Blue Notes 165

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May 26, 2018

In This Issue:

• • March for the Ocean to Celebrate Summer
  • 2018 Hurricane Season: Not again
  • Get Drastic on Plastic
  • Coalitions of Coalitions
  • Rally for Change

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March for the Ocean to Celebrate Summer

Summer starts June 21 during the Northern Hemisphere’s Summer Solstice, when our rotational axis tilt towards the sun and guarantees the longest day of the year.  But we also know summer really begins with Memorial Day and runs through Labor Day, usually with trips to an ocean beach or other warming body of water. Going to the beach remains the number one outdoor activity for all Americans and with good cause.  Spending time in the sand and by the sea with friends and family is like living the good old days only in the here and now. While going to the beach is a grand tradition, marching for the ocean this World Oceans Day weekend is something new and critically important as our endangered and linked ocean and climate systems are approaching ecological collapse.  To quote one of our march speakers, “Let’s remember that without Blue there is no Green.”

Here’s what Bill McKibben and I wrote on the Trump Administration’s attempts to open up almost all our public seas to offshore oil and gas drilling and why we need to March.

And here’s the Washington Monthly’s response arguing that yes, we need to march for the ocean in June but also vote for the ocean in November.

And just for the heck of it here are Philippe and Ashland Cousteau explaining why they’re marching for the ocean.

OK, you want one more?  Sylvia Earle and Carl Safina on World Oceans Day and the March.

2018 Hurricane Season: Not Again

Given the consequences of continued offshore drilling for fossil fuels it’s not surprising the 2018 hurricane season is predicted to be as active as 2017’s, when we  saw three major hurricanes slam the U.S: Harvey, Irma and Maria.

What in the past were thought of as natural disasters are increasingly turning into unnatural catastrophes due to our energy and coastal development choices.

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Get Drastic on Plastic

BYOB – Bring your own bottle. Another major focus in D.C. and our more than 60 sister marches around the world will be getting rid of single-use plastic and other forms of ocean pollution, with a stronger focus on corporate accountability for this epidemic of waste.  We are going to try and set an example by having a Plastic Free March and Rally with the help of several responsible companies.  Bring your canteen or non-plastic water bottle and FloWater (a post-plastic company based out of Denver Colorado) will have chilled refill stations for the thousands of ocean lovers there.

Coalition of Coalitions

Along with our more than 160 partner groups to date this first ever March for the Ocean would not be possible without sponsors and other financial supporters. Here’s a partial list of who’s contributed to help us mobilize.

The Ocean Foundation
Blue Frontier Campaign
Mission Blue
Sierra Club
Ocean Conservancy
World Wildlife Fund
Natural Resources Defense Council
Herbert W Hoover Foundation
Oceana
Defenders of Wildlife
One World/One Ocean
Surfrider Foundation
Sea Save Foundation
Greenpeace
Legal Sea Foods
Dive Alert Network
National Wildlife Federation
AU Center for Environmental Filmmaking
The Safina Center
Plastic Pollution Coalition
Friends of the Earth
Earth Day Network
Clean Ocean Action
Wyland Foundation
Writers For the Sea

Please consider making a donation to March for the Ocean so we can all continue to prepare for the work ahead. Donate at marchfortheocean.org

One way we can all contribute is to buy March T-shirts in various styles and shades of blue.

#WearBlue4theOcean 

Speaking of blue, ‘Wear Blue for the Ocean’ is a global theme the day of the march.  Here’s the Wear Blue, add a facebook frame, post to social media and challenge your friends too!  Learn more by exploring our M4O Toolkit!

While Jackson Browne won’t be able to attend M4O we have at least one guest musician who’ll help us get together and smile on each other as we prepare to march that morning after gathering by the pod of giant whales at the NW corner of the Washington Monument Grounds at 17^th and Constitution Avenue – For the full schedule and meeting information go to the M4O website

Even before the March we’ll be welcoming our intrepid coastal paddler Margo Pellegrino who took off from the Atlantic City NJ’s ‘Hands Across the Sand’ anti-drilling protest on June 19 on her 18-day paddle to the March.  After that we’ll be celebrating an ‘Ocean Under the Stars’ film fest from 8:30 – 10:30 PM at our Stage area with support from the International Ocean Film Festival and D.C. Environmental Film Festival.  Lots of fun on a warm June night.

Come by water. On the morning of the March, Saturday June 9th, we’ll be launching a March for the Ocean Armada on the Anacostia.  Margo will be taking off from the Anacostia Community Boathouse at 8am and anyone with a kayak, SUP (our friends at Aqua Vida have offered to provide some free to paddle), a skiff, boat, workboat, dragon boat (we’re expecting several), Zodiac, etc. and who loves the water and the Ocean that is the source of all water are welcome to join in for a two hour cruise downriver to the Wharf.  Feel free to check it out from the riverbank as well.

We also have lots of M4O information on transportation, local groups organizing buses or planning to train down to D.C.  Our M4O Hotel with steep discounts is the State Plaza – call them at 202 – 861-8200    and tell them you’re coming for the March for the Ocean.

Limebike – the dock-free bike and electric scooter company – is also offering two free rides that day to help you get to and from the march from anywhere in the city in a healthy, mostly fossil free way.  Just use the discount #M4O2018DC

We also have stickers & fliers that you can also download from the website and print out (NEED THEM ON SITE).  Or contact your local chapter or affiliate of partner groups such as the Sierra Club, Surfrider, Environment America, Greenpeace, Sea Shepherd, Inland Ocean Coalition, Clean Ocean Action, etc.

Another option is to come to D.C. early for Capitol Hill Ocean Week that will include a chance to lobby Congress for a healthy ocean on Thursday June 7. 

Rally for Change

After the 1.7 mile march past the White House and Lafayette Park, join M4O and “Her Deepness” Dr. Sylvia Earle, Philippe and Ashlan Cousteau, Danni Washington, Paul Watson, Carl Safina, Ralph Nader, Admiral Ann Thomas (USN Ret.), Heirs to Our Oceans, OMG, Hannah4Change, the Earth Conservation Corps and others. Don’t forget good walking shoes (the March around the White House is 1.7 miles) light blue clothing or costumes including shade hats and canteens as this is a plastic and waste free march.

If you’re not in DC join one of the growing number of other marches for the ocean around the world from the underwater reef of Key Largo to the island of Saipan, Chicago Illinois to Jakarta Indonesia, Boulder to Cozumel, San Francisco to Rio. Check out the website map to see what’s happening near you. Also it’s still not to late to start your own M4O action. And don’t forget to Wear Blue for the Ocean and get your Blue images out on social media!

The Ocean is Rising and So Are We. See you in D.C. in two weeks!

For more on sponsorship, organizing and media efforts or to sign up for our march go to: www.marchfortheocean.org or contact marchforocean@gmail.com

Here are a number of ways to get informed and take action:

1. Join our March for the Ocean (M4O) mailing list.
2. Buy a M4O shirt.
3. Watch our latest M4O videos featuring Dr. Sylvia Earle and many more!
4. Sign up your organization for a committee!
5. Like, Follow, and Subscribe to M4O channels on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
6. Become an official M4O Sponsor today!
7. Explore at our UPDATED M4O Toolkit.
8. Donate to Blue Frontier Campaign.

Thank You for Your Support!

For more information on March for the Ocean, please email the M4O Steering Committee at marchforocean@gmail.com