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Blue Planet
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news to use
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2008 Conservation Calendar Now Available at Special Rate for Partners!
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Ocean Project Partners can take advantage
right now
on special wholesale pricing for the all new
2008
calendar and personal action guide for
protecting our
ocean! Take advantage of last year's
wholesale rates (just
above our costs) and if you order before
May 18th you
will receive the calendars by the first week in
June,
at a reduced shipping cost.
The conservation calendar is a product that
you can sell in your zoo, aquarium, or
museum
retail store
(they have been retailing for approximately
$10-$12/each) or provide as a
unique gift for members, docents,
staff, special
donors, and
friends. The positive response has been
overwhelming, with such comments as this
unsolicited feedback:
"The calendar is stunning. The images are
not only
arrestingly beautiful, but the simple reminders
each
month about how to make a positive
contribution
toward sustainability are powerful. The humor
aspect
plays a big part in making it
memorable."
The all-new 2008 conservation education
calendar is:
- Inspirational: All new images by
internationally renowned photographer Wolcott
Henry
- Attractively designed: desktop size (7
3/4 x 5
inches) - perfect for office or home
- Unique: each month features new
sustainability theme with personal action
tips
- An ocean-friendly product: Printed in
Canada on high quality, non-chlorine
bleached, 100%
post-consumer recycled paper
Click here to order
online, or
send an email to
The
Ocean Project. Remember, save on shipping
costs if
you order by May 18th!
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Something Earth-Changing is Afoot Among
Civil
Society
By Paul Hawken
Published in the May/June
2007
issue
of Orion
Magazine
I have given nearly one thousand talks about
the
environment in the past fifteen years, and after
every
speech a smaller crowd gathered to talk, ask
questions, and exchange business cards. The
people
offering their cards were working on the most
salient
issues of our day: climate change, poverty,
deforestation, peace, water, hunger,
conservation,
human rights, and more. They were from the
nonprofit
and nongovernmental world, also known as
civil
society. They looked after rivers and bays,
educated
consumers about sustainable agriculture,
retrofitted
houses with solar panels, lobbied state
legislatures
about pollution, fought against corporate-
weighted
trade policies, worked to green inner cities, or
taught
children about the environment. Quite simply,
they
were trying to safeguard nature and ensure
justice...
Over the years the cards mounted into the
thousands,
and whenever I glanced at the bags in my
closet, I
kept coming back to one question: did anyone
know
how many groups there were? At first, this was
a
matter of curiosity, but it slowly grew into a
hunch that
something larger was afoot, a significant social
movement that was eluding the radar of
mainstream
culture.
I began to count. I looked at government
records for
different countries and, using various methods
to
approximate the number of environmental and
social
justice groups from tax census data, I initially
estimated that there were thirty thousand
environmental organizations strung around the
globe;
when I added social justice and indigenous
organizations, the number exceeded one
hundred
thousand. I then researched past social
movements
to see if there were any equal in scale and
scope, but I
couldn't find anything.
The more I probed, the more I unearthed, and
the
numbers continued to climb. In trying to pick
up a
stone, I found the exposed tip of a geological
formation. I discovered lists, indexes, and small
databases specific to certain sectors or
geographic
areas, but no set of data came close to
describing the
movement's breadth. Extrapolating from the
records
being accessed, I realized that the initial
estimate of a
hundred thousand organizations was off by at
least a
factor of ten. I now believe there are over one
million
organizations working toward ecological
sustainability
and social justice. Maybe two...
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IPCC Fourth Assessment Report Just Released
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The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change
(IPCC) has presented a major report to a UN
environmental conference in Bangkok,
suggesting the
growth in greenhouse gas emissions can be
curbed
at reasonable cost.
"Mitigation of Climate Change" sets out the
costs and
benefits of various policies, notably increasing
renewable energy, reducing deforestation and
improving energy efficiency. The report
discusses:
Greenhouse gas (GHG) emission trends;
Mitigation in
the short and medium term, across different
economic sectors (until 2030); Mitigation in the
long-
term (beyond 2030); Policies, measures and
instruments to mitigate climate change; and
Sustainable development and climate change
mitigation.
Download the summary for policymakers.
Read some early
reactions to this latest report.
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The Greening of Corporate America
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Corporate America Embraces Green
Practices, Study
Shows
Source: GreenBiz.com
May 3, 2007
By early 2009, but perhaps in less than a year,
the
American business community will have
reached a
tipping point in sustainable practices,
according to a
study by Siemens and McGraw-Hill
Construction. At
that point, more than 80 percent of companies
will
have opted for sustainable materials in at least
16
percent of their building stock.
The recognition of the benefits of green
practices
among executives is expanding very quickly,
according
to the report, "The Greening of Corporate
America,"
which is the latest in a series of extensive
SmartMarket reports released by McGraw-Hill
and
produced in partnership with Siemens Building
Technologies.
"Today's corporate leaders are already very
conscious
of using green practices when considering new
facilities, and they expect green building to
have an
increasing impact in the future," said Brad
Haeberle,
director of marketing for Siemens Building
Technologies. "Moreover, they believe that
green
building is in their company's best interests,
not only
for the clear economic benefits, but for the
market
differentiation and competitive advantage."
According to the study's findings, 18 percent
of the
corporate leaders surveyed are in a position to
transform the market -- 15 percent view
sustainability
as a competitive advantage and the other 3
percent
are actually driving their entire businesses
through
this value-driven lens.
Over the next three years, more companies
see
themselves as entering this top tier, with nearly
a third
of the sample aiming to be market leaders in
sustainability. The report found that by early
2009, but
perhaps sooner, American businesses will
have
reached a tipping point in embracing green as
a
cornerstone of their corporate philosophy. At
that point,
82 percent of the companies will have greened
at
least 16 percent of their building stock.
Among the notable findings in the "Greening of
Corporate America" report:
- Government and internal management are
strong
drivers of green activities.
- Risk concerns are no longer the primary
reason for a
company to move toward sustainable
practices.
- 60 percent of CFOs see the market
differentiation
that sustainability activities and green building
can
provide their companies, with over half of other
respondents seeing this same benefit.
- 63 percent of CEOs recognize the financial
benefits
of green building, and 67 percent of them see
a
specific operating cost benefit from green.
- 57 percent of respondents think green
fosters
innovation within their companies.
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Ocean's 'Twilight Zone' Plays Important Role in Climate Change
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New study identifies a critical link influencing
the
ocean's ability to store carbon dioxide
A major study has shed new light on the dim
layer of
the ocean called the "twilight zone" -- where
mysterious processes affect the ocean's ability
to
absorb and store carbon dioxide accumulating
in our
atmosphere.
The results of two international research
expeditions
to the Pacific Ocean, published April 27 in the
journal
Science, show that carbon dioxide -- taken up
by
photosynthesizing marine plants in the sunlit
ocean
surface layer-does not necessarily sink to the
depths, where it is stored and prevented from
re-
entering the atmosphere as a greenhouse
gas.
Instead, carbon transported to the depths on
sinking
marine particles is often consumed by animals
and
bacteria and recycled in the twilight zone --
100 to
1,000 meters below the surface -- and never
reaches
the deep ocean. Using new technology, the
researchers found that only 20 percent of the
total
carbon in the ocean surface made it through
the
twilight zone off Hawaii, while 50 percent did in
the
northwest Pacific near Japan.
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Photo in the News: Century-Old Fish Caught in Alaska
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Commercial fishers in the Bering Sea recently
hauled
in the female shortraker rockfish seen above,
which
scientists say was between 90 and 115 years
old.
Researchers at the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) used
growth rings
in the fish's ear bone, or otolith, to make their
age
estimate.
NOAA scientists also found that the fish's
advanced
years had yet to take a toll on its reproductive
abilities. "The belly was large," NOAA
researcher Paul
Spencer told the Associated Press. "The
ovaries were
full of developing embryos."
A Seattle, Washington-based ship caught the
44-inch-
long (112-centimeter-long), 60-pound (27-
kilogram)
fish while trawling for pollock at about 2,100
feet (640
meters) below the surface. The massive mama
was
among ten shortrakers pulled from the depths
along
with roughly 75 tons of the smaller
commercially
fished species. Read the full article.
Also, for more on ocean fisheries issues, read
"Global Fish Crisis" in National
Geographic Magazine (April 2007). |
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Science and Society: Framing Science
Science 6 April 2007
By Matthew C. Nisbet and Chris Mooney
Without misrepresenting scientific information
on
highly contested issues, scientists must learn
to
actively "frame" information to make it relevant
to
different audiences. Some in the scientific
community
have been receptive to this message.
However, many
scientists retain the well-intentioned belief that,
if
laypeople better understood technical
complexities
from news coverage, their viewpoints would be
more
like scientists', and controversy would subside.
In reality, citizens do not use the news media
as
scientists assume. Research shows that
people are
rarely well enough informed or motivated to
weigh
competing ideas and arguments. Faced with a
daily
torrent of news, citizens use their value
predispositions (such as political or religious
beliefs)
as perceptual screens, selecting news outlets
and
web sites whose outlooks match their own.
Such
screening reduces the choices of what to pay
attention
to and accept as valid
Frames organize central ideas, defining a
controversy
to resonate with core values and assumptions.
Frames pare down complex issues by giving
some
aspects greater emphasis. They allow citizens
to
rapidly identify why an issue matters, who
might be
responsible, and what should be done.
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New Resource on Effective Communication
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A new CEPA (Communication, Education and
Public
Awareness) toolkit has been developed.
Developed by the IUCN Commission on
Education
and Communication and commissioned by the
Secretariat of the Convention on Biological
Diversity
(CBD) for use in and after regional workshops
for
professionals charged with implementing
National
Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans (NBSAP
Coordinators), the toolkit is available online at
cepatoolkit.org
.
Printed copies will be available in July.
In addition, a new blog
on
the "Art of Positive Change"
is accompanying the launch of the CEPA
Toolkit. Add
your opinions and your suggestions for
additional
toolkit
resources. You
can also send an email.
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Gaia Girls : Way of Water to Launch at National Aquarium in Baltimore
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The Ocean Project is excited to share news of
the
release of Gaia Girls : Way of Water,
the
second book in the award-winning Gaia
Girls
series. The launch is scheduled for the
weekend
of World Ocean Day at the National Aquarium
in
Baltimore and as part of Beyond the
Boardwalk -- NAIB's
series of events celebrating ocean life. The
book's author,
Lee
Welles, will be introducing her newest book
and will
also be conducting a book signing at Barnes &
Noble,
located next to NAIB. Please visit NAIB's website
for
additional
information and times.
This book series about girl eco-heroes, written
by
former nature camp director Lee Welles and
published by Chelsea Green Publishing,
tackles real-
world environmental issues wrapped within
fantastical tales. Way of Water will also provide
readers with information on how to help our
ocean,
including a copy of the Seven C's Pledge.
The Ocean Project, as part of a reciprocal
promotion
to achieve a common goal, will be helping to
coordinate events with the author and our
Partners
across the continent. Lee's summer calendar
is filling
fast, so if your organization is interested in
learning
more about the power of "fiction with a
mission,"
please contact us.
Be part of the '07 Way of Water Tour!
For more
information on event opportunities and/or
carrying
books in the Gaia Girls series, please contact
Bill
Mott
or
Allison Lennox (tel. 802-299-2456) and
visit the
Way of Water website.
Gaia
Girls : Way of Water, ISBN: 978-1-933609-
03-4,
$9.95, paperback, available June 2007 from
Chelsea
Green
Publishing.
You can also read more about Gaia Girls
in Grist.
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2007 National Marine Educators Conference
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NMEA 07 will be held July 23-27, in Portland, Maine.
Because of the overwhelming response to their
request for workshop presenters, the deadline for
Early Registration has been extended to May 30th.
Full conference fee of $375 covers all costs (except
field trips), including keynote presentations,
concurrent sessions, breakfasts, lunches, coffee
breaks and snacks, cocktail parties, Auction, dance
party, Downeast lobster bake, sunset cruise on Casco
Bay, and entertainment including a concert by
Schooner Fare, stand-up comedy by Maine humorist
Tim Sample, visual travelogue by underwater
photographer Bill Curtsinger, and inspirational
performance by actress Kaiulani Lee as Rachel
Carson. In other words, lots going on!
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