J.L. Frank's blog
4 Key Reasons to Oppose Offshore Drilling
This week, Oceana's corporate partner Nautica invited us to Key West Race Week to spread the word and gather support for our opposition to Congressional efforts to open up Florida’s coasts to offshore drilling.
In the American Clean Energy Leadership Act of 2009, there’s a proposal that would open up currently protected areas in the eastern Gulf of Mexico to oil and gas drilling.
Why is this proposal such a big deal? I’ll give you a few reasons…
1. Currents: the Florida and Loop currents in the Gulf spread vital nutrients to marine life off Florida’s west coast, so if the currents are exposed to oil, it could expose Florida’s beaches and marine habitats to oil contamination.
2. Habitats: Florida’s mangroves and corals provide habitat for over 40 bird species, over 500 fish species, sea turtles, dolphins, manatees, sharks and commercially-important shellfish like spiny lobsters, oysters, clams and shrimp. These habitats are particularly vulnerable to oil.
Team Oceana Looks Ahead to 2010
Team Oceana ended its inaugural triathlon season last month in Malibu, but there's already plenty of buzz building up to 2010. For starters, we have two athletes from Southern California, Steven and Merrie Regalado, who want to complete the entire Nautica series next year. Steven and Merrie raced twice in the last month alone and will compete in an Ironman 70.3 in Austin this upcoming weekend - that's a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride and 13.1 mile run!
For the 2010 Nautica New York City Triathlon, we already have two spots spoken for by a pair of ocean-loving volunteers from the 2009 event and OCYC Commodore Kristen Berry will likely want to head back to New York to conquer the Hudson again. For South Beach, we hope our two athletes from last spring return for next April's race, but they better bring some friends because we want to grow that team by 10-15 people. The rumors around here are that Oceana Executive Vice President Jim Simon may spend this winter conditioning so he can be one of those new team members in South Beach.
Team Oceana Excels at Nautica Malibu Triathlon
Two weekends ago, Oceana spent three days (working) on Zuma Beach for the Nautica Malibu Triathlon. After months of athletic training, weeks of fundraising and two days of competition, Oceana's fourteen athletes and seven volunteers exceeded all our expectations (see the slideshow).
On Saturday, four coed relay teams and two individuals represented Team Oceana for the Olympic Distance race (1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run). While the point was to have fun and help raise money for Oceana's conservation programs, Team Oceana stepped up to earn competitive accolades too. Age group champion and Ironman triathlete Julia Van Cleave took first place in her division while the relay team of Trent MacLean, Liza Dunham and Gary Schechner took second place and the relay team of Lauren Saez, Dan Ovando and Justin Whittet took fourth place.
On Sunday, three athletes raced as individuals in the Classic Distance race (.5 mi swim, 18 mi bike, 4 mi run). It wasn't easy, but Louis Linsmeyer, Nautica South Beach Triathlon veteran Julie Leonardo and I all completed our respective Pacific Ocean swims, PCH bike rides and beach front runs. We fed off the crowd's energy all day, which was tremendous, bolstered by the presence of 3000 athletes and dozens of celebrities like Jeremy Piven and William H. Macy.
Gearing Up for Malibu
The forms are turned in, the roster is set and, hopefully, the training is well on its way.
Race for Team Oceana
The 2009 Nautica Malibu Triathlon is just one month away and Oceana still has available spots for our race team for the Olympic distance race (1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run) on September 12 and the Classic distance race (.5mi swim, 18mi bike, 4mi run) on September 13.
Sign up to race for Oceana before Monday, August 17. »
I'll be racing this year, but last year I attended as a spectator and was excited to see all the celebs that did the Pacific swim, the Pacific Coast Highway bike ride and the run down the pavement and blacktop along Zuma Beach. Jennifer Lopez, Matthew McConaughey, William H. Macy, Felicity Huffman and Cindy Crawford were just some of the famous faces to grace the beach in 2008 and I know many will be there in 2009 too.
Coral Expedition
While Oceana's Ranger catamaran prepares for its expedition later this summer, there is a fascinating expedition currently being lead by the Living Oceans Society. A vessel carrying two Deep Worker manned submarines left British Columbia on World Oceans Day (June 8) and has been exploring the Hecate Strait and the Queen Charlotte Basin ever since.
The goal of the expedition is to study deep water corals and document threats to their well being. As Oceana has documented in fisheries around the world, one of the most glaring and obvious threats to corals is destructive bottom trawling. Watch this video the video below from the British Columbia expedition, which features a bottom trawling animation and video from Oceana.
Also stay tuned for more news about the upcoming Ranger Expedition or check out photos from last year's expedition.
Wanted: Your Comments on Sonar
Our Florida Wavemakers are some of the most active ocean advocates I’ve encountered while at Oceana. Recently, a St. Augustine Wavemaker reminded me that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) will soon weigh in on a request from the Navy that could have a negative impact on marine mammals and sea turtles living off the shore of Northeast Florida.
The Navy wants authorization from NMFS for the taking of 20 different marine mammal species as a result of tactical sonar used in a proposed Undersea Warfare Training Range (USWTR) near Jacksonville. According to the Navy’s own Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), that could put humpback whales and highly endangered North Atlantic right whales in danger.
Oceana Visits Efest
This past weekend, Oceana visited central Florida to participate in Efest at the Sarasota Polo Club.
Naval Sonar Could Affect Whales, Dolphins
Next spring, the Supreme Court will weigh in on the U.S. Navy’s use of high-intensity, mid-frequency sonar off the southern California coast. Use of this type of sonar, which the Navy admits may significantly disturb or injure an estimated 170,000 marine mammals, was challenged in court based on protections found in the National Environmental Policy Act of 1970.
Now that oral arguments before the Supreme Court have concluded, we must wait for its decision in 2009.
But when you’re as passionate about the issues as our staff and supporters, waiting can be incredibly difficult, so thanks to a Wavemaker in St. Augustine, FL named Marcella, I have something that you can do to help protect marine mammals and other ocean wildlife from sonar.
Sailing to Barcelona
This week, the International Union for Conservation of Nature began its 10-day World Conservation Congress in Barcelona. Thousands of people representing academia, NGO's, businesses and governments are attending the event in order to debate, learn and voice their opinions on the environment.
As a part of the event, Oceana's Ranger catamaran is participating in Sailing to Barcelona, which is a gathering of marine conservation vessels in the Spanish port city. Xavier Pastor, the Executive Director of Oceana Europe, joined the Director of Fundacion Biodiversidad at a press conference today where they shared the most important aspects of the Ranger's expeditions and displayed many beautiful underwater images taken by Ranger's crew.
