For those of you who were not able to make our session at the conference of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums in September, we have posted on our website the presentation by Scott Corwon, with IMPACTS Research & Development. Scott is conducting the national research, and his presentation includes our survey findings to date (the information that he presented includes a sample population of 9,862 persons, approximately 53% of the eventual sample size).

When it is completed, our national survey will likely be the largest survey on any environmental issue. We plan to finish collecting the data in the next few weeks and will analyze the mountain of data during November and December. We expect to publicly release the full survey results in January, although will make some of the findings available before then for our Partners. This survey is part of a three-year grant funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) within its Environmental Literacy Grants program.
 

Although the current situation with the economy certainly puts a new twist on consumers 'going green' a recent article in the Stanford Social Innovation Review referencing a 2007 McKinsey & Company global survey of 7,751 consumers in eight major economies reports that most consumers are concerned about the environmental and social impacts of the products they buy.

Consumers say they want to buy ecologically friendly products and reduce their impact on the environment. But when they get to the cash register, their Earth-minded sentiments die on the vine. Although individual quirks underlie some of this hypocrisy, businesses can do a lot more to help would-be green consumers turn their talk into walk.

While the situation referred to in the article, namely buying green products, is not completely analogous to the situation our Partners face, some may find it helpful to review what the authors list as the five barriers to going green as well as the five ways to break down those barriers. Clearly, for instance, consumers want to be green but are looking for leaders to show them the way. Our Partners are leaders in their communities and your visitors are increasingly looking to you to help them lead greener lives and take action to protect and conserve the world's ocean.

Read the full article.
 

In a big step forward, President Bush recently signed a joint resolution of Congress providing consent to the Great Lakes - St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact, an interstate agreement based on the Great Lakes Annex Agreement signed by Ontario, Quebec and the eight Great Lakes states in 2005. The President’s action marks the final step in the Compact’s approval process, enabling these historic protections to become law, and is supported by many groups, including the Council of Great Lakes Governors.

The Compact provides a comprehensive management framework for achieving sustainable water use and resource protection and was the final step in a nearly decade-long quest to strengthen legal protections against diverting water from the system consisting of the five lakes, their connecting channels and the St. Lawrence River. The Compact doesn't specifically manage and regulate the Great Lakes so the next step is setting up programs to manage and conserve water, as the compact requires them to do within two years. It sets common standards but gives the states flexibility in meeting them by managing water the way they see fit.

This water system contains nearly 20% of the world's fresh surface water and supplies a combined population of roughly 40 million in Canada and the US. While the Compact bans diversions through pipelines and other means, a bottled water exemption remains which some groups feel would undermine the agreement’s ability to truly protect the Great Lakes.
 

The US Supreme Court heard a case today in which the justices sounded closely split on whether environmental laws can be used to protect whales and other marine mammals from the Navy's use of sonar off the coast of Southern California. This is an issue that we have been making known to our network of Partners for the last few years and has important ramifications for marine mammals and other life in our world's ocean.

This closely watched case, Winter v. Natural Resources Defense Council, has turned into a major dispute over whether judges, acting on a suit brought by environmentalists, have the power to stop the government from conducting a large-scale military exercise because it had not carried out an environmental impact statement. If a federal agency can sidestep conventional environmental protections by declaring an emergency, the Pentagon and potentially other federal agencies, may make such emergency declarations more common with repercussions farther reaching than sonar. The justices are likely to hand down a ruling in the case in a few months.

Read full article in the LA Times.
 

As mentioned in a previous issue of Blue Planet News to Use, Sarah Brophy and Elizabeth Wylie have authored a newly-published book, The Green Museum: A Primer on Environmental Practice, which is full of practical information and inspiration for our Partner ZAMs (zoos, aquariums, and museums).

Global climate conditions and other serious issues facing human society demand a strong response by institutions that are here for the long haul, as ZAMs are: to collect, conserve, and educate in perpetuity. Environmentally friendly practices are increasingly critical to the mission of our Partner ZAMs, and as learning institutions of all types, ZAMs are uniquely suited to modeling green behavior.

The Ocean Project continually challenges our Partners to become even stronger leaders for conservation and a sustainable society. We urge all Partners to remember to "walk the talk" or, maybe more appropriately, "run the talk" because time is short!

This handbook will help guide ZAM staff in incorporating green design into new construction and day-to-day operations. Sustainable practices can not only save on operating costs, but also make ZAMs attractive to new visitors and fundraising sources.

Get more information and order the book.
 

Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program, which The Ocean Project has helped promote with our Partners and the public since its inception in 1999, is coming out with a sushi guide on October 22. It will include a list of recommendations to help you select sushi made from seafood that’s caught or raised in ways that won’t hurt our ocean.

Order your sushi pocket guide now or visit the Seafood Watch website for more information.

Learn more about consuming consciously at the Seas the Day site!
 

November 7-8, 2008 - Madison, Wisconsin

This conference, the first of its kind, is presented by the Green Charter Schools Network, University of Wisconsin-Madison's Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, and many supporting educational and environmental organizations.

The Green Charter Schools Network, one of our newest Partners, is a new national non-profit organization that launched this past February. With a vision of every person being environmentally literate and practicing sustainability in their community, the Network supports the establishment, enhancement and advancement of public charter schools with environment-focused educational programs and practices.

There could well be many synergies developed between green Charter Schools and our ZAM (zoo, aquarium, and museum) Partners.

For more information, visit www.greencharterschools.org.
 

March 7-10, 2009 - Washington, DC

The Blue Frontier Campaign is hosting a 2009 Blue Vision Summit - a three-day summit of 400-500 ocean loving people from local, state, regional, national, and global organizations.

The first Summit (in 2004) drew 250 participants. The 2009 Summit will aim to demonstrate to the new Administration and Congress that there is a strong and diverse constituency ready to work for ocean and coastal protection and restoration. It will also be an opportunity to build a nationwide network of ocean activists ready to act at the local level to assure passage of effective national ocean legislation.

For more information, visit www.bluefront.org/bluevision or e-mail info@bluefront.org.
 

October 7 - 10, 2009 - Portland, Oregon

The 2009 NAAEE Conference will be held next fall in Portland, Oregon. The Call for Presentations will close February 1, 2009. Next year's conference will feature 12 conference strands:

Climate Change Education Coastal & Marine Education Conservation Education Early Childhood & Environmental Education Environmental Justice & Cultural Diversity Innovative Programs and Practices Leadership & Organizational Development Place-based Education Religion, Spirituality and Environmental Education Service Learning & Community Education Teaching & Learning Sustainability The Arts & Environmental Education

For more information, visit www.naaee.org/conference.
 

The Ocean Project would like to thank
The Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment for once again providing significant funding for The Ocean Project and the Seas the Day initiative.
 

The Ocean Project would like to thank the Dallas Zoo and the Dallas Aquarium at Fair Park for once again stepping up to continue their role as a Supporting Partner of The Ocean Project.

Consider becoming a Sustaining or Supporting Partner!