voicesforouroceans - Tumblr blog

[voicesforouroceans]

UMass Surf Club, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

“Our club thrives on our interaction with our beaches and oceans. As people who interact with these spaces on a weekly basis, we are directly impacted by pollution and can see how it constantly affects the ecosystems we've come to appreciate. Watching plastic bags and bottles litter our waters and beach shores brings us much frustration.”

[voicesforouroceans]

Andrew Lewis, Council member on the North Westwood Neighborhood Council

“I’ve grown up just a few miles from the Pacific Ocean my entire life. My fondest memories growing up as a kid were visiting Santa Monica Beach with my family, and admiring the majesty of our beautiful ocean. This is a memory I’d love for my kids, and their kids, to experience one day. It’s ever-more important to protect our Oceans from environmental disaster, and ensure they remain a treasure for us to enjoy.”

[voicesforouroceans]

Brynne Rardin, Professional Divemaster & Owner of OFAUNA

"As a professional divemaster and underwater videographer, being able to dive and share encounters with healthy coral reef systems and marine life species is what I live for. More often than not, I have witnessed firsthand the devastating effects that the climate crisis and plastic pollution have had on our beautiful oceans and the animals within them. Protecting our oceans and beaches matters to me because I have never experienced anything as beautiful or magnificent as when I'm diving in the ocean, and I want them to be around forever for all generations to experience and love as much as I do."

[voicesforouroceans]

Kristina Hill, Associate Professor at UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design

"My research is on the impacts of sea level rise, including design of new coastal infrastructure and adaptation strategies for cities. All of that has implications for coastal wetlands, beaches, biodiversity and water quality - as well as for urban districts. With my geology background, I am concerned that rising groundwater will bring more contaminants into the nearshore environment as sea levels rise. And from a human point of view, that people don't understand that groundwater will rise in relation to sea level. Money spent on coastal levees and sea walls will be wasted when groundwater rises behind the levees anyway. Pumping groundwater brings its own set of risks, including accelerated subsidence, so it's not a great solution to rising groundwater...there's a lot at stake if we choose the wrong adaptation strategies.”

Kristina lives & works in California.

[voicesforouroceans]

Barry Munroe, Attorney-at-Law

“We have to be good stewards of the earth. We owe that to indubitable pledge to future generations.”

Barry currently lives in Florida.

[voicesforouroceans]

Josh Weizel, Grassroots Environmentalist

“I love to observe the beauty of the ocean, and I want to preserve it for future generations.”

Josh lives in Connecticut.

[voicesforouroceans]

Patrick Comins, Executive Director of Connecticut Audubon Society

“Long Island Sound is an estuary of national significance and incredibly important ecologically and economically to the state of Connecticut.  The ecological health of Long Island Sound is integrally tied to the health of the oceans as well as it's watershed.  This watershed comprises nearly all of the land area of Connecticut, so conservation actions nearly anywhere in the state are ultimately tied to the health of Long Island Sound.  There is no ecologically healthy Connecticut without a healthy Long Island Sound and there is no ecologically healthy Long Island Sound without a healthy Connecticut.  Likewise the estuary is connected to the Atlantic Ocean and without a healthy ocean there is no healthy Long Island Sound.”

Patrick lives & works in Connecticut.

[voicesforouroceans]

Eron Macartney, Commercial Fisherman

“I grew up on the water and, for the life of me, I do not think I could pick a single memory that would be my favorite. Every memory I have is amazing. But if I had to choose one it would probably be my first dive that took place on the north side of Bali. I was getting dive certified with my brother, and before we even trained in a pool our instructor asked if we wanted to go dive a wreck. It turned out this was not any ordinary wreck, either, but none other than the Liberty Wreck of the sunken US Navy ship. I was blown away with the beauty of the wreck and the organisms that had made it home. I remember coming to the surface and hardly being able to walk up on to the beach because my knees were so weak with excitement and pure joy.”

Eron currently resides in Washington.

[voicesforouroceans]

Lana Gronwald, Owner at Jules + Gem

"Living in Hawaii, being surrounded by nothing but ocean my whole life, I have grown up to learn of the history, culture, and beauty that comes from the ocean. We need to do everything we can to protect and preserve it."

Lana resides in Hawaii.

[voicesforouroceans]

Danielle Irwin, Oceanographer & Environmental Consultant 

"I most value the ocean's habitat, its ability to regulate the earth’s global temperatures, and the mysteries of the deep."

Danielle resides in Florida. 

[voicesforouroceans]

Nadia Gardner, Conservation Consultant

“As a coastal resident, I know healthy oceans are critical for human survival and that they are threatened by climate change impacts, pollution and overfishing today. We all need to be part of the solutions for us and for future generations.”

Nadia currently lives in Oregon.

[voicesforouroceans]

Richard Charter, Senior Fellow at the Ocean Foundation

“As a child, I was fortunate to grow up spending a lot of my time in the tidepools of the Sonoma-Mendocino Coast and as a result I fell in love with the incredible array of life in these waters.  I now live on that same coast and I have always wanted to do something to protect this ecosystem in return for the inspiration that it provides to me.  Having helped to create four National Marine Sanctuaries on the California coast over four decades, I just wrote a little book about a misguided proposal to drop a controversial second-generation ecosystem poison in the midst of our Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary.” 

Richard lives in California. 

[voicesforouroceans]

Maya Sze, Undergraduate Student at Tufts University

“I grew up going to the beach during summer vacation with my family, and I hold so many fond memories from that time. I would bury my legs in the sand with my sister, float amongst the ocean waves, and run along the shore where the sand met the water pretending the ocean gave me super speed. The ocean also holds so much beauty and mystery, and I love gazing out into the horizon wondering what lies beneath the surface of the waves.”

Maya attends school in Massachusetts.

[voicesforouroceans]

Oliver Welch, Undergraduate Student at Tufts University

“Growing up in a coastal California town, I've been fortunate to spend countless hours in and around the ocean. Some of my earliest and fondest memories involve walking along the coast with my family and investigating tide pools. So much of what I love about my life takes place in the ocean. Surfing, kiteboarding, scuba diving and just being in the water have brought so much joy to my life and helped foster a deep appreciation and respect for our oceans. I want to continue enjoying everything our oceans have to offer, hopefully encouraging others for fall in love with the ocean along the way, but that's only possible if our oceans are healthy. They are the lifeblood of this planet and protecting our oceans is vitally important for the health of this planet and all its inhabitants.”

Oliver currently lives in Massachusetts.

[voicesforouroceans]

Joost DuBois, Director of Communications at The Ocean Cleanup

“I grew up in the Netherlands, where water is always near, in a sailing family and practically learned to sail while learning to walk (and ride a bicycle - as we Dutch people do). Growing up, my sailing grounds expanded as well, as did my love for the oceans. Over time I have witnessed up close the devastating impact we humans have on our oceans in many places around the world. Since 2016, I’ve worked for The Ocean Cleanup, a non-profit developing technologies to rid the world's oceans from plastic.”

Joost is based in Florida.

[voicesforouroceans]

Micco Godinez, Head Guide at Kayak Kaua'i

“I can't remember when "el mar" has not been part of my daily liquid infusion, be it by the shores of Cuba, Puerto Rico, or Kaua'i. Protecting the ocean is paying respect to the highest and loftiest tides within us. The waxing and waning of the ocean has meant recreation, restoration and religion. The challenge for all of us is to learn how to catch "the wave" and not leave a ripple.”

[voicesforouroceans]

Grace Tana, Director of Eco-social Justice at Portland Community College Rock Creek

“I grew up In Indonesia, one of the maritime countries, and I watched how our seas and beaches have been polluted with plastics waste. At school, I learned that a lot of seafood companies use illegal and unsustainable methods to catch fish. I witnessed how these practices harmed our natural ecosystems, local communities’ sources of income, and public health...as an individual, I often feel so small and hopeless listening and reading of what happen to our oceans. To face that grief, I try to the best of my ability to protect our oceans by being a student leader. One little step at a time.”