They Live in the Sea

Cry of the Sea by D. G. Driver
Reviewed by Gabriel Constans

I don’t usually use personal pronouns in a review, but I love this book. With little preamble, I was running along the beach with Juniper Sawfeather, and her American Indian father, Peter, as they document an oil spill on there local beach. What they discover is surreal, and fighting for every breath. After making sure they aren’t seeing things, they try to save the mermaids.

One of the wonderful things about this tale is that it is completely believable. When 17-year-old June (Juniper) describes the mermaids, you can see them before your eyes. Unlike Disney versions, these creatures are silver-scaled, have gills, webbed hands, bald heads, and tails. Somewhat like a seal, but with human-like arms, hands, and eyes. It seems reasonable that they could have evolved without ever having been caught before, thus the countless stories, fables and history surrounding mermaids.

It turns out that June’s father is the head of an emergency environmental organization, and her mother, Natalie, is an environmental lawyer. Over the next few days, the mermaids existence becomes public, with resulting dismissals, and believers. A large oil company, Affron, hijacks the remaining mermaid from the marine mammal rescue center June and her father have taken it to. Over the next few days all hell breaks loose, within there family, community, internet, and national news.

Cry of the Sea never lags, or stops for a breather. It is a splendid ride exploring friendship, family dynamics, teen friendships, first romance, earth concerns, ethics, and public opinion. If either of the other two books in Ms. Driver’s series (Whisper of the Woods, Echoes of the Cliffs) are half as good as this one , they should be read immediately.

 

Cubs Swimming To Death

Dear Gabriel,

A few days ago, my colleague Heather sent you an online-photo gallery in honor of International Polar Bear Day, Wednesday, February 27th. One of the photos really broke my heart. It was this one here: a mother swimming with her cubs. It broke my heart because so many polar bear cubs die in long distance swims like this one — as many as 45% in one observational study.

This photo was a vivid example to me of the real impact of climate change.

Please make an emergency donation of $15 or more today to support our work to save these threatened Polar Bears.

At an alarming rate, global warming is melting the Arctic sea ice that polar bears depend on to hunt for food … threatening this noble Arctic creature with extinction.

Here are the sobering facts:

According to experts, two-thirds of the world’s polar bear populations could be lost by mid-century as sea ice continues to retreat.

Less Arctic sea ice forced 40% more Alaskan polar bear moms to den on land — away from food sources.

As sea ice disappears, bear mortality rises. In the Beaufort Sea region about 1/3 fewer polar bear cubs are surviving their first year of life.

The last ten years (2004 to 2013) have seen the ten lowest January sea ice extents (total area covered by sea ice) on the record.

Gabriel, we we urgently need your help to continue the fight to avoid the catastrophic consequences of climate change and save irreplaceable wildlife and their habitats.

Donate as little as $15 today to support our work will help make sure that our beloved wildlife can continue to be found in the wild, and NOT just in nature photographs.

Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

Emily Stevenson
Manager, Online Membership
Environmental Defense Fund

Death By Plastic

Dear Gabriel,

Are you are as proud as I am about our work to reduce “death by plastic” among Pacific wildlife?

Think about it: Because of your action and our advocacy, there are fewer sea birds entangled by plastic trash, and fewer sea turtles starving because they were unlucky enough to mistake a throwaway plastic bag for a jellyfish.

As 2012 comes to a close, we’ve helped win plastic bag bans that will soon cover more than 50 communities in California. This means billions fewer plastic bags are being tossed away each year. Amazing, don’t you agree? And we couldn’t have done it without you.

But we are far from done.

That’s why we’ve set a goal of raising $150,000 by Dec. 31 to help launch the next chapter of banning plastic bags in California.

Will you make a special year-end donation to Environment California and help us free more Pacific wildlife from plastic pollution?

Together, we began this campaign just a few years ago for one simple reason: Because we believe that nothing we use for a few minutes should pollute the Pacific and threaten wildlife for hundreds of years.

In 2012, you helped us achieve a remarkable string of victories, including:

When 2012 started, California was home to only 14 local bans on plastic bags. As 2012 comes to a close, now more than 50 local communities have stood up to ban plastic bags and keep plastic out of the Pacific Ocean.

In May, when the largest city in the state, Los Angeles, was considering a bag ban, the chemical lobby was in City Hall every day. Meanwhile, we hit the pavement and generated over 1,000 phone calls from the City Councilors’ constituents. The Council voted almost unanimously to protect the ocean. Our biggest win yet.

Best of all, these victories are keeping billions of plastic bags out of the Pacific, freeing sea turtles, sea birds and other marine wildlife from harm and “death by plastic.”

As we enter a new year, I want to shift this campaign into overdrive — to educate more people and recruit more Californians to end our wasteful throwaway habits … to convince more counties, cities and towns to stand up to Big Plastic … and to keep the pressure on our state legislators to make California one of the first states in the U.S. to ban the bag statewide.

The alternative? Researchers from the University of California at San Diego recently found a 100-fold increase in plastic particles in the ocean over the past 40 years.

We’re polluting our ocean at an increasingly rapid pace, with damaging effects on species already under stress from overfishing, habitat destruction and climate change.

And every time a sea turtle mistakes a plastic bag for a jellyfish, the plastic settles in its stomach, never to digest. The turtle thinks it’s full. Soon, it starves and dies.

But let’s face it. Big Plastic isn’t in business to care about the Pacific or its wildlife. As long as there’s money to be made in throwaway plastic bags, they’ll keep spending millions on lobbyists, campaign contributions, lawsuits and other intimidation tactics and propaganda to stop us.

Caring about the Pacific and its wildlife is our job and we can’t stop now.

We’ve set a goal of raising $150,000 by Dec. 31 so we can power up the biggest, boldest, most effective campaign yet to free Pacific wildlife from plastic pollution.

Gabriel, you know as well as I do what we’re up against. But you also know that when we work together, we can do great things. That’s how we helped save 70 state parks from closure this past year. That’s how we helped increase solar power 600% over the last 6 years. And that’s how we helped pass plastic bag bans that will soon cover more than 50 communities in California, including the second largest city in this country, Los Angeles.

Now it’s time to join forces again to help end death by plastic in the Pacific.

As you think about all we’ve accomplished, as you weigh the challenges that lie ahead, and as you consider your year-end giving choices, I hope you’ll agree: Our throwaway habits have threatened Pacific wildlife long enough. Stand with me today and we’ll have even more to be proud of next year.

Are you with me?

Dan Jacobson
Legislative Director
Environment California

Arctic Death March

Gabriel-

Instead of seeing warning signs, big oil and the government are seeing dollar signs in the melting Arctic.

There’s still time to stop the drilling, but we need 1,635 supporters from California to raise $100,000 by our December 31 deadline to make it happen.

Can you chip in to help save polar bear cubs from starvation?

A polar bear cub struggles to keep up with its mom. She’s searching for sea ice to hunt for food, but the swim is too far. The cub doesn’t make it. It was a common story this year in the Arctic.

Soon there might be nowhere left to swim. This year Arctic sea ice reached its lowest level in recorded history and if current trends continue there could be no summer sea ice at all in the next decade.

But instead of seeing warning signs in the melting ice, big oil and the government are seeing dollar signs. Shell has been given permits to drill in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas of the Arctic. If we burn the oil under the Arctic, it will spell the end for the polar bear.

Please make a year-end gift right now and help us raise $100,000 by midnight December 31 to save polar bear cubs from a melting Arctic. We need just 1,635 donors from California to make this happen.

We have to stop the drilling before it’s too late.

Shell’s plans have already been put on hold until next year thanks to Mother Nature, the company’s own incompetence and the success of our global campaign. Now is our opportunity to make sure they don’t get the chance to go back.

In the last week alone we’ve flooded the White House with over 50,000 messages asking President Obama to suspend Shell’s drilling permits and call a ‘timeout’ on Arctic drilling. Now we need your financial support to ramp up our campaign around the world calling for the creation of a global sanctuary in the high Arctic.

We’re running a worldwide campaign to create a sanctuary in the uninhabited area around the North Pole off limits to industrialization. And this spring we’ll be leading an expedition to the North Pole and planting a ‘Flag for the Future’ there. The flag will send a message of peace, hope and global community and will be designed by the world’s youth as part of an international competition. A stark contrast to the flags planted by nation states fighting over the exploitation of resources.

We’ll also be taking a time capsule to the North Pole containing the names of the over two million people who added their name to our Arctic Scroll. Once there, we will lower it four kilometers beneath the ice and plant it on the seabed as a symbol for all humanity.

None of this is possible without your support. Please make a year-end gift today to help save polar bears cubs once and for all, protect the environment and ensure that we reach our goal of $100,000 by December 31.

Greenpeace is completely independent. We don’t take a dime from corporations or governments. That means we can do whatever is needed to protect the environment. It also means we completely rely on donors like you making a gift today to support all of our campaigns.

Thanks for all you do,

Philip Radford
Greenpeace USA Executive Director

Adopt A Penguin

Dear Gabriel,

Adopt a penguin!

The holiday season is upon us, and what better gift to give the ocean lover in your life than a cuddly penguin? Adopt a penguin or other animal from our adoption center and recieve a soft plush or a unique cookie cutter gift in return! All proceeds go towards our work protecting the world’s oceans. We’re currently offering free shipping with no minimum, and if you use the coupon code EARLYBIRD by December 1 you’ll get 10% off your order!

Click here to adopt a penguin today>>>

Oceana

Over 100 Million Years Old

Dear Gabriel,

Adopt a sea turtle for a loved one this holiday season – and be a part of the urgent fight to save these ancient creatures.

When you adopt a sea turtle before December 1, you’ll get 10% off. Just enter the code EARLYBIRD at checkout. Shipping is free!»

All seven species of sea turtle are over 100 million years old, making them some of the very few animals to survive since the time of the dinosaurs.

Many migrate across entire oceans every year from their feeding grounds to the beaches where they lay their eggs.

Along that route, they face danger. Many turtles are caught in fishing nets and held under water for hours – left to struggle for air and then drown.

But with your help, we can save them. Adopt a sea turtle and play an important role in reducing the dangers these amazing creatures face every day.

Don’t wait! The holidays are just around the corner. Adopt a sea turtle or other ocean animal and get 10% off before December 1 when you enter the code EARLYBIRD at checkout.

Adopting a sea turtle is easy. With one $75 gift, you’ll send your loved one an amazing gift unlike any other, all while helping protect these ancient creatures. Included in the sea turtle adoption pack:

• Cuddly plush sea turtle
• Personalized adoption certificate
• Sea turtle cookie cutter
• Seasonal cookie recipe
• Knowledge that their adoption is helping sea turtles around the world.

For just $5 extra, we’ll do the gift wrapping for you – and if you want to make your gift greener, you can send the certificate electronically!

And the best part? Shipping with delivery by Christmas is free for a limited time.

Oceana is working hard to win protections for sea turtles and other animals that get brutally killed as bycatch. Adopt a sea turtle today to make sure those efforts stay strong in the coming year.

Sea turtles need advocates – and by adopting one you’re becoming one of their strongest supporters. Adopt a sea turtle or other ocean animal today – shipping is free!

With so many sea turtles at risk, the right choice for gifts this season is adoptions. Thank you for all that you do.

For sea turtles everywhere,
Emily Fisher
Oceana

Walls of Death

Dear Gabriel,

Sea Turtles Caught in “Walls of Death”

Endangered turtles and whales need your help. Deadly drift gillnets off the coast of California are threatening the lives of leatherback turtles, sperm whales, and other marine animals. These mile-long nets, left out overnight to catch swordfish, create an underwater “wall of death” for anything unlucky enough to swim into them.

These nets should be banned, but instead the fishery may soon expand. We’re fighting to protect these rare and important creatures, but we need your support. Donate $10 today and your gift will be DOUBLED!

Oceana.org

Hawaiian Sea Turtles

From Change.org

Protect Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles
Started by: Chris, Woodacre, California

My name is Chris Pincetich, and for as long as I can remember, my fondest childhood memories were swimming nearby Hawaii’s sea turtles. My family and friends on Oahu all care deeply about local green sea turtles, known as honu to native Hawaiians, but now the honu are threatened by a proposal to remove protections that have allowed them to thrive.

Over the last forty years, hunting of sea turtles has been banned on Hawaii and now it is common to see sea turtles basking in the sun without fear. If hunting them were again allowed, they would be slaughtered on public beaches for their meat and shells, to be sold to restaurants and turned into souvenirs.

Take action before the October 1 to ensure a future for Hawaiian honu!

Thanks to conservation work by SeaTurtles.org and allies, sea turtles have a fighting chance to recover from the brink of extinction. In Hawaii, they are rebounding from just 67 nesting females to over 800 now. However, their population is far short of the published goal of 5,000 Pacific green sea turtles needed to declare their population as recovered.

The honu are innocent ancient ocean navigators that deserve protection from hunting. The National Marine Fisheries Service needs to hear from you today that you oppose removing them from the Endangered Species Act, oppose the movement to allow hunting of sea turtles, and support protecting critical habitat for the honu. (Proposed rule NOAA-NMFS-2012-0154)

Join our ‘Ohana (family) at SeaTurtles.org to protect the honu, check the box when you sign-on to keep informed!

Click here to sign CHRIS’s petition, “National Marine Fisheries Service: Protect Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles”.

PG&E DEAFENING SEA LIFE

Gabriel,

The blue whales, humpback whales, sea otters, dolphins and porpoises living off of California’s central coast are at serious risk of coming under attack from deadly seismic testing.

An energy company called Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) is trying to get approval to continue operating a dangerous nuclear power plant that sits at the intersection of multiple earthquake fault lines. It is hoping a map of the Shoreline Fault’s deeper regions will help with the approval process.

The testing proposal calls for powerful air cannons to shoot deafening underwater explosions every 13 seconds for 42 straight days to create a map of the sea floor in an area that California has set aside as a marine reserve. According to one local official, the testing would “cleanse the Point Buchon State Marine Reserve of all living marine organisms.” We can’t let that happen.

There’s a public forum happening on Monday to discuss this issue. Greenpeace will be there and we want you to join us. Help us collect 40,000 messages of support from around the country for protecting all these amazing marine creatures by taking action today.

Tell the California Fish and Game Commission to block PG&E’s reckless seismic testing plan and to protect the blue whales, humpback whales and other creatures that call the Pacific coast of the United States home.

We know the horrible effects this kind of testing has on marine life. It’s been done before. Each underwater blast will be at a volume level that will instantly deafen and possibly kill everything unfortunate enough to be in its path in the most barbaric way imaginable.

PG&E knows what this testing will do. The company has already offered compensation to local fishermen who rely on the area for their livelihood. But the impacts of this testing would go on for years and its impossible to put a pricetag on the loss of a species like the blue whale.

Humpback and blue whales have actually just begun appearing in amazing, pre-hunting numbers in the area to feed on krill for the winter. We’ve been waiting decades for this. These whales and other marine life don’t need to die so that an energy company can profit by continuing to operate a dangerous nuclear power plant on top of earthquake fault lines.

Gabriel, this is your chance to speak out against PG&E’s crazy plan. Make your voice heard and take action today to save the marine life off the coast of central California from deadly seismic testing.

Sincerely,

Phil Kline
Greenpeace Oceans Campaigner

Little Fish Big Fish

Dear Gabriel,

Seabirds carry small fish from the oceans to their nests to feed their babies, but soon they may be finding less to eat. Humans are fishing more and more of these little fish to feed to larger fish in fish farms or to grind up as fertilizer, and the oceans are feeling the pressure.

These little fish provide food for everything from whales to seabirds to people, and science shows they are too important to the future health of the oceans and the earth to just be ground up into fishmeal or fertilizer.

Whales and birds need fish too. Tell the Pacific Fishery Management Council to protect sea creatures’ dinners»

A humpback whale may eat up to 2,000 pounds of little fish every day. If we overfish and cause a population collapse for the little fish, whales and other animals could have a hard time finding enough to eat.

But it’s not too late to take action. If we set up precautionary protections for small “forage” fish and let their populations grow, there will be more food to go around in the future—even for us humans.

Let’s save the little fish. Sign today to protect forage fish and keep the oceans fed»

Small fish swimming in schools are easy to catch. But it will become a lot harder if we catch them all, and animals like whales and baby birds will have to face the consequences of our actions.

For the oceans,
Emily Fisher
Oceana