STARING AT THE EDGE OF THE ABYSS

This is a conservation message that accompanied "The Ocean Reglitterized", my exhibit at the Pelham Art Center which ran September and October of 2011.

OBITUARY FOR A WRASSE

This is an obituary for the very same Napoleon wrasse who's portrayed throughout this website.

The flip-side to anthropomorphism is anthropocentrism and the accompanying hierarchical prejudice of speciesism. As most divers know, many aquatic animals go way beyond being "just fish."

Dr. Sylvia Earle, the esteemed explorer and oceanographer, proclaimed: "I wouldn't eat a grouper any more than I'd eat a cocker spaniel."

OBJECTION TO COMPACT REVIEW CLAIMS

"Objection to Compact Review Claims" was sent in July of 2009 to the US and Palau Compact of Free Association Review teams, as well as to Palau's Congress, newspapers and relevant civic organizations. The Compact of Free Association is a long-term agreement wherein the US provides millions of dollars of aid annually to Palau.

My objection document detailed the detrimental nature of Palau Senate Bills' No. 8-44, 8-50 and 8-56. I argued that these bills were contrary to Compact terms and were inconsistent with Palau's claims of achieving environmental stewardship and economic security. Illuminating these conservation policy breaches triggered pressure over unfulfilled treaty obligations and the legitimacy of US taxpayer funding for future aid. This fiscal leverage helped to compel Palau to abandon its legislative threats. In a historic turnaround, Palau designated its 237,000 sq. miles of ocean as the "World's First National Shark Sanctuary" at the United Nations on Sept. 25, 2009

SUMMATION OF PALAU BILLS

This in-depth summation of Palau Senate Bills' No. 8-44, 8-50 and 8-56 was presented as an addendum to my "Objection to Compact Review Claims" document sent to the U.S. and Palau Compact Review teams.

Senate Bill No. 8-44 was immediately withdrawn once Palau's President Johnson Toribiong designated his nation's 237,000 square miles of ocean as the "World's First National Shark Sanctuary" before the UN General Assembly. Afterwards, both Senate Bills' No. 8-50 and 8-56 were struck down by presidential veto. Palau has now strengthened its long-term environmental and economic well-being in preserving its priceless marine resources.

THE ANNIHILATION OF SHARKS FOR SOUP

The world's sharks are being killed off at a frighteningly rapid pace, primarily to display prosperity through the custom of serving expensive shark fin soup at Asian banquets and weddings. Shark finners slice off the fins (worth up to US$700 a kilo) and the less valuable mutilated shark is discarded back into the ocean to slowly die.

Aside from this grotesque cruelty and waste, the harm from killing off sharks extends everywhere on Earth. Many shark species are necessary in regulating species abundance and distribution to uphold the biodiversity vital for the ocean's functionality and, in turn, maintaining terrestrial ecosystems as well. Any activity that enables such specicide and ecocide must be seen as a criminal enterprise against the planet and dealt with accordingly.

THE STAR THROWER

This is a tale for all those who feel compelled to make a difference. Let your actions speak for you...they will echo forever.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
-- Margaret Mead

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,
Nothing is going to get better. It's not!"
-- The Lorax

"Nature abhors a vacuum...particularly when it's between our ears."
-- Parmenides' postulate, extended