Don't Ever Give Up

It shouldn't be so hard to save the world.  That's what I thought leaving an event about communicating climate change recently.  I saw what I've seen for a long while -- good, earnest people racking their brains and bodies trying to get people to care.

Talking about what to say, how to say it.  Should we be combative? Should we tie extreme weather to climate change? Should we even use the term 'climate change'?

All the time we're talking, the world continues to burn.

People talked about successes, because you have to try to stay positive, but it was all about more "regular" people -- still not a huge amount -- finally agreeing with the peer-reviewed results of 99% of climatologists.

How do we go from that to people actually doing things right now?

The urgency is not getting through to the public.  To see clean energy as the answer.

Frankly, I don't like the odds of salvaging anything from this nosedive.

Maybe Duncan Meisel of 350.org summed it up best.  He said it's simple:  there are bad people who are making a huge profit by destroying the planet.  They are the enemy.  They must be targeted and stopped.  Now. 

Are those fossil fuel companies really going to leave the reserves in the ground that scientists and economists say has to happen to avoid the point of no return?  Not on their life.  That would require steadfast adoption of clean energy, which they are sworn against.  They will protect their profits because profits are king.   

Pretty soon it won't be a fight anymore.  There will be that guy who thinks he won standing there smiling waiting for the cheers.  There will be no cheers.   We all lose in this game.

I don't want to believe that's our future.  This planet is too incredibly beautiful.  

Divest.  Organize.  Vote.  Speak out.  Get arrested.  Don't give up.  Don't ever give up.

Ocean Art Wins the Day

A bit beaten down by waves of bad ocean news, here's some refreshing pictures.  These are the winners of the California Ocean Art Contest, grades K-12.  Lovely stuff, don't you think?

Frantic Powers Blink and We Fight On

Is it just me or are the powers that be coming down especially hard on activists?  Two cases make me wonder.  One Russian and one American.

I'm not surprised about the Russians, and I'm an idiot for being surprised about the Americans.

We know the Russians are hardcore and not in a good way.  They still hold a young female rock band behind bars for criticizing the government.  A few days ago, the Russians crushed a multi-nation proposal to set aside part of Antarctica, including the fantastically wild Ross Sea, from inevitable exploitation.

Meanwhile, 30 Greenpeace activists, known as the Arctic 30, are locked up in a Russian prison in the grey coastal city of Murmansk.  They say it's cold in their cells and are let outside only one hour a day.

They could spend 7 years in a Russian jail.  That's 7 years for...trying to climb an oil platform and unfurl one of their trademark banners.  For trying to protect the Arctic, one of the last relatively untouched commons, from even more human destruction.

Is it just me or is the Russian government's reaction wild overkill?

Back in the land of the free and home of the brave, Tim DeChristopher was released from a federal prison last April.  He's making the rounds across the US.  The anti-fracksters and climate change activists treat him like a rock star.  As well they should.

He's the one who was locked up for two years -- two years in jail -- for making fake bids at a land auction in Utah.  He accepted bids for 22 parcels with no intention to pay them.  He was protesting the sale of the public land to fossil fuel companies.   

I think the message here in the land of the free and home of the brave is: you're not as free as you think and don't be brave about anything that might expose the dirty money exchanging hands between the US government and Big Oil.

People who care about a livable planet are locked up for seemingly small infractions.  For speaking their mind.  For acts of civil disobedience of the sort the United States was founded on.

But I'm optimistic for two reasons about both the Russian and U.S. cases.  The overreaction from these powerful governments is really an expression of  insecurity -- that people are starting to see through their scams and are sick of eating the costs of pollution.  These are acts of desperation on the federal level; they know they are losing the all important battle of hearts and minds and this problem is not going away.

It's a classic reaction from those in power and frantic to stay so:  Come down extra hard and set an example.  Which brings me to reason for optimism number two.  That never works for long.  They have only emboldened people.  People's fears and suspicions about the powers that be, especially in the U.S., appear dead on and they look at it and say: we have to fight for the future.

As Tim put it at his trial, "the power of the Justice Department is based on its ability to take things away from people.  The more that people feel that they have nothing to lose, the more that power begins to shrivel.  The people who are committed to fighting for a livable future will not be discouraged or intimidated by anything that happens here today."

Footnote: Sea Shepherd's founder is currently defending himself against civil lawsuits from Japanese whalers.  He is being called a terrorist and a pirate by the whalers and at least one U.S. circuit court agrees.

Sign on for Another NJ Comeback Story

How great would it be for oysters to make a comeback in New York and New Jersey's waters?

This is where they were once so abundant that ships could not navigate up the Hudson River during low tide because oyster reefs rose out of the water like massive boulders.

Where oysters the size of dinner plates were so sweet they were fit only for Europe's princes -- hence the name: Princes Bay, Staten Island.

The symbolism alone would be a wonderful thing not to mention that oysters clean the water as they filter it and their reefs provide natural resilience to storm surges.

Sign this petition to encourage Governor Christie to life the ban on oyster projects in New Jersey's northern waters.

How great would it be for oysters to make a comeback in New York and New Jersey's waters?

Really great.

Sea Serpents Roam

A snorkeler found an 18 foot oarfish in California.  Wild.

Looks a lot like this early image of a sea serpent.

There's even a three masted ship in both pics.  The sea -- where sea serpents and imaginations roam.  

Frank the Pug was Right

Good things come in small packages. One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.  What's the running joke?  It's not the size of the boat, it's the...

And the black-faced pug, Frank, chides in Men in Black:  "When will you humans learn?  Just because something is important doesn't mean that it's not very small."

Darn pug was all too right.  Phytoplankton, which illuminate like beautiful, tiny jewels under a microscope, are the foundation of the ocean's food web.  They're incredibly important.

Their energy kick starts and travels all the way up the food web.  Slightly larger animals like krill, copepods, and immature versions of clams and fish, known as zooplankton, eat the exquisite gems.  Bigger creatures like herring and anchovy eat the zooplankton. 

Along comes tuna and cod to eat the herring and anchovy.  Next come the top predators like sharks that eat the tuna and cod.  If any of these links break, especially the first one, most marine life would not survive.

Which is lousy because scientists recently reported a dramatic and consistent decline in phytoplankton. 

Why is this happening?  All fingers point to the ill effects of burning fossil fuels to run our vehicles and power our lives.

What can we do about it?  Support clean energy and marine protected areas, and evoke Frank the pug when someone tries to deny the unprecedented impact humans are having on our big blue marble spinning through space.   

Ten Thousand Walrus with Nowhere to Go

It's one of the first threats to nature I ever heard about -- habitat loss.  Somehow it sounded innocuous enough.  I thought, how bad can it be, so the animals just relocate to another place.  Their new home may be even better.  Certainly, I was in denial or maybe just plain dull.

Think about taking away anyone's home, a home that has always been their home, a home that is part of their DNA.  A snake or a honey bee or a walrus.  Without it, where do they rest?  Where do they eat?  How can they relax and be healthy and happy?  Some can adapt but most cannot.    

When I saw this picture, I wasn't quite sure what it was.  Are those ants?

No, these are over 10,000 walruses, a horde, scrambling and huddling on a strip of land in Alaska because  their habitat -- sea ice -- is nowhere to be found.  Their sea ice home has always been there until now. These are refugees of an overheated planet because humans burn fossil fuels to run our vehicles, TVs, and factories.

Awhile ago I read about a polar bear that swam huge miles.  Turns out polar bears are amazingly strong swimmers but even they cannot tread water forever.  They need sea ice to live on and raise their young.  Next time you hear about an unprecedented polar bear swim, ask why the bear had to swim that far and long.

Thing is, it doesn't have to be this way.  We can do it differently and better.  There are technologies and options and growing awareness.  Let's stop making nature a climate refugee and extend a helping hand to that exhausted polar bear.