2. It’s time to look beneath the surface.
To see where the health of our planet really begins.
3. It’s time to recognize the source that sustains us day to day—
with the food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe.
4. It’s time to discover that all living things are connected to the ocean.
To understand that going green starts with living blue.
It’s time to start a sea change.
5. TOSEETHE
OCEAN’SIMPACT
We’ve named our planet Earth—it’s where we live, where we grow much of our food
and it’s the foundation for our homes and cities. Yet 71 percent of the Earth’s surface—
and 99 percent of the planet’s living space—isn’t earth, but ocean.
populations; if the ice cap vanishes,
conservative predictions show a loss of
two-thirds of all polar bears by 2050. Even
the tiniest organisms are affected as the
ocean grows more acidic, preventing
them from flourishing and sustaining the
food chain.
The threat of climate change cuts across
all of Ocean Conservancy’s work. With
your help we will work to cool the Arctic,
restore sustainable fisheries, protect
marine wildlife, preserve natural habitats,
and ensure that our federal government
provides the sound ocean management
we need. Together our efforts will
strengthen the ocean’s ability to withstand
the stress that climate change can bring.
It’s time to take notice. Climate change
is the environmental issue of our lifetime,
and it starts with the ocean. Only Ocean
Conservancy has the strength, expertise,
and perspective to lead the fight for wild,
healthy oceans at this critical juncture.
And ocean is where the story of global
climate change begins.
Without the ocean, our weather—wind
and storm, rain and snow—would be
even more extreme and less stable. The
ocean acts as the great buffer, protecting
us from the extremes of heat and cold,
droughts and floods.
As the engine that drives our planet’s
climate, the ocean is on the front lines of
the global climate challenge. It absorbs
half of the carbon dioxide we’ve pumped
into the sky and more excess heat from
greenhouse gasses than all the rainforests
combined. Indeed, the ocean is the
unsung hero in this battle. But it’s also the
most vulnerable.
And we’ve already begun to see the
effects, including melting ice, rising
sea levels, and extreme weather events,
from Hurricane Katrina to Ike. We’ve
seen harmful changes to marine wildlife
Climate change is the environmental issue
of our lifetime, and it starts with the ocean.
6. TOCOOL
THEPLANET
Right now the warming of the Arctic—the earth’s air conditioner—is the greatest conservation
challenge we face. Home to whales, seals, polar bears and more than four million people, today
it’s warming at twice the rate of the rest of the planet. The consequences are massive, accelerating
the rate of warming across the planet and threatening the way of life of the Arctic’s people.
fisheries along Alaska’s northwest coast.
And as shipping routes like the Northwest
Passage become attractive to international
commerce, we’re pressing for safeguards
to prevent oil spills and other accidents.
We’re working hand-in-hand with
representatives from Alaska Native
coastal communities—people whose
livelihoods depend on the ocean. Already
ocean-climate changes have forced
coastal village residents to abandon their
homes and to consider moving whole
communities as the ground literally erodes
from under them.
The policies and protections we put in
place in the Arctic will serve as models
as we address changes further south.
With the support of our members, we’re
ensuring a future for the Arctic’s people,
for its wildlife—and for all of us.
As the melting ice gives way to new ocean
passages, the Arctic seas become ripe for
abuse. Without responsible management,
an ocean gold rush is inevitable. Already,
oil drilling, international shipping, and
industrial fishing operations are competing
to grab these newly exposed areas. It’s
simply too much, too fast, too soon.
With nationally renowned scientists and
policy experts, Ocean Conservancy is
uniquely positioned to collaborate with
local governments and conservation
partners to confront these threats to
the Arctic. We’re fighting for a time-
out on rapid expansion, until we have
the science and the structure we
need to guide decision-making. We’re
championing oil and gas policies that
will reduce the impact on marine life and
coastal communities. We’re advocating
sustainable limits and fishing methods for
We’re working hand-in-hand with representatives
of Alaska Native coastal communities—people
whose livelihoods depend on the ocean.
7. Grocery bags… bottles… cigarette butts… straw wrappers. They don’t fall from the sky;
they’re dropped from our hands. And what’s washed up on the shore is only a fraction
of what ends up in the water.
From Bangor to Bangladesh, Ocean Conservancy leads the
world’s most astounding grassroots cleanup effort. Every year
in September, more than half a million people in nearly 100
countries remove six million pounds of trash from beaches and
waterways all over the world. For many volunteers, it’s a first
stark glimpse into the deterioration of our ocean, and often spurs
a deeper commitment to marine conservation. By cleaning up
the shorelines, concerned citizens are doing their part to help
make the ocean more resilient to the harmful effects of climate
change, pollution, overfishing, and damaged habitat.
And it all started with one person. Appalled by all the garbage
littering the Texas coast, she took action, organizing a cleanup
along miles of shoreline. Some 20 years later, our International
Coastal Cleanup (ICC) is one of the largest and most effective
volunteer-based, single-day projects in the world.
But the work doesn’t start and end in a day. It goes on all
year long. At Ocean Conservancy, we analyze the information
collected by our volunteers to produce the only global snapshot
of trash in the world’s ocean. Our reports have played a direct
role in shaping national legislation to reduce marine debris and in
helping small towns across the country create recycling programs.
Big change has to come from big places. That’s why we’re
teaming up with businesses to change practices that lead to
garbage on our beaches and waterways and to involve their
employees in cleanups. Together, our efforts mean that next year
we hope to pick up fewer pounds of garbage. With the hands-on
help of people like you, we’re restoring the health and beauty of
our beaches and waterways.
Bag leaves grocery
store, Memphis, TN
Blows off picnic
table in Overton Park
Sea turtle mistakes
bag for a jellyfish,
swallows it, and dies
Falls into a storm
drain
Flows into the
Mississippi River
Travels downstream,
to the Gulf of Mexico
Six degrees of human impact: one bag’s journey from the grocery store
TOTAKEBACK
OURBEACHES
1 2 3 4 5 6
11. The ocean covers nearly 70 percent of the Earth. Beneath the
surface is another vibrant world altogether. Coral reefs teeming
with rainbows of tropical fish. Whales gathering to feed at the
edges of submarine canyons deeper than the Grand Canyon.
Volcanic seamounts, covered in ancient colonies of sea sponges,
rise thousands of feet from the ocean floor. Lush kelp forests
shelter sea otter mothers and pups. But beyond its thrill and
beauty, the ocean feeds us—seafood is an essential mainstay
of the daily diet for one-sixth of the world’s population.
While 12 percent of the land on Earth has been set aside as parks, wildlife refuges, and
wilderness areas, less than one percent of the ocean has been similarly protected. Just
like Yellowstone and Yosemite on land, we believe that our planet’s most spectacular
and ecologically important underwater treasures deserve lasting protection.
At Ocean Conservancy, with the support of members like
you, we’re making significant progress in protecting some of
the ocean’s most extraordinary places. In Florida, we helped
establish the Tortugas Ecological Reserve where depleted
lobsters and reef fish are now showing signs of recovery.
In the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, we fought to establish
and protect one of the world’s largest marine reserves. And in
California, we helped pass the landmark Marine Life Protection
Act, creating a system of marine protected areas along the
state’s coastline. Now, we’re working with fishermen, divers,
scientists and others to implement this law.
As threats to the ocean mount, it’s time to set aside more marine
protected areas and ensure they are well-managed. Preserving
these pristine places helps strengthen the ocean’s own immune
system, fortifying its ability to withstand threats like oil spills and
global warming. And the more we protect our ocean, the more
we protect our planet. Because there are some things we simply
can’t live without.
TOPROTECT
OURYOSEMITES
OFTHESEA
At Ocean Conservancy we’re making significant progress in
protecting some of the ocean’s most extraordinary places.
12. FORORDER
INTHEOCEAN
The governance structures guiding
management of the ocean are incredibly
complex: More than 45 US federal
agencies claim some control over the
ocean, to say nothing of the many state
and local governments that also play a
role. Overlapping bureaucracies and
short-sighted policies have hindered our
ability to responsibly manage the ocean
and protect its creatures. Simply put,
to make a lasting impact on the ocean,
our policy achievements require clear,
coordinated and enforceable regulations.
That’s why Ocean Conservancy is
promoting reforms in how we manage
and protect our nation’s oceans and
marine wildlife. In Massachusetts, we
teamed up in a broad-based partnership
with business and industry leaders,
conservationists, and legislators on both
sides of the aisle to develop the first-ever
Like urban sprawl, today we have marine and coastal sprawl, as the ocean faces an era of
unprecedented activity. Indeed, as each day passes, the ocean resembles more and more
the Wild West on water. Wind farms, whale watchers and shipping superhighways are each
competing to stake their claim to our ocean homestead. We need law and order to balance
and coordinate commercial and recreational activity while protecting our ocean ecosystems.
master plan for the sea. Our efforts helped
pass the state’s new Oceans Act, which
sets the standard for smart, proactive
management for other states to follow.
The ocean is our nation’s largest
public trust, and it’s the government’s
responsibility to manage it accordingly.
By educating Congress and the
administration, we’re working to make
ocean management more efficient and
effective for the good of all. With ocean
stewardship enshrined in law, we’ll be
able to encourage development where it’s
appropriate, and to discourage it when it
would cause more harm than good.
With partners like you, Ocean Conservancy
is driving the government to responsibly
manage marine resources and make smart
decisions about our shared ocean future.
Today the ocean faces an era of unprecedented
development, with the rise in marine and
coastal sprawl.
13. Ocean Conservancy is setting the ocean agenda in the halls of power.
Our 35-year legacy continues today as we translate scientific threats into
sound, practical policies that protect our oceans and improve our lives.
Our strong networks run deep across national, state and
local levels. And with the support of advocates like you,
our grassroots efforts amplify your voice across the country.
But even more, at Ocean Conservancy, we recognize
that real leadership means real cooperation—among
government, business, academia, policymakers,
conservation organizations, and citizens. That’s why we
create enterprising partnerships to solve the world’s
toughest conservation challenges. It’s the hallmark of our
work—because we know this is what it takes to achieve
important victories.
With your help, we’ll continue to create concrete solutions
that lead to lasting change. So we can all experience
the ocean—the source that sustains us day to day—for
generations to come.At Ocean Conservancy, we recognize that real leadership means
real cooperation—among government, business, academia,
policymakers, conservation organizations, and citizens.
FORBOLD
LEADERSHIP
