January 9, 2018
Dear House Natural Resources Committee member:
We urge you to vote “no” on H.R. 3133, a bill that would gravely weaken the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), our nation’s commitment to the conservation of all marine mammals: whales, dolphins, seals, sea lions, walruses, sea otters, polar bears, and manatees.
My late grandmother was a big believer in the old adage “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” She knew that relying on one skill or one industry or one source of income was a high-risk strategy. She also knew that independence was not the same as dominance. She would know that the American people should not bear the burden for those who seek to sell our public eggs for personal reward. I look at the map from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and I have to ask myself—what would she say about the eggs in this basket?
For most of the past two and a half decades, I have dedicated my energy to the ocean, to the life within, and to the many people who also dedicate themselves to enhancing our ocean legacy. Much of the work I have done revolves around the Marine Mammal Protection Act about which I have written before.
In October, we celebrated 45 years of protection for whales, dolphins, porpoises, seals, sea lions, manatees, dugongs, walruses, sea otters, and polar bears, which followed President Nixon’s signing of the Marine Mammal Protection Act into law. Looking back, we can see how far we’ve come.
“America was first, and the leader, and still is a leader today at marine mammal protection"
- Patrick Ramage, International Fund for Animal Welfare
Dear Friend of the Ocean,
For me, 2017 was the year of the island, and thus of expanded horizons. The year’s site visits, workshops and conferences took me to islands and island nations around the globe. I looked for the Southern Cross before I crossed to the north of the Tropic of Capricorn. I gained a day when I crossed the international date line. I crossed the equator. And, I crossed the Tropic of Cancer, and I waved at the North Pole as my flight tracked the northern route to Europe.
For those who care about our ocean, the life within, and the human communities that depend on a healthy ocean— the specter of expanding industrial use of the ocean threatens all of the work that is being done to address the existing harm from human activities. As we try to reduce dead zones, increase fish abundance, protect marine mammal populations from harm, and promote a positive human relationship with the ocean on which all human life depends, the last thing we need is expanded offshore oil drilling.
Dear TOF Community,
Marine Scientist, Michelle Ridgway was one of the first people I met when I began working in Alaska nearly 20 years ago. In our most recent work together, The Ocean Foundation helped sponsor a group of young people from Alaska to travel to Washington DC for Capitol Hill Oceans Week. She was a passionate advocate for our ocean, right down to such critical details as supporting the citizen-approved initiative to keep cruise ships from discharging wastewater into Alaska’s vulnerable nearshore waters.
“Where are you from?”
“Houston, Texas.”
“Oh, my goodness. I’m so sorry. How’s your family doing?”
“Good. All’s well that ends well.”
As a native Houstonian who has called Houston home all my (short) life, I’ve lived through Allison, Rita, Katrina, Ike, and now Harvey. From our home on the west side of Houston, we are not unfamiliar with floods. Generally, our neighborhood floods once a year for about a day, most of the time it occurs during the spring.
Welcome to our first-ever holiday gift guide for those who wish to purchase gifts through our partners. By purchasing these items, you’ll be directly helping us keep the ocean clean and healthy. Feel good about buying these gifts that will keep on giving!
A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
Dear friends of the ocean and other members of The Ocean Foundation Community,
I am pleased to present our Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2017 (1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017) – our 15th year!
Climate Resilience and The Future
@COP23
#oceanforclimate
#becausetheocean
Recent hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Jose, and Maria, whose effects and devastation are still being felt throughout the Caribbean and United States, remind us that our coasts and those who live near them are vulnerable. As storms intensify with a changing climate, what are our options to further protect our coasts from storm surges and flooding? Man-made structural defense measures, like seawalls, are often incredibly costly. They need to be continually updated as sea level rises, are a detriment to tourism, and adding concrete can damage natural coastal environments.