I missed this opportunity this year, however it is a cause and a mission that is very near and dear to my heart. And it’s not just about keeping our oceans and shorelines clean so that we can save our marine ecosystem from irreparable damage. It’s also about accountability and the footprint we leave in the wake of how we use our oceans.
Shipping lanes are a significant cause of whale strikes, which are often fatal, if not crippling, for many endangered and vulnerable whale populations. The noise from shipping can also have a dire impact on whales’ ability to navigate and find food, and can further drown out and distort communication resulting in devastating disruptions to their mating and migration patterns. And this is only one example of the great harm we inflict upon these highly sentient species every day.
The more efforts we make to become a “green” society on land, the more stress we’re putting on the sustainability of our oceans. Cargo, cruise and fishing vessels are responsible for an estimated 20,000 whale strikes per year, plus entanglements. In California, many of these whales are gray whales, humpbacks, fin whales and blue whales, and that’s not to mention the hundreds of cetaceans we barbarically lose world-wide to commercial whaling - the majority of them endangered, and all of them critical to the fight against climate change.
I applaud the efforts of Ocean Conservancy, as well as many of my home base organizations like The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), and my most beloved, California Killer Whale Project (CKWP) and Monterey Bay Whale Watch (MBWW); for their immense passion and tireless efforts in the study, advocacy, and commitment to the preservation of a beautiful and diverse underwater world that sustains every single living thing on our planet. We owe it to ourselves to become more educated and to become more involved, because we can and should do better. Volunteer, donate, or just be a good steward of life. It all counts, it all makes a difference, and it all matters.
This Saturday, Sept. 21 is International Coastal Cleanup Day! #SeaTheChange with Ocean Conservancy and hundreds of thousands of volunteers from around the world and pick up trash and debris from your local beach, waterways, neighborhoods, parks and more. Thanks to millions of volunteers, the ICC has become a beacon of hope, leading and inspiring action for our ocean. Since its beginning, more than 18 million volunteers have collected more than 380 million pounds of trash!
First, a few to-dos:
💡 Learn more and see how you can host a cleanup of your own, wherever you are: https://lnkd.in/gBu4dpi
📱 Download our Clean Swell app and record your incredible cleanup efforts: https://lnkd.in/eRxBv6_x
🤔 Stay up to date on the International Coastal Cleanup and ways you can become an ocean advocate by texting “ICC” to 52551.
Thank you for partnering with us to protect our ocean!