BVS3 – A Blue Wave Across the Capitol

By David Helvarg

In this Issue
BVS3 – Recapped
Friday – Celebration of the Seas
Saturday – Gulf Restoration
Sunday – National Ocean Policy
Monday – Capitol Hill Ocean Day
4th Annual Peter Benchley Ocean Awards
Thank You!
New Blue Solutions

BVS3 – Recapped
It was three days of peace and music and nothing but…no wait, that was Woodstock. Blue Vision Summit 3, May 20-23 in Washington D.C. was a whole other kettle of fish.

Over 400 Ocean Leaders and activists gathered over three days and four nights for celebrations, ocean awards, some 30 panels and workshops, networking, eating (delicious vegetarian cuisine), drinking (like fish) and marching endless miles of corridors on Capitol Hill Ocean Day. Here are some of the weekend’s highlights in case you missed it or just want a reminder of all the fun and inspiration. (Click for photos. Video coming soon.)

Friday – Celebration of the Seas
Friday evening’s ‘Celebration of the Seas’ sponsored by Blue Frontier Campaign, Blue On Tour and Ocean Inspiration was attended by close to 500 guests and included four hours of films, art, music, dance, photography, an authors panel, more films, and live and silent auctions.

The opening session included an introduction by filmmaker Greg MacGillivray of the 10-year ‘One World, One Ocean’ multimedia campaign that will include IMAX and 3D TV documentaries not to mention footage of cute polar bear cubs. Céline Cousteau presented two acts from Ocean Inspiration, a tribute to her grandfather Jacques Cousteau on what would have been his 100th birthday, that included performances of Ocean Voices, a musical piece by Halsey Burgund and Aqua Borealis by Kristin McArdle Dance.

Later in the evening, Céline hosted an author’s panel that included Carl Safina, chef Barton Seaver, and me. Filmmaker Jon Bowermaster showed his moving film about water stories in southern Louisiana, SoLa, and took questions. George Schellenger and Jim Abernethy presented the Award-winning documentary This Is Your Ocean: Sharks, a film that looks at the global plight of sharks.

The art on display featured pieces by Wyland, Brian Skerry, Wayne Levin, Marc Dimov, Dianna Cohen, Jim Toomey, Wernher Krutein plus award-winning student art from a national contest held by the Coast Guard Partnership in Education’s (PIE). Also shown was “Oceans of Plastic”, a quilt-like piece made from plastic sewn together by 200 elementary students.

Sherman’s Lagoon cartoonist and Blue Frontier Campaign board member, Jim Toomey auctioned off several of the pieces. Many thanks to the artists for donating their work.

Excellent food was provided by Green Plate Catering including donated items from CakeLove, PopChips, Georgetown Cupcakes, Nora’s and Legal Sea Foods. Nobilo provided the wine and Yuengling the beer.
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Saturday – Gulf Restoration
Saturday morning started with greetings from some of the 30 Summit sponsors and a preview of the next film by Academy Award winning (also 2010 Benchley Award winning) The Cove director Louie Psihoyos that included fiery images from last summer’s BP blowout and that asked the question, “will our next energy source come from heaven (cue solar collectors) or hell (more burning oil footage).”

Cyn Sarthou, 2010 Benchley Award recipient and executive director of Gulf Restoration Network, organized the opening plenary ‘Voices from the Gulf’ that included Alabama’s Casi Callaway, Mississippi’s Dr. Bill Hawkins and Father Vien Nguyen of Louisiana. The panelists spoke to the needs and means for restoring the Gulf not only from BP’s horrific oil impacts but also the loss of wetlands, sea-level rise, nutrient pollution and other long-term impacts undermining the Gulf’s ecosystem.

Later we heard the federal perspective from NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco, retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen who ran the federal response to the blowout and Dr. Donald Boesch who served on the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling. Unfortunately part of the federal response has been to work on the impacts from the BP disaster while still promoting expanded offshore drilling. Yet every new platform leased is a commitment to at least 30 years of additional greenhouse gas pollution and potential marine pollution. Audience questions were both informed and sometimes pointed. Dr. Lubchenco appreciated the passion and dedication of Summit participants.
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Sunday – National Ocean Policy

Sunday’s opening panel on U.S. National Ocean Policy included Senator Whitehouse (D RI) and representatives of the Northeast Regional Ocean Council (one of the more advanced regional partners that will localize and implement the policy) and top representatives from the Coast Guard and NOAA. Noticeably absent was a representative from the White House (invitations were declined). While some delays in implementation can be tracked to certain Republicans’ opposition to the ecosystem-based policy (led by House Resources Committee Chair Rep. Doc Hastings) and also Congress’s failure to approve an initial $20 million for the plan, there are also indications that the Obama administration is not aiming to put the policy into action until after the 2012 elections. Instead they’re planning a new round of public ‘listening sessions’ around the country. (We’ll keep you updated as plans develop.)

The second full day of strategizing culminated with a Youth panel including a professional and spirited presentation by three high school students, Patricia Tapia, Florence Bloomfield and Cesar Gutierrez from New York’s Harbor School on their efforts to reestablish oyster beds in the city’s waters.

Sunday concluded with a Surfrider-DC Chapter sponsored celebration, Surfing our Way to the Hill at Tonic. Thanks Surfrider!

The weekend saw dozens of other panels and theme dinners ranging from plastic pollution to urban oceans, bluefin tuna, offshore energy (both clean and fossil), impacts of changing media on ocean coverage, practical examples of coastal and marine spatial planning and how to go about establishing large ocean wilderness areas or “hope spots.” The summit proved to be both action-oriented and inspirational.
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Monday – Capitol Hill Ocean Day
Monday’s Capitol Hill Ocean Day meetings included educating our representatives during sit-downs with House and Senate leadership folks. The day’s focus was on implementing rather than obstructing the National Ocean Policy, supporting an Ocean Trust Fund proposed by a bipartisan group that includes Senators Snowe (R ME) and Whitehouse (D RI), restoring the Gulf of Mexico and supporting other efforts to protect and restore our coasts and ocean. One of the aides to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D NV) pointed out that there wasn’t always good communications between the White House and Congress. They knew of the President’s executive order establishing a national ocean policy but weren’t sure who was behind it. We indicated we were that constituency representing ocean recreationists, conservationists, businesses, scientists, coastal residents and local elected officials who want to replace 24 federal agencies cross-managing our public seas under 140 separate laws with a more common sense and unified approach carried out through regional programs that are already having a positive impact on our seas in places like Massachusetts, Rhode Island and California.

BVS3 participants conducted more than 70 meetings with staff and members of the House and Senate from coastal states as well as the Rocky Mountains (thanks Colorado Ocean Coalition and Teens4Oceans for reminding us that every state is an ocean state).

At our end of day reception, our many contingents reported back to the larger group on the conversations they’d had throughout the day. We pledged to follow up on our meetings with local office visits in our congressional districts and states and cheered our sore feet with Barefoot Wine and nourished ourselves with more delicious food from Green Plate Catering and cupcakes from Red Velvet Cupcakery.

The feedback since the Summit has been outstanding with a National Geographic blog highlighting that “Even the Ocean has grassroots.” People who participated feel that BVS3 was another milestone in building our movement and network of seaweed rebels (marine grassroots), to turn the tide on a number of issues and make the argument that a healthy ocean with all that it provides us is essential for a healthy U.S. and world economy. If nothing else, we helped move our public seas into the realm of public policy for each other and for our elected representatives from sea to shining sea.
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4th Annual Peter Benchley Ocean Awards

The 4th annual awards took place around BVS3. Award events started Friday afternoon at the Inter-American Development Bank with the special presentation of the Peter Benchley Ocean Award for Excellence in National Stewardship of the Ocean to President Laura Chinchilla of Costa Rica. Among the 250 guests were Nancy Sutley, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, and Inter-American Development Bank president and host Luis Alberto Moreno. Also there were representatives from MarViva, the regional citizens group that helped inspire President Chinchilla to expand the marine protection zone around the world-famous Coco Island National Park. The award sparked widespread coverage in Costa Rica and an editorial in the Tico Times over who should pay the cost of protecting the new reserve.

Saturday at the Marvin Center concluded with the 4th Annual Peter Benchley Ocean Awards MCed by “her deepness” Dr. Sylvia Earle. This year’s winners of Manta Awards designed by marine artist Wyland and handed out by Wendy Benchley and myself included Dr. Steve Palumbi for science, Admiral Thad Allen (USCG ret.) for policy, Dr. Greg Stone for solutions, Juliet Eilperin of the Washington Post for media, youth winner Rudy Sanchez and Hero of the Seas Kathy Fletcher, founder of People for Puget Sound.

The awards dinner that followed included a brief discussion between Sylvia Earle, Jane Lubchenco, Thad Allen, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and marine biologist Sandra Whitehouse on where they’d like to see our public seas in 10 years and how we get there. Asked to cite one of their favorite moments in the sea Thad Allen gave a typically brusque but honest answer, “Diving in the Galapagos with my son and 100 sea lions.”

Photos available here. Video coming soon!

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Thank you
Many thanks to all of our sponsors and collaborators. Special thanks to Debbie Kinder of Blue on Tour for coordinating our Friday night celebration. Thank you to all of the volunteers who made BVS3 possible. We simply could not have done it without all of your help!
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New Blue Solutions
Inspired by many of the presentations at BVS3 ranging from the Harbor School’s oyster reef restoration to a Coast Guard small boat station in Maine now being powered by a tidal turbine, to shark fin legislation that advanced in the California Statehouse while we were in D.C., we want to hear more about your victories and solutions so that we can make them a regular feature of Blue Notes. Send details of your latest good news to info@bluefront.org. Mark it ‘Victory at Sea.’

Stay tuned: more improvements to Blue Notes coming soon!

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