World Oceans Day: an opportunity to celebrate the oceans this Friday

World Oceans Day will return this Friday, June 8th.  Begun in 2002 by The Ocean Project and The World Ocean Network, World Oceans Day has been successful in coordinating the public awareness efforts of hundreds of ocean conservation organizations, zoos and aquariums, schools and local communities.

"A record number of aquariums, zoos, and museums are providing ways on World Oceans Day for their visitors to get inspired and take personal action to help our world's ocean," said Bill Mott, director of The Ocean Project. “World Oceans Day provides an opportunity for people across the country and around the world to celebrate our ocean connections, do more for ocean conservation, and learn more about our ocean!" 

From large scale events, such as WildAid working together with theBlu.com, to local beach cleanups in communities as diverse as Arcata along the northern coast of California to villages in the Marshall islands, there will be a variety of events and activities taking place across the globe that people will be able to participate in person or online.  Check in with any of your favorite ocean conservation groups to see what's scheduled or you can also visit the World Oceans Day website to find out what might be taking place near you.

The theme for this year's World Oceans Day is "Youth: the Next Wave for Change."  That might seem like a catchy slogan for some political election, but it represents a fact supported by public opinion research (Read about The Ocean Project's research conducted via a survey to over 30,000 Americans). The youth have a greater interest and concern than most adults over the health of the oceans, pollution, and climate change.  They also have a higher belief in their ability to address these problems, and their parents recognize that their children often have a greater knowledge as to the ins and outs of these issues.  Adults may chalk it up to naivete or youthful hubris, but let's hope that their enthusiasm never becomes jaded in the face of the enormity or the complexity of the challenges we face.

World Oceans Day coordinator, Alyssa Isakower, said, “The worldwide response has been more enthusiastic than ever. June 8^th provides a chance for the world to rally for a generation of ocean advocates who go beyond raising awareness and take real action for ocean protection.”

Public awareness is an important tool in any environmental, social or political movement.  But compared to quantifiable measures like legislation or other policy-making moves, it can seem much less powerful - unless it can be coordinated and unified.  A single voice calling out in the wilderness is not as effective as a chorus of voices.

World Oceans Day tries to bring together as many voices as possible and, in so doing, embolden people to take action and, through their actions, put policy makers on notice that the future health of the oceans is more than just another item on a agenda; it is a critical investment in our future as a species.

Source: World Oceans Day.org                           

Willing To Go Green: study finds adults and youth ready to embrace conservation

The Ocean Project - a nonprofit network of aquariums, zoos, and other public educational institutions dedicated to advancing ocean conservation - has released a report on public attitudes regarding conservation, "going green" and the willingness of today's youth to get engaged. The results are encouraging in that it shows adults to be willing to take steps and become part of the solution and not part of the problem.

The report, America and the Ocean, is the culmination of an over two-year long study carried out in conjunction with the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the National Aquarium and supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It is based on national surveys taken , the most recent being this past April-May, with over 12,000 Americans. Properly documented surveys are able to mathematically rate their effectiveness in representing a larger population and express it as a "level of confidence" percentage figure. According to the report, the survey research came in with a 99% level of confidence.

According to Dr. Wei Ying Wong, The Ocean Project's Communications Project Coordinator, "Americans may not be looking to make a wholesale shift to a more sustainable lifestyle, but it is clear that Americans are open to taking a few steps in a sustainable direction and interested in seeing themselves as part of the solution rather than as part of the problem."

Of particular importance were conclusions drawn regarding the attitudes of the youth and their willingness to become in engaged in conservation issues and solutions. Three core findings were:

• Adults are united in their support for teaching younger generations how to care for our blue planet, even while they themselves are divided on issues such as climate change.
• Young Americans not only possess significantly higher levels of concern about the problems facing the world's ocean, and are most open to new information, but also are the most confident in their ability to make a difference.
• Young Americans may not be the decision-makers in the household but they are increasingly major "influencers" when it comes to making choices related to our ocean and the environment and becoming more "green."

Julie Packard, executive director of Monterey Bay Aquarium, commented, "This survey has important implications for all of us working at institutions that aim to inspire our audiences and the public to protect the ocean. It points to ways in which we can be more effective. It confirms that people are eager for aquariums and zoos to take a stronger leadership role. It challenges us to provide people with practical steps that will make a difference. It confirms that, working together, we have an unprecedented opportunity to make a difference for the future of our ocean."

John Racanelli, CEO of the National Aquarium Institute, said, "Aquariums, zoos, and museums need to nurture the energy and environmental enthusiasm of our country's youth. Together we can help channel this generation's concern for the world's environment and ocean by providing hands-on opportunities, practical knowledge, and action-oriented avenues help create a new movement to inspire care for our blue planet."

In my own personal experience, I remember, several years ago when I was a dive team leader and underwater presenter at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California, as presenters we were instructed to play down any references to climate change, carbon dioxide emissions, or ocean acidification. The Aquarium needed to play it safe and not offend any of their more conservative or skeptical trustees or major donors. Many of us, who had read the research and knew the facts, muttered expletives under our breath and massaged the message as much as possible to get the point across - donors be damned.

Turn the clock forward a couple of years and the Aquarium of the Pacific's big summer exhibit for 2011 is Arctic and Antarctic: Our Polar Regions in Trouble and the fall issue of its quarterly magazine distributed to all members (including those high roller donors) is devoted to "Carbon, Climate Change, and the Ocean." What a difference a few years and a little public opinion can make.

With The Ocean Project's new report in hand to show that both adults and the youth are ready and willing to embrace conservation ideals, it is critical that public science and educational facilities like aquariums and zoos step up so that the public does not have to ponder the future in a vacuum.

Read the entire report, Americans and the Ocean.

Celebrate World Oceans Day: revitalize your faith in the face of disaster

Next Tuesday, June 8th, will be World Oceans Day 2010. I can't believe it's been a year already since the last time I mentioned this worldwide event in my blog. In some respects, the event has been a bit under the radar, overshadowed by the ongoing horrors of the Gulf oil spill. But perhaps that makes World Oceans Day 2010 all the more timely - a day to positively reaffirm our commitment to preserving the oceans and all the life within.

This year, World Oceans Day 2010, first proposed by Canada in 1992 and later adopted by the U.N., carries the theme: Oceans of Life. A very appropriate theme given how we depend on the oceans for our very existence. Rather than one massive event, World Oceans Day 2010, which is organized by The Ocean Project.org, is made up of many regional events across the globe. If you live near one of these events, check it out as they are events that you can participate in from beach cleanups to children celebrations of Dr. Seuss' classic "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish."

You can go to the official World Oceans Day 2010 website and look up your country or region to see what is taking place. Because June 8th falls on a Tuesday this year, many events are taking place on the weekend before, June 5th - 6th.

"Designation of World Oceans Day provides an important boost to those organizations and individuals who have been deeply committed to ocean conservation. Official UN designation is another important step toward improving the health of our world's ocean. Now we need to capitalize on this fresh momentum! We hope you will be involved in planning or participating in a World Oceans Day celebration near you!"

Celebrate World Oceans Day 2010, a chance to make an optimistic, affirming statement in the face of a terrible ongoing environmental catastrophe.

World Oceans Day: Coming June 8th, 2009

Just a little over two weeks away, World Oceans Day is an internationally recognized, public relations opportunity, sponsored by The Ocean Project, to recognize the importance of our oceans and consider their fate and what we can do about it. These often are not earth-shattering events but good opportunities to increase public awareness. With the readers of this blog? Not likely as you are all pretty aware of the many issues threatening the health of our oceans. Once again, it's the unenlightened we need to reach - your friends and neighbors who are unaware or don't believe that they can make a difference. Those are the ones we need to reach.

The theme this year is "one ocean, one climate, one future." Here's some basic talking points from World Oceans Day's web site that you can email or discuss with others:

Why Should I Celebrate World Oceans Day?

The world's ocean:

Generates most of the oxygen we breathe

Helps feed us

Regulates our climate

Cleans the water we drink

Offers us a pharmacopoeia of potential medicines

Provides limitless inspiration!

Yet for too long, human society has taken the world's ocean for granted.

Now we can give back! Take part in World Oceans Day events and activities this year and help protect our ocean for the future!

It's up to each one of us to help ensure that our ocean is protected and conserved for future generations. World Oceans Day allows us to:

Change perspective - encourage individuals to think about what the ocean means to them and what it has to offer all of us with hopes of conserving it for present and the future generations.

Learn - discover the wealth of diverse and beautiful ocean creatures and habitats, how our daily actions affect them, and how we are all interconnected.

Change our ways - we are all connected to the ocean! By taking care of your backyard, you are acting as a caretaker of our ocean. Making small modifications to your everyday habits will greatly benefit our blue planet.

Celebrate - whether you live inland or on the coast we are all connected to the ocean; take the time to think about how the ocean affects you, and how you affect the ocean, and then organize or participate in activities that celebrate our world ocean.

You can get more ideas, information, and a listing of activities and events at the World Ocean Day web site. Remember, it's Monday, June 8th.

World Ocean Day, 2007

On 06/09/07, RTSea wrote: Yesterday, June 8th, was World Ocean Day - a time to celebrate and appreciate the world"s oceans and recogonize that they need our help and protection. Hopefully, as a concerned reader of this blog, you did a little something to help educate those who are less aware of the many marine environmental issues we face.

Of course, it is a bit like Christmas in that it is the one day out of the year that we all show a little concern and then quietly revert back to old habits for the next 364 days. So for one day we toast some egg nog and forgive our crabby neighbor next door or the paperboy who keeps throwing the morning edition in the mud . . . but Nature is a bit more demanding than that, is not she?

In the U.S, we are beginning to see an increase in "green" thinking. Let us not let it become a passing fad. We have a chance to educate the public, change the mindset of industry, and really make some progress here. It will be slow at times and perhaps frustrating, but we have to realize that changing minds and habits takes patience and gentle persuasion. We need to make the environment part of our psyche, part of the human experience.