cows handle easily and are “barn-trained” to do their business outside. Emitting less methane, grass-fed cows and cattle are good for the environment. An attractive alternative to the carbon footprint created by the production and transport corn.
Pam Lyons Gromen, Executive Director of the National Coalition for Marine Conservation (NCMC) and Earthjustice’s Roger Fleming talk about where have the herring gone on Moir’s Environmental Dialogues and on Moir’s Environment Advocates. When NMFS and NEFMC failed to stem the decline of sea herring, river herring and shad populations, a recreational fishing advocate, charter boat captain, and the Ocean River Institute filed suit, represented by Earthjustice. Pam describes the life history of fish and explains why these fish are in jeopardy. Roger explains why a lawsuit is necessary when groups fail to act and what will be accomplished through our actions. Rob, Pam and Roger are active members of the Herring Alliance, a coalition of non-profit conservation and environmental organizations working to reform New England’s Atlantic herring fishery. The protection and restoration of river herring, shad, and Atlantic herring, is vital to the continued use and enjoyment of these waters.
Molly Bolster, Executive Director of the nonprofit Gundalow Company http://www.gundalow.org and Jeff Bolster, Professor of History at the University of New Hampshire, talk with me about marine environmental history informing today’s ocean conservation and stewardship. We must understand the oceans of the past to protect the oceans of the future. According to a recent report the state of rivers and Great Bay that flow into Portsmouth NH are declining according to 11 out of 12 indicators. Molly Bolster addresses these trends by using a replica boat, modeled after the last gundalow, as an educational platform. A new gundalow is being built which poses challenges of its own. Jeff Bolster describes how skewed visions of the past have led to disastrous marine policies and why historical perspective is critical to revitalize fisheries and ecosystems. In The Fog Warning by Winslow Homer Jeff gives us new insights into ocean conservation.
Eric Jay Dolin, calling from Marblehead, tells us about the history of whaling with a bit about the beginning of the whale watching industry and Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Discover how Capt Smith had he caught whales would have set up a colony in Massachusetts before the pilgrims. Whaling started in Boston in 1640 with Samuel Maverick setting up a whale processing shop on Noddles Island, now East Boston, for “drift whales.” Eric Dolin explains why first Nantucket and then New Bedford became the capitals of the 19th century “oil barons.” American whaling ebbed away not due to a lack of whales to kill but due greatly to the finding of oil and the rise of new energy technologies. The similarities between business and social challenges than and today are startling. Tune in for whale struggles, greasy prosperity, killings just for corset stays, and the Wanderer’s last voyage.
Citizens of Massachusetts are outraged that U.S. Senator Scott Brown has voted repeatedly to eliminate clean air standards. People are feeling betrayed by a former state senator who voted green more often than not (MLEV’s scorecard). When $1.3 million dirty fossil fuel money went into the Senator’s campaign chest, he did “a Jekyll-Hyde switch between Beacon Hill and Capital Hill.” The League of Women Voters called Brown to task. After thirteen days of withering attacks LWV still stands tall. Now the Mass League of Environmental Voters has taken out radio ads: he “repeatedly voted to eliminate clean air standards that keep dangerous pollutants like arsenic, mercury and lead out of the air.”
Joining me to talk how green is Brown are Erik Blasbaugh, Acting Executive Director of the Massachusetts League of Environmental Voters, Ben Wright, Advocate for Environment Massachusetts, Vanessa Rule, Director, The Better Future Project and Jason Kolwaski, Policy Director, 350.org.
Olivia Newton-John and her husband Amazon John Easterling talk with Rob Moir on what we each can do for a greener planet and about their work to save the Amazon Rainforest. Olivia tells why the rainforest is so important. Amazon John explains the remarkable health-giving properties of the Camu-camu fruit (www.DrinkCamu.com). This indigenous fruit is harvested from shallow boats and is a source of income for local peoples. In the 2nd half, Rob talks with Bert Lettsome, a.k.a. 'Washasha X', Chief Conservation Officer of the British Virgin Islands and the work of the Virgin Island Environmental Council. Bert describes why nature in the British Virgin Island is more diverse than anywhere else in the Caribbean. To protect it and maintain pristine, undisturbed nature in the Virgin Islands, we must all make choices. Listen to his song “Choices.” Bert tells us why mangroves are so vital with his song “Ras Mangrove.”
What began with 4 Anishinawbe Grandmothers quickly included women and men walking to raise awareness for the water Water is precious and sacred; it is one of the basic elements needed for all life to exist. They walked around the Great Lakes and the St Lawrence to the sea. Each of the 24,113,700 steps taken was a prayer for the water.
Now the 2011 Mother Earth Water Walk to Wisconsin from 4 directions has begun. April 10, 2011, at Olympia, Washington, under the watchful eyes of loon and bald eagle, water from the Pacific Ocean was collected in a copper pail. Walkers will gather sea water in Gulfport, Mississippi, Machias, Maine and Churchill, Manitoba and walk the waters to Bad River, Wisconsin. Telling me of the epic endeavour are Dawnis Kennedy, Joanne Robertson (coordinator) Sharon M. Day (South), Tina (West) and Madeleine Huntjens (East).To learn more and to assist please visit http://www.motherearthwaterwalk.com or view their progress at http://emptyglassforwater.ca/map/
Carl Safina talks about, and reads from, his book The View from Lazy Point. A year of observations is presented in gripping details from the tip of the swallowtail that is Eastern Long Island. Carl takes us beyond the mysteries of fishing into deep connections with place and fish. Discover the compatible yet distinctive natural history of the Common Tern and its close relative the Roseate Tern. Three things that we need to understand are: that life is a fully networked community; we ought to act with reverence and caution; and “that the story we write with our lives affects those living near and far, and not just now but in the distant future.” To sail these complex and opaque waters with treacherous shores looming large to leeward, we must be more nibble in our steering and find our way with a “compass of compassion.” Carl’s television series on PBS is “Saving the Ocean.” His next book is Sea of Flames. For more info visit http://carlsafina.org
In 1979 Raffi was kissed by a beluga whale. In that gentle gesture Raffi knew that for people to save wildlife or cleanup degraded environments there must be love for the other. Raffi’s Baby Beluga and Down by the Bay are songs cherished by families whose children are now adults continuing on. Raffi’s original philosophy of Child Honouring: How to Turn This World Around has become, more than a book, a covenant of nine principles: Respectful Love, Diversity, Caring Community, Conscious Parenting, Emotional Intelligence, Nonviolence, Safe Environments, Sustainability, & Ethical Commerce. Raffi tells how his work evolved from troubadour to champion of a global ethic that views life and communities through the lens of child honoring. Hear Raffi weave in the importance of stewardship and respect for families and environments from imperiled whales to global warming and climate change. Be inspired by a peacemaking culture of responsible stewardship for our world and all inhabitants on earth.
Kelly Mitchell, Greenpeace Coal Campaigner and Chicago resident discusses the citizen-led efforts to shut down the Salem Harbor coal plant in Massachusetts and the Fisk and Crawford coal plants in Chicago, IL. These power plants are polluting our air with toxic soot and water with toxins and making our families sick. Coal-fired power plants are an enormous source of carbon, causing global warming. Atmospheric carbon stays in air after soot settles out on residents. Fortunately, communities across the US are coming together to shut down coal-fired plants in their neighborhoods.
Dr. George Divoky has traveled to remote Cooper Island in the Arctic for nearly 30 years. Braving the elements and the occasional polar bear, his mission is to study the Black Guillemots — seabirds closely related to the extinct Great Auk. Because no other animal is so closely tied to Arctic ice flows, George’s research is contributing to the understanding of climate change on wildlife in Arctic. Climate change is the reason for more puffins and polar bears on Cooper Island. George explains why this is bad for guillemots. He concludes on a hopeful note on how pelican boxes built for nesting sites can save guillemots. George invites school teachers and informal educators to join with Friends of Cooper’s Island to build their own nesting habitats for “the penguins of the north.”
Dolphins in Florida are dying from too much nutrients washing into waterways. This episode Captain Nancy Beaver of Sunshine Wildlife spoke with Rob on Moir’s Environmental Dialogues about the plight of Indian River Lagoon, where human activities are colliding with wildlife resulting in marine mammal unusual mortality events. Captain Nancy has observed much while educating school groups and families out on the water with Sunshine Wildlife Tours. She is a certified Coastal Master Naturalist by Florida Atlantic University and has been directing education programs since 2000. Captain Nancy is very concerned and spoke at length on the natural history of bottlenose dolphins, manatees, turtles, wood storks, ibises and magnificent frigate birds of the Indian River Lagoon. Listen to Captain Nancy’s recommendations on what we each can do to help save Indian River Lagoon wildlife. Save dolphins, join in our efforts to write letters to Commissioners to cap lawn fertilizers.
Dr. Jamie M. Cournane talks herring and gave an excellent report to a committee of the New England Fisheries Management Council in Portsmouth. Blueback herring and alewives are river herring. They are anadromous, ascending rivers to reproduce. These fish school with similar-sized euryhaline fish that spawn in estuaries, Atlantic herring, shad and menhaden. River herring spend many years at sea feeding on zooplankton. Plankton migrates vertically through the ocean, up during night, down during the day. Currents move fish and forage food horizontally creating a merry-go-round of fishing opportunities. Jamie mapped hot spots of river herring bycatch by trawlers and seiners that target Atlantic herring. Where fish are more likely to be found during specific months of the year was charted. Fisheries managers can use this spatial/depth/time information to better manage for survival of river herring. Also told is how one became a marine biologist and what we can do to help river herring.
Dyan DeNapoli, author of the newly released book The Great Penguin Rescue, tells the remarkable story of the largest and most successful wildlife rescue ever mounted. On June 23, 2000, an iron-ore carrier named the Treasure foundered off the coast of Cape Town between two of the main breeding islands for the African penguin. Already classified as a species vulnerable to extinction, the oil slick threatened to destroy nearly half the world population.
Dyan DeNapoli, author of the newly released book The Great Penguin Rescue, tells the remarkable story of the largest and most successful wildlife rescue ever mounted. On June 23, 2000, an iron-ore carrier named the Treasure foundered off the coast of Cape Town between two of the main breeding islands for the African penguin. Already classified as a species vulnerable to extinction, the oil slick threatened to destroy nearly half the world population.
Tales of Russia’s Sacred Sea, Lake Baikal are told by Peter Thomson, Environment Editor at the public radio program The World. Peter describes visiting the world’s deepest, oldest, and largest supply of fresh water in his new book, “Sacred Sea: A Journey to Lake Baikal.” For scientists, Baikal is an enigma: at once both a healthy and a dying ecosystem. Peter eloquently describes diving deep beneath cold, shimmering seas. The waters are unbelievably clear thanks to “the zillions of epischura trawling at any one time like a vast armada of aquatic vacuum cleaners, filtering Baikal’s water with extraordinary efficiency.” These shrimp-like critters are consumed by remarkable fish called “golomyonkas.” These fish swim perpendicular like seahorses and are, in turn, food for nerpas, the Baikal Seal. Despite the clash of two very different fundamental faiths, complete with mirages and miracles, Peter finds hope in those struggling to save Lake Baikal.
Dyan DeNapoli, author of the newly released book The Great Penguin Rescue, tells the remarkable story of the largest and most successful wildlife rescue ever mounted. On June 23, 2000, an iron-ore carrier named the Treasure foundered off the coast of Cape Town between two of the main breeding islands for the African penguin. Already classified as a species vulnerable to extinction, the oil slick threatened to destroy nearly half the world population. Penguin experts, including Dyan, were flown in from around the world to manage a battalion of 12,500 volunteers who worked more than 556,000 hours force-feeding, washing, and rehabilitating 19,000 oiled penguins, and moving another 19,500 penguins from their islands to prevent them from getting oiled. Dyan’s account is an endearing tale of perseverance to overcome devastatingly daunting obstacles to bring the African penguin back from the edge of extinction.
Tales of Russia’s Sacred Sea, Lake Baikal are told by Peter Thomson, Environment Editor at the public radio program The World. Peter describes visiting the world’s deepest, oldest, and largest supply of fresh water in his new book, “Sacred Sea: A Journey to Lake Baikal.” For scientists, Baikal is an enigma: at once both a healthy and a dying ecosystem. Peter eloquently describes diving deep beneath cold, shimmering seas. The waters are unbelievably clear thanks to “the zillions of epischura trawling at any one time like a vast armada of aquatic vacuum cleaners, filtering Baikal’s water with extraordinary efficiency.” These shrimp-like critters are consumed by remarkable fish called “golomyonkas.” These fish swim perpendicular like seahorses and are, in turn, food for nerpas, the Baikal Seal. Despite the clash of two very different fundamental faiths, complete with mirages and miracles, Peter finds hope in those struggling to save Lake Baikal.
Vanessa Rule and Eric Becker of the Somerville Climate Action explain how one goes from rallies to taking up pick ax to de-paving an urban core. Vanessa was part of the leadership behind thousands of people rallying in David Square for Step It Up, 2007. Vanessa describes how her approach has changed since then with more listening to the people of watersheds. We must do more than shrink carbon-footprints; we must become pro-active to help ecosystems, reverse our damages, and restore the earth. Eric Becker describes adapting the Climate Emergency Initiative from Cambridge to become an organizing principle for Somerville. His goal is to bring all interests and sky-stakeholders of Somerville together with government to a summit meeting where people will develop ideas, plans and recommendations for a multiplicity of actions that will address the unfolding problems of too much carbon in the atmosphere.
Eric Jay Dolin’s latest book is Fur, Fortune and Empire. His is an epic history of beaver, buffalo, seal and sea otter. Fur animal populations were heavily exploited and only survived because market forces drove hunters westward. Finally on the west coast sea otter are so over harvested that many of their populations never return. Dolin ends his book with the 1900 advent of conservation laws. Dolin describes how he became an eminent environmental policy expert and Switzer fellow from collecting shells as a child to Woods Hole and beyond. Ocean Champions Mike Dunmyer picks up where Dolin leaves off in his book with what specific House members have done on Capital Hill to save otters. Mike recognizes the good work for oceans being accomplished by both Democratic and Republican Representatives.
Friends of Casco Bay (Portland Maine and north by east) BayKeeper Joe Payne and Associate Director Mary Cerullo talk with Rob about the slithering of green slime over the benthos. With increasing regularity and alarming spread green algal mats are covering clam flats and gobbling up oxygen making life difficult for ground fish and ground dwellers including lobsters. Joe tells of hypoxic, low-oxygen regions of Casco Bay where fish swim in and die. These assaults on ocean ecosystems are caused by too much nutrients, nitrogen and phosphates, flowing, washing and seeping in. Mary Cerullo describes BayScaping, a six-step program for homeowners on environmentally friendly lawn care. Whether you live in this watershed or another, BayScaping will save you money, free time for you on Saturdays, and save marine life, too!
The dolphins of Florida's Indian River Lagoon were dying at such an alarming rate that the situation was declared a marine mammal unusual mortality event. Most distressing is to see dolphins covered with skin-eating fungal infections. To save the dolphins, we must lessen the phosphorus and nitrogen entering the ecosystem. Rob talks with Stephen McCulloch, Founder/Manager of Marine Mammal Research and Conservation Program, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Florida Atlantic University at Fort Pierce. Steve rescued dolphins, manatees, and even Arctic seals in Florida. Since 1999 more than 200 marine mammals have been rescued. Steve recently helped transport and release almost 400 sea turtles; in FL effort that released 4,000 turtles. We can greatly reduce nutrient pollution in the Indian River Lagoon and lessen our subsequent role in the death of the lagoon dolphins by not using fertilizers with phosphorous and quick release nitrogen. Take Action with the Ocean River Institute.
Dr. Greg Bossart has been researching bottlenose dolphins in the Indian River Lagoon for many years. He continues to be astonished by how many different ailments dolphins must deal with including viruses, skin-eating fungal infections, heightened resistance to antibiotics and high levels (21x acceptable limits) of mercury. Hear about the suite of sufferings and learn what we can do to help the dolphins of Indian Lagoon. Aaron Viles, Campaign Director with the Gulf Coast Restoration Network joins us for an update on further unexpected developments following the massive oil leak. Aaron tells how a twenty mile in diameter, thousand foot depth oily plume may have vanished. Chris Laughlin, Ocean Champions, called in to say ocean protection paddler Margo Pellegrino (featured in last episode) was welcomed to Santa Cruz Harbor beach. Margo’s off to San Diego shaded by an OC cap. Mike Dunmyer completed the episode with ocean conservation actions on Capital Hill for this fall.
Margo Pellegrino is paddling an outrigger canoe along the Pacific Coast to bring attention to the urgent need for ocean conservation and to address ocean health issues. More challenging than Margo’s message is the distance she chose to go, paddling from Seattle, WA to San Diego CA. During this broadcast Margo was unable to talk, preoccupied with passage off California’s Lost Coast, rounding a fearsome far-flung prominence called Punta Gorda, whose Lighthouse, dreaded by keepers, was known as the “Alcatraz” of lighthouses. Instead, June Barnard, Margo’s “land crew” talks with Rob after driving halfway between Petrolia and Honeydew to get cell service. Hear why Margo is distressed by the state of this coast. Discover what she encountered, learned along the voyage, and what you can do to better oceans.
The Mystic River Watershed Association works to protect and restore the Mystic River, its tributaries and watershed lands. Executive Director, EkOngKar Singh Khalsa tells us about one of the most urban and densely populated watersheds in Massachusetts. Three Superfund sites are within its borders. The river is home to various Environmental Justice communities. The Mystic has a history of industry most evident along its banks. Liquid Nitrogen Gas (LNG) tankers go into the lower reaches where the river meets Boston Harbor. Herring surmount the Amelia Earhart Dam in Somerville to spawn above. At the Mystic Lakes a fish ladder was recently completed. MyRWA folk need no longer help the fish up to the higher lake every spring. The Mystic is home for ducks, herons and turtles. It provides winter respite for bald eagles. EK Khalsa addresses the challenges that face the Mystic today, what people are doing to restore natural systems, and what Mystic prospects are for the future.
Mary S Booth, PhD ecologist tells of how wood-burning electric biomass generators were found to be an answer, good for the nation’s carbon-footprint as well as a cleaner energy source than fossil fuels. Massachusetts sought to add 135 megawatts of electricity. Into the permitting process went three new biomass plants, in Springfield, Russell (Westfield River), and Greenfield (Deerfield River). The Ocean River Institute got involved defending taking &warming of water in a coldstream salmon river, the Westfield (oceanriver dot org). Meanwhile, Mary researched the impacts on Massachusetts forests, carbon emissions overall, and air quality. Biomass generators work at best with 24% efficiency meaning one needs to burn 4 cords of wood to get 1 cord of wood energy. Informed by good science, the state is less gung-ho for burning construction debris. Recently, the state did a turn around to no longer view wood-burning biomass generators as a green solution for climate change concerns.
Four New England Climate Summer Riders recently rode into Somerville,Margaret Fetzer-Rogers, Sara Finkle, Yingying Chen, and Bliss Parsons. Together, they have dedicated nine weeks this summer to inspire and inform communities as to how one can reduce carbon footprints and use of fossil fuels. Following a week orientation program in Wilmot NH,Margaret, Sara, Yingying and Bliss were given a lift to 25 miles north of their first community, North Andover MA. Astonishingly, what four bicycles were carrying filled an SUV and a trailer. The riders have ridden from North Andover to Beverly, to Somerville often staying in churches. They set up at farmers markets, attend church dinners and meet with municipal leaders. The culmination will be Aug 8 when all three rider teams converge on Boston. The riders will be fitter and hopefully breathing air less polluted by excess carbon. To follow their adventures visit: www.newenglandclimateriders.org
The growing oil spill disaster in the Gulf is wreaking immediate and lasting damage on wildlife and the economy, environment and human health. Rob speaks with Mike Dunmeyer of Ocean Champions about turning this disaster into some positive actions. What actions are Obama taking to halt new ocean drilling and get strong climate legislation? What are the various clean energy solutions out there to fight the climate crisis and grow a green economy? First step is to reinstate the national moratorium on all new ocean drilling. Second is to set carbon emission reductions and establish a cap and trade system will help industry and spur new jobs. Hear what Ocean Champions is doing in Washington to turn this drilling travesty into a positive by getting a national ocean policy established. Rob shares the work the Ocean River Institute and its network of ecostewards are doing to call for clean energy, no new drilling, and a National Ocean Policy.
Discover the life of sturgeon around the world. Hear how people are working to better know and save these ancient long-lived fish. Dr Boyd Kynard returns as my guest with tales of sturgeon and other migratory fish beyond New England. Dr Kynard built and operates the Conte Anadromous Fish Research Center in Amherst, MA. He has developed remarkable telemetry tracking devices that are documenting and unlocking the secrets of fish behaviors. Scientists from around the world come to the Amherst lab to learn the research tools for migratory fish back home. Known as the migratory fish missionary, Dr Kynard transported tons of research equipment aboard a ship that traveled through the Bosporus Straits, over the Black Sea to the Danube River where seven species of sturgeon dwell. He established a fish laboratory in Romania and also established a migratory fish lab in China, downriver of the Three Gorges Dam.
Sturgeons and lampreys are truly ocean river dwellers. My understanding and awe of anadromous fish was forever altered by lamprey nest building behavior and what the behavior of two sturgeon told Dr Boyd Kynard last month. Many years ago, he discovered in his neighborhood the only Massachusetts tributary river of the Connecticut River watershed that is not dammed, the Fort River. We talk about an amazing fish, the lamprey, which stops feeding in Long Island Sound to travel to the Pelham Hills transporting carbon and ocean chemicals including boron to endow ecosystems far from the sea. Discover the many ways lamprey leave an environment better off than found. Don’t miss Dr. Kynard’s remarkable research findings of Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon populations in the CT and Merrimack Rivers. Both sturgeon and lamprey are resilient, long-lived fish, ocean wanderers with life histories and survival strategies very different from the well-studied salmon.
Marine biologist, Lianna Jarecki, PhD, takes me into a threatened British Virgin Island salt pond. Lianna explains the complex biology from blue-green algal mats to mangroves with clapper rails, to black-necked stilts and flamingos atop the salt pond food pyramid. In the second half, Noni Georges of the Virgin Islands Environmental Council (VIEC) tells a local version of the David and Goliath story. The largest developers in the world spent millions planning to develop with gov permission to disregard all environmental regs (destroy) the most pristine portions of the Tortola, Beef Island. Islanders outraged with the potential loss of mangrove shores, salt ponds and most of all, the Fisheries Protected Area took action that began with a senior paper by a young law student Noni Georges. The court case became a first for the Caribbean where Islanders stood up to developers. Noni explains how VIEC won the case and how this is only the beginning with the developers appealing.
Alanna Mitchell will take us on a dive 3,000 feet into a far Tortuga sinkhole where no one has gone before to discover new life forms, new chemical compounds, and new insights into how it all comes together on the ocean planet. Alanna Mitchell is journalist who travels with ocean scientists and marine biologists to discover how we live with oceans and depend on marine life. With her clear-eyed immediacy she writes in the style of Rachel Carson, yet more personable. We care that carbonic acid is increasing in seawater with increasing carbon in the atmosphere. During the last century and a half of human activity ocean water acidity has increased by 30%. What does it mean for you and me when calcareous sea critters start to fizzle in rising seas? Alanna Mitchell shares her experiences with us and will read of her dive from her book, Seasick: Ocean Change and the Extinction of Life on Earth.
Grab a paddle and pull. Lara Hansen, PhD, will talk of how we can no longer disregard the inevitability of drastic climate change. So many decisive factors are affected that we are in crisis, a climate crisis that affects everything we do. Time to do something about it. Reducing emissions of greenhouse gases is a big piece of the solution puzzle. Yet, we also have to figure out how to deal with all of the effects of the climate crisis—from sea level rise to warming waters, less oxygen, to spread of disease. Climate crisis must factor into the decisions we make about natural resource management, human community development and how we live in changing watersheds. Dr. Lara Hansen of EcoAdapt will draw on ecosystem experiences and insights to offer proven tools for ecostewards. Tools include the Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange (CAKE) an innovative community of practice and the book Climate Savvy: Adapting Conservation and Resource Management to a Changing World (Island Press).
If you care about the oceans why you should care about fishing? Amanda Leland and Tom Lalley of the Environmental Defense Fund will tell. Much has been said about what is wrong with overfishing and how management efforts frequently fail. Drawing on personal experiences with sea urchins and a tale of red snapper, as well as years of research and listening to fishermen, we’ll learn how complex and unpredictable ocean wildlife and ecosystems actually are. Discover how this ocean environmental and economic problem can be solved, and what you can do to help. The Environmental Defense Fund offers us educational resources and a tool box for recovering groundfish that include cod, fluke, and haddock, pelagics including tuna and swordfish, and schooling fish: herring, sardine and mackerel. By sharing the catch with less waste and more profit, fish and fishing communities both survive.
Sherman’s Lagoon syndicated cartoonist Jim Toomey and Blue Frontier Campaign president David Helvarg talk about the goals and accomplishments of the National Ocean Policy Task Force. Claudia the crab & Finley the fish wearing blue shirts, two members of a national movement involving thousands of people for ocean conservation from the capital steps in Honolulu east to Cambridge MA Community Center, New Orleans north to Anchorage. David Helvarg’s “Seaweed Rebellion” has brought people together, provided unity and focus while enhancing awareness of the grassroots (seaweed holdfasts) ocean movement. Mike Dunmeyer, Ocean Champions Executive Director, joins in with the latest on the Ocean Policy Task Force’s work to create a National Ocean Management Policy Framework and their recently released draft: “Interim Framework for Effective Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning.” Hold on to your mask and flippers.
Peter Alexander of the Gulf of Maine Restoration and Conservation Initiative will tell us about a new effort to tackle the growing impacts of human activities in the Gulf of Maine. The beautiful Gulf of Maine appears to many to be a relatively pristine ecosystem. Beneath the waves and along the shores serious problems have been building up over time—and not just the well-publicized crash of native fisheries. Abandoned fishing gear, invasive species, municipal waste, pollution from agricultural and residential runoff, and loss of fish and wildlife habitat are causing enormous harm, and until now there has been no comprehensive plan to deal with these and other problems. Discover what locals are doing and interested citizens can do to make a difference.
Discover how to reduce our carbon footprint, reverse rates of greenhouse gas build-up while creating green jobs and healthier environments with Professor William Moomaw, Senior Director, Tufts Institute of the Environment; Co-Director, Global Development and Environment Institute; and Lead author, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2003.
Randy Olson, marine biologist and filmmaker talks about “shifting baselines” for ecosystems and his newest film Sizzle to premier in NYC on Oct 23. Shifting baselines are the chronic, slow changes to an ecosystem or place that one is not apt to notice until. It is more difficult to appreciate and understand what has been lost in a degraded system if a baseline of what is there had not been established in the past. Sizzle, the documentary, addresses climate change without the graphs, but with disagreeable scientists and with sophisticated humor. Randy Olson explains the distinctions and advantages to “mockumentaries” versus documentaries, where media respects the better understandings that listeners have in order to get the parody. www.sizzlethemovie.com Dave Wilmot tells of marking-up a bill in DC for tackling harmful algal blooms and ocean hypoxia. www.oceanchampions.org Chukchi Sea hairy blob days are numbered.
Roz Savage rowed 3,158 miles solo across the Pacific Ocean, west from Hawaii, to arrive at the low coral atoll islands of Kiribati, Eastern Pacific on Sept 9, 2009. 104 days at sea. 203 total days alone at sea for her Pacific crossing with 99 days from CA to Hawaii in 2008. Roz uses her ocean rowing adventures to help inspire action for healthier oceans and cleaner skies, the challenges of climate change to stop detrimental effects of lethal overheating and turn toxic tides. Hear Roz describe close encounters with a whale shark, large seabirds and flying squid. Learn how one person lived alone at sea while networked via the Internet with many. Be inspired by a woman who quietly did the never-been-done, over 1.3 million oar strokes west from California with two oars, gloves, sliding seat, sunscreen and bean sprouts. Meet Roz on Oct 17 at the Regatta Bar in Cambridge MA, info at www.oceanriver.org
ACE builds the power of communities of color and lower income to eradicate environmental racism and classism and achieve environmental justice. Everyone has the right to a healthy environment and to be decision-makers in issues affecting our communities. ACE is anchoring a movement of people who have been excluded from decision-making to confront power directly and demand fundamental changes in the rules of the game Together we can achieve our right to a healthy environment. In this episode we will hear from urban youth about two projects: Roxbury Environmental Empowerment Project, where school-based environmental justice curriculum, an after-school youth leadership program and youth-led organizing all come together for youth leadership in the neighborhood; and The T Rider's Union organizing public transit riders to build a unified voice and movement for better transportation serving transit dependent communities where riders are not likely to own cars. www.ace-ej.org
All together now! The Massachusetts Ocean Partnership is committed to helping Massachusetts create and implement the best ocean management plan possible. A plan that fairly represents all interests, that is based on the best available scientific information and, ultimately, supports resilient ocean ecosystems, productive economies and vibrant communities. Discover the diversity of voices, the plethora of interests, coming together to promote healthy, resilient ocean ecosystems and thriving, sustainable marine dependent communities. No small challenge that in this episode of Moir’s Environmental Dialogues. For more information go to www.massoceanpartnership.org
Fish are fighting back to unite rivers with oceans. Prescott Brownell of NOAA, Dr Piotr Parasiewicz and Joe Rodgers of the Rushing Rivers Institute talk with Rob about the ecological challenges confronting anadromous fish species. Fish have a vital role in the overall health of river ecosystems. Discover complex and interdependent relationships in the riverine and marine food webs of fish. Hear about the progress being made in restoration of anadromous fish species on the Atlantic coast and in our watersheds.
Meet the Whale Guardians of Stellwagen on this episode of Ocean River Shields of Achilles. For Right Whales feeding on Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary life became safer thanks to government actions that followed a close look at the data from whale watchers. Superintendent Craig D. MacDonald, Ph.D.; Benjamin D. Cowie-Haskell, Assistant Superintendent; David Wiley, Ph.D., Research Coordinator; and Nathalie Ward, Sanctuary Advisory Council Coordinator talk with Rob Moir about what led the federal government to move the shipping channel into Boston, changed the charts, for the sake of right whale. Right whales are just one of many magnificent marine animals that inhabit Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Discover what further actions are being taken and what you can do to better protect right whales and marine life off Massachusetts and Cape Cod Bays.
The ocean has its stories to tell – as anyone who has ridden its waves or walked its shores knows. The stories are as simple as beauty and as complex as… well, say, watershed ecosystems or estuary ecology. Understanding the complexities help us appreciate our oceans and also helps us learn to take better care of them. This is what a new term is all about – Ocean Literacy. While complex, this Ocean Literacy doesn’t have to be confusing. In fact, it can be downright exciting, fun, and (who would of thought?) danceable. U.C. Berkeley's Craig Strang (of Lawrence Hall of Science, COSEE and MARE fame) along with environmental troubadours extraordinaire, the Banana Slugs String Band, will be our guides on this adventure. Doug Dirt Greenfield, “Airy” Larry Graff, “Marine” Mark Nolan, and “Solar” Steve Van Zandt of the Banana Slug String Band will give us the downstream low-down on watersheds and bays, salty and fresh. So get ready to get down!
Live from ORI world headquarters in Harvard Square, Dr. Piotr Parasiewicz of the Rushing River Institute returns with tales of government permitted withdrawals and hot effluent discharges into a vital coldstream river threatening salmon and indigenous fish. Meg Sheehan and Jana Chicione of Concerned Citizens of Russell will join the show.
Live from Cape Cod, Rob will speak with the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies including Richard Delaney, Dr. Stormy Mayo and Tanya about what is being done and what you can do to save whales and to better the ocean environment that whales depend on. Ocean Champions will update on a bipartisan bill on Capital Hill for research and mediation of harmful algal blooms that includes red tide.
We’ll explore the state of the ocean and look beyond the cascading ecological disasters that are altering it including industrial overfishing, pollution, coastal sprawl and climate change. David Helvarg will address the urgent need and opportunity for change. He will talk about the Seaweed Rebellion, a marine grassroots initiative by coastal and ocean activists including surfers, sailors, scientists, environmentalists, maritime workers, coastal communities and many others. He’ll address the possibilities for restoring healthy seas from his ‘50 Ways to Save the Ocean’ book that outlines what any citizen can do. David is working with President Obama’s Ocean Task Force to bring an “ecosystem based approach” to government policy on America’s great blue frontier.
Ocean Champions’ Dave Wilmot will give insights from his work with national decision-makers
Dive into a portion of Mass Bay, Atlantic Ocean with Barbara Warren and Susan Yochelson of Salem Sound Coastwatch. The Race for Salem Sound is for swimmers, kayakers and canoes with 2.5 & 5 mi courses on Saturday 7-25, at Forest River Park, 98 WestAve, Salem MA The Harbor is swimmable thanks to SSCW, a non-profit coastal watershed organization dedicated to taking cooperative action to protect and enhance environmental quality of the entire Salem Sound Watershed. SSCW assists communities with volunteer monitoring programs (Clean Beaches & Streams, Coastal Habitat Invasives Monitoring Program, Wetland Health Assessment Toolbox, Stream Teams), on-the ground restoration projects (salt marsh and anadromous fish habitat restoration and stormwater remediation), public education (beach water quality and stormwater education), and municipal assistance protective bylaw development and public education. www.salemsound.org
Save the Smelt! Wiscasset Maine, Don Hudson is working to restore 10.6 sq mi Montsweag Brook watershed, a tributary of the Sheepscot River. The brook's estuary flows by Chewonki. They’ve got two dams to take out to restore fish passage without compromising CMP’s mitigation plan. Tune in for how this is being remediated and rescued. Discover Global Warming’s consequences for rivers of the Northeast. Piotr Parasiewicz will share observations and insights into the effects of global warming on the Lamprey River in NH, Wekepeke Brook, the Fort, Deerfield and Westfield Rivers in MA, the Saugatuck and Aspetuck Rivers in CT. Each river’s ecology is being uniquely impacted by 387 ppm carbon-loading in the atmosphere. Hear how to increase public awareness and to empower citizen-scientists. Pull on your Wellingtons and wade in. Dave Wilmot will end the show with weekly Ocean Champions segment with breaking news for ocean conservation politics in Washington DC.