With election day tomorrow comes a lot of responsibility for the new president and the citizens of the United States. There will be many issues that need to be addressed immediately and we don’t want environment to be swept under the rug. Our oceans are bearing the burden of our lifestyles and we must do something to ensure they are taken better care of, that our government is actively pursuing measures to protect and restore these valuable ecosystems. Below is an article about The Ocean Foundation’s blueprint to protect our coasts and oceans.

Coalition of 48 leading conservation organizations calls on the next administration to protect U.S. coasts and oceans

Greenpeace, Surfrider Foundation and Sierra Club among groups urging for strong coast and ocean protection during the next U.S. presidential administration

(October 22, 2008 - Washington, D.C.) Our coasts and oceans face a multitude of threats. Human activities have harmed the health of species and habitats in every corner of the vast ocean, from Arctic fisheries to tropical reef systems, from kelp forests to tidal estuaries. From climate change to pollution, to overfishing and habitat destruction, the threats also imperil the health of coastal communities and tens of thousands of jobs in fishing, recreation, and tourism that depend on healthy, functioning coastal and ocean systems.

In response to this dire need and recognizing the link between a healthy environment and a healthy economy, a broad coalition of conservation and research organizations has asked each presidential candidate to prioritize strong, effective coast and ocean conservation measures during the next presidential term.

Forty-eight organizations from 15 states and territories across the U.S joined in sending ‘A Blueprint for Coastal and Ocean Policy for the New Administration’ to each presidential campaign, urging decisive action on behalf of our oceans. The coalition includes organizations such as Greenpeace, Surfrider Foundation, Sierra Club, Reef Check Foundation, Fauna & Flora International, NAUI and PADI Worldwide, Marine Conservation Biology Institute, Save the Manatee Club, and EarthEcho International.

“The ocean touches everyone and everything. It is essential to life and human survival,” said Mark J. Spalding, President of The Ocean Foundation, which provided the original draft and organized the coalition. “The next Administration has a fantastic opportunity to start a new wave for coastal and ocean protection, a new wave that we will support.”

A Blueprint for Coast and Ocean Policy asks for action on the following ten marine conservation issues: (1) reducing coastal and ocean pollution; (2) clean and healthy coasts and beaches; (4) improving the health of our nation’s fisheries; (4) protecting coral reef ecosystems; (5) protection of other important marine species; (6) marine ecosystem restoration; (7) addressing the links between oceans and climate change; (8) resolving conflicts between healthy oceans and energy production; (9) underwater noise pollution; and (10) ocean governance.

Supplemental information:

Link to The Ocean Foundation web page: www.oceanfdn.org

To download a copy of Blueprint, visit: http://www.oceanfdn.org/index.php?tg=articles&topics=32

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LEE CROCKETT & PHILIPPE COUSTEAU: Playing shell games with sea turtles
By LEE CROCKETT AND PHILIPPE COUSTEAU
McClatchy-Tribune News Service

Sea turtles, despite the best efforts of conservationists, are still in peril; all seven species are listed under the Endangered Species Act. The most at risk is the Kemp’s ridley, which has about 7,000 nesting females, down from 42,000 in 1947.

But things would be still worse if not for the National Environmental Policy Act, which mandates the assessment of any federal action that could harm sea turtles - or, for that matter, any species. Unfortunately, the National Marine Fisheries Service, through a recently proposed draft rule, is now trying to subvert not only the spirit but possibly even the letter of the law.

The agency has proposed doing away with environmental impact statements on federal fisheries management actions. And through a series of loopholes, the proposal gives unreasonable power to fishery management councils - the advisory groups comprised largely of representatives of the commercial and recreational fishing industries. These councils often do not prioritize the health of the ocean environment - especially the fish, birds or turtles they accidentally catch and kill, but cannot sell.

NEPA requires that federal agencies consider - though not necessarily follow - less damaging alternatives to current practices, and prepare an environmental impact statement to evaluate the broader environmental and economic impacts of each option. Just as importantly, NEPA gives the public a chance to have its say by commenting on government decisions regarding the management of our public resources.

When NEPA is enforced, it works well. In 2000, for example, Judge David Ezra issued a court order that closed a swordfish fishery because the National Marine Fisheries Service had not prepared the evaluation required by NEPA, and the fishery was accidentally killing many marine turtles in the West Central Pacific.

When the agency did prepare the statement, it determined that using certain kinds of hooks and modified bait techniques would not affect the number of swordfish being caught, but would reduce the number of sea turtles being hooked and drowned on fishing lines. After the modified gear was in place, the fishery was allowed to reopen.

In place of this tried and true system, the fisheries service proposes a new type of environmental review process, with watered-down planning requirements that would allow fishing interests to decide how much information about the impacts of a proposed fishery management action should be studied and reported to the public for comment. The draft rule would even give industry the power to decide what information is “significant” and would specifically restrict discussion of issues deemed insignificant.

The government’s proposed rule also shortens the minimum period for public comment on an environmental impact statement from 45 to 14 days. Under current law, this can only be shortened with the approval of the White House’s Council on Environmental Quality or the Environmental Protection Agency. But no outside review or approval would be required to reduce public comment on the proposed new process.

Furthermore, the draft NEPA rule prohibits the public from commenting on the potential environmental impact of a proposed fishery management decision unless the same concerns had been raised earlier. This restriction holds true even if the part of the final fishery management proposal the public finds objectionable was not included in initial draft documents released to the public.

Public comments are more than just the passing thoughts of people stopped on the street during one of Jay Leno’s famous “Jaywalking” segments. The ability of citizens to provide direct input to government officials about the potential impacts of proposed actions is at the core of an open society and a fundamental right in a healthy democracy. And for decades, NEPA has been an invaluable tool in ensuring that we, the public, have a say about the possible impact of federal government action that could affect our lives, our resources and our environment.

The National Marine Fisheries Service had a real opportunity to draft a rule for the application of NEPA that would better protect our ocean resources. Instead, it has come up with an extraordinarily complicated proposal that would take the power to protect marine life - inherently public resources - such as sea turtles, out of the hands of the public and turn it over to the fishing industry.

Rather than weakening efforts at conservation, the agency should withdraw this ill-conceived proposal and start over.

Lee Crockett (lcrockett@pewtrusts.org) is the director of the Pew Federal Fisheries Policy Reform Project. Philippe Cousteau (info@earthecho.org) is the co-founder and chief executive officer of EarthEcho International.

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This is Erica’s final day, she is the oceanographer from Monterey and while she has never done any kind of film production before, she has done a fantastic job. She is outgoing and dynamic on camera and after a day or two of getting used to it, totally at ease. The other two scientists are no different, both Ken and Theo are top notch and things are coming along really well.

Today we headed off in the Deepscan, our large boat for cruising around Loch Ness, and set about to film the last few sequences on the Loch. Thankfully, I didn’t have to get in the water this time and was able to stay on dry land - well - boat actually, but the effect was the same. Part of the documentary will include a few light hearted scenes enhanced by CGI or digital animation. In other words, for the end of the film there will be a digital suggestion of what Nessie could look like swimming in the Loch right next to the boat. For that, the animators will need someone in the water with white X’s all over them. This will allow them to plot the distances and scale of their animated image relative to real world sizes and location. George, our safety diver from last week was tasked with this job and with his usual cheerfulness he jumped in the water in his scuba gear and floated at the surface, for what seemed like hours, while the crew got the shot perfectly lined up. The wind was blowing quite hard and thus aligning the boat, the diver and the horizon was not an easy task.

When the shots from the boat were done we had to recreate the whole scene all over again, but this time with the camera onshore. We moored up to Urqhuart castle and set it all up again via radio. I think that a lot of people don’t realize how much work goes into making a documentary. For a total final runtime of 43 minutes, we will walk away with at least 30 hours of film footage. On other shoots I have done it has been up to 150 hours for 43 minutes!!! Just to get a minute or two of CGI footage alone took us several hours of tape and the better part of a day. By 8PM we were wrapped and headed back to town. As I mentioned earlier, it was Erica’s last day so she chose to go to an Indian restaurant, my favorite, and we all dropped off our gear as quickly as possible and headed off to eat.

I love Indian food, an affinity that developed during my days at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, and so Erica’s choice was just fine by me. After a hearty chicken tikka, pampadoms, and mango chutney, we all agreed that it was way too early to go to bed. Despite being exhausted, we felt a duty to take Erica out to a classic Scottish pub and so, off to Hootanany’s we went. Famous in Inverness for featuring local bands and traditional music they also served one hell of a pint of Guinness. Ah Guinness, that pint of black, frothy goodness I miss so much. Guinness in the states just doesn’t cut it I’m afraid, usually no more than watery black broth, it just can’t hold a candle to the UK variety. A good pint of Guinness tastes like a chocolate coffee milkshake and is one of the most delightful drinks on earth. Of course, it feels like a meal in and of itself and after a few of them, one feels as though he has eaten a three course dinner.

The pub delivered as promised and the music was outstanding. We stayed there far into the night and as I looked around at the crew laughing and dancing the night away, I remembered just how lucky I am to be here. Scotland is such a beautiful place and to spend a few weeks here with such a great group of people has to be just about the best job in the world.

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After all the excitement yesterday, today was a quiet one. We have had several good days of filming and we are more or less right on schedule. The crew has been absolutely awesome and everyone is getting along as if we were all best friends from long ago. I spent most of the afternoon wandering around Inverness again while the rest of the crew was off at Inverness College interviewing various scientists. Tonight we were supposed to head out to the Loch and build a campfire by the water to hang out and discuss the past weeks findings amongst the scientists and myself, but by late evening the wind was howling and it was called off. Too bad, not being one to ever shirk the opportunity to build and spend the night by a good campfire I was quite disappointed.

Regardless, we are still on schedule for the shoot and that is the most important thing. Only three more days left and we still have a lot of ground to cover, so as they say, no rest for the weary…or is that wicked…

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This morning was a bit slow, it started with interviews and filming some general scenery, but that quickly gave way to some crazy antics. One of the challenges that we are trying to figure out, is whether or not a large creature could travel from the sea to the Loch and back again. That would make it a lot easier for the myth to be real, as the ocean provides a huge abundance of food that the Loch is lacking. However, there are two ways from the Loch to the ocean and they both present considerable obstacles. The canal, while deep enough for a creature to pass through, was built in the 19th century and has a series of locks along its length that open and close to regulate the water level and allow boats through. Unless it was timed perfectly, any creature would essentially be blocked from passage. The river Ness on the other hand is very shallow, only a few feet deep at best, and it too has several weirs or shallow dams that cross it, also making passage difficult, even in the best of times. Water does flow over the weirs though, so our job today was to take a jet boat and see if we could also ‘jump’ the weir.

Safety was our number one priority and we suited up in drysuits, heavy gloves, helmets and a very robust lifejacket. After a safety briefing, Alan, the boat captain, and I jumped onto the small jetboat and cruised up the river to the weir. Piece of cake I thought, as I scanned the seemingly small rush of water as it cascaded over the rocks. Yeah right, it looked small from far away but once we got there it started to dawn on me that this was no joke. As we approached the weir, the roar of rushing water filled my ears and Alan and I looked at each other with a kind of what the hell are we doing here look. The fear was not just falling in the water and getting smashed against the rocks, that we could handle…maybe. The real problem was that if a thousand pounds of boat were to turn parallel to the dam it could easily get flipped over on top of us, knocking us out or pinning us under the water which would very likely result in serious injury or death…seeing as how neither of us found the idea of serious injury or death appealing on a sunny Sunday afternoon, we decided to take it slow.

We kept back from the weir for a good fifteen minutes, eyeing our odds, and the best approach. Then, with a roar of the motor we attacked and Alan pushed all the way down on the throttle and with a crash and a crunch we threw ourselves over the first set of boulders, right up to the base of the weir. Water came thundering over the bow of the small craft and my heart was racing. I have done plenty of whitewater rafting and canoeing before, but if you fall out of a rubber raft and it hits you in the head it’s probably not the end of the world, if I got tossed out of this vessel and it hit me in the head…well… lights out sucker.

Holding tight to the rope on the side of the boat, I braced myself as the boat lurched to the left and crashed into a huge rock. A quick glance over at Alan confirmed my suspicion; this was not a good situation. But he knew what he was doing and promptly threw the boat into reverse, the engine roared once again and we were suddenly free. I relaxed my clenched fists and took a deep breath. From that moment on we avoided that part of the weir and decided that this was probably not possible. Even on full power, the boat wasn’t even able to make it even partially over the final wall of water. A few more soft attempts and we gave up.

We returned to shore and, exhausted, and slightly disappointed, climbed out of the boat. The director was thrilled and pointed out that a failure was still a result. If we couldn’t get over the weir, it is unlikely that in this low water any kind of monster could either, at least not without crawling over the rocks, at which point it would most certainly be seen by passing boats, hikers or cars of which there are many along the river and the road beside it. After all the excitement, we packed up the gear and headed back to shore. A few more interviews and one piece to camera later we had wrapped for the day. It was 8PM by this time and everyone was ready for a tall pint or two and a good meal and we got one at a local pub. All told, it was a good day, as my father always said, “adventure is where you lead a full life” and today was definitely one hell of an adventure.

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Well, today was my day off and it was pretty wonderful. I slept in a little, as I am apt to do on a day off, and then spent the morning at my desk working on the computer. Yes, it is always part of the game when I am traveling to try and keep up with things back home. By the afternoon though, I was done and was able to go outside. It was one of those glorious days that Scotland doesn’t get credit for. Everyone always thinks of Scotland as a gloomy and rainy place and while it does get its fair share of rain, when the sun shines over the highlands, illuminating the cast of colors, you could almost swear that you were looking at heaven itself.

The town itself is lined with the grey stone buildings that are so typical of this country. Rather than appear depressing and dark, as many people claim, I think that these old stones reflect a history that gives them a stately charm and reverence. Most of Scotland’s cities were here long before North America was even colonized by Europeans, let alone the founding of the United States.

Along the river Ness, a castle dominates the view and reminds us that this part of the world has seen its fair share of conflict.

Tonight we are all gathering together to go over the schedule and prepare for tomorrow when I will be exploring both the river and the canal that links the Loch with the Ocean.

Cheers

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It has been a few days now and we are all starting to get into the groove of things. It always goes like that, at first everyone is walking on egg shells, not sure about how to act or how the other people on the team work. After a few days, it all settles down into a bit of a routine and I am happy to say that the entire crew is brilliant and we all get along really well.

They have an easygoing style and we get the work done, but when the days filming is wrapped, we all take a sigh of relief that the weather or some other phenomenon hasn’t thrown us too far off schedule, and head off to the pub for a pint and a bit of dinner.

Today was the big day for me; my chance to do diving in the Loch and I was quite looking forward to it. While I knew that there wasn’t going to be much to see, just the idea of diving in Loch Ness was intriguing. The water is cold and so I needed my drysuit and hood and all the other paraphernalia that goes with diving in cold water.

The clouds were low over the Loch and the surrounding hillsides and a slight drizzle was present most of the day. We persevered nonetheless, spending most of it with the scientists doing plankton trawls and laying down deep water cameras to get a sense of the ecology of the Loch and the productivity of the bottom. As we expected, the bottom didn’t prove to be very productive at all, casting even more doubt on the possibility of large creatures surviving in the Loch. By 5 o’clock we were done with the science and it was time to dive.

With the safety divers pulled up beside the boat, we got geared up and took a long stride into the water. I took a small underwater camera to do some filming and was amazed at how quickly the light gave way to darkness. By about 30 feet down the visibility was almost zero and all that lay beneath me was the black abyss. Loch Ness is the largest Loch in Scotland by volume and has depths of over 700 feet. While I am not a superstitious person, I admit that my mind started dreaming up all sorts of things as I stared down into the murky depths. We stayed at 30 feet and I hovered there for a moment just to soak it all in. The water was like a dark cup of tea and seemed to swallow everything; within just a few feet even my safety diver started to disappear from view.

No wonder this place has been shrouded in mystery for so many centuries. I have never been on a dive like that in my life, it was definitely one for the books and I was glad to get out of the water. As we motored back to shore, the ruins of Urquart Castle looming behind us, I was smiling the whole way. The Scottish rain had started to come down harder and the sun was slowly setting, giving way to that humid blanket of darkness that only happens here. I think there are few places as beautiful as Scotland and I am just happy to be here. Tomorrow is a light day and I have most of it to myself. I haven’t had a day like that in a long time and I look forward to it, no doubt more adventures await.

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Another beautiful day in Scotland, of course I say that about today, but in reality I think just about every day in Scotland is a beautiful one. It rained on and off most of the day, but I didn’t mind. Scottish rain has a silky quality to it and the mist that sits atop the mountains on days like this fits the location. The greens are sharper and the purple and yellow hues are somehow brighter when it drizzles and when the sun does peek through the clouds, even for a brief moment, the entire countryside looks as if it is a present being unwrapped for the first time and then, as if it is too perfect to be allowed to last, the delicate clouds drift back in again and the rain starts anew.

We spent most of the day at the Loch Ness visitor’s center exploring the various knick- knacks and popular folklore of the tourist scene. We filmed a few stand ups, and while it was a long day, it was not particularly eventful, as it was mostly filled with interviews and various shots of the Loch itself. The crew continues to be outstanding and the experts that they have on the show are all down to earth and naturals in front of the television. Theo is the limnologist (someone who studies rivers, lakes and wetlands) and totally passionate about fisheries and biology. Ken is a paleontologist and the only one with any prior filming experience, and Erica is the Oceanographer who brings a thorough understanding of how large bodies of water function. While I think that they are all a little overwhelmed by the whole insanity that is filming a documentary, they have taken to it right away and are really great to work with.

Erica and I spent a few hours overlooking Urquart Castle alongside the Loch, to film a segment on the different natural phenomena that can create the illusion of monster; from strange currents that can carry debris (such as a log) upstream, to boat wake that can last long after the boat has passed. Many of these things can explain a majority of the various photos and sightings over the years.

Tomorrow is my dive into the Loch and I am looking forward to it. While I’m told there isn’t much to see, how many people get to film and dive in Loch Ness? Not many I’m sure.

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It is hard to put into words how excited I am to be back in Scotland. As some of you may know, I spent 4 years of my life here studying at the University of St. Andrews and I must say, it was one of the best experiences and happiest times I can remember. It has been several years since I was back and the chance to be here during the beautiful summer and to work here, is a dream come true. The highlands are, in my opinion, one of the most fantastic places on earth. The lush forested hills and rolling mountains that contain every different hue of green that you can imagine, stretch out endlessly.

Farmland is everywhere and when the wind blows, it wafts across the fields causing the grass and wheat to dance in swirling waves. Shaggy brown highland cows dot the landscape and the small thin roads that wind through the countryside and alongside the lochs are a particular joy to drive on. Pubs with names like the Highlander and the Clansman are to be found in every town and there is always a small jug of fresh water on the bar for that mandatory glass of whiskey that must be ordered (in my opinion) at least once.

We are stationed in Inverness, on the northern end of Scotland, to film a documentary for Discovery Channel. It’s called Living Loch Ness and when they first called me about it I was a little skeptical. As an environmentalist and explorer, I wasn’t sure what I could contribute to a program about Loch Ness. But, as we explored the story I realized that this show isn’t trying to find Nessie or anything like that; instead, it is exploring the myth of the creature and applying scientific reasoning to explore why and how such a myth would continue to perpetuate itself in modern society. I realized that the show would be a great way to communicate the need for exploration in our modern day and age. We know so little about our planet and thus myths like the Loch Ness Monster continue to thrive in our popular psyche, precisely because we just don’t know if they are real or not.

We have only explored a fraction of the oceans and water systems of this planet and while a creature like the Loch Ness Monster is unlikely (to say the least), its persistence underscores just how little we know about this planet; in fact, we know more about the surface of the moon than we do about the surface of Earth. That is the message I suggested be a central part of the story, in their usual fashion, Discovery was totally onboard with the wider message of exploration and so here I am.

Today was the first day of filming and the production crew is Waddell Media out of Ireland. So far the whole team has been brilliant to work with and I have a feeling that this is going to be an amazing shoot… of course, no matter what, two weeks in Scotland, one of my favorite places in the world can never be a bad thing.

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Someone told me it was 102 degrees today and that seems like a conservative estimate. If you haven’t noticed a theme here…warped tour is almost always very, very hot. The heat did not put a damper on our recycling efforts. The Trojan tent ran a contest today for every bag brought to them full of bottles and cans they gave away a huge prize pack. Not to be outdone, AT&T provided us with their much coveted cut passes to give away to four of our most ambitious volunteers. If you didn’t think recycling paid off before…imagine getting to walk smugly past a line of 240 people to be the very first to meet Cobra Starship or We the Kings as four lucky warped tour guests did today.

I’ve been kind of baffled by the kids who ask to buy shirts from us or cut passes but don’t want to take a minute to actually get their hands dirty and help out. Why would you want to by a shirt that says you are an activist but not actually be one? That momentary bummer is always far out shined by the incredible volunteers we meet and the bands that keep coming out to help the cleanup efforts everyday. Our autograph signing with Alesana was a lot of fun and they sold a bunch of cd’s for $5 (half price!) to anyone that brought cans or bottles. Erin is on a rampage and has been collecting bags and bags of bottles all day. She hasn’t come back to the tour bus yet and I’m not sure if we’ll see her before sunset. I collected a few bags myself and Beat Union from the UK has joined forces with us and is going to be running contests out of their tent now.The Eco-army of warped tour is growing. Be warned!

I’m going to try to get a shower in before the line gets too long.

Everything you do makes a difference!

-TaRa

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