The Politics of Hope and a Prayer for Change...

It has been a monumental 24 hours for the United States of America. For the first time in our history an African American has been elected to serve as our President. What a journey it must have been for Barack Obama and his family. A grassroots campaign that has transformed into the Presidency! The tension and excitement last evening (Nov. 4th) could have been cut with a knife as Mr. Obama walked away with a landslide win. I am far from ashamed to admit that I supported Mr. Obama’s campaign from the start. The promise of change and the idea of taking America in a new direction was something that I couldn’t resist. As a professional scuba diver, aquarist and someone who takes enjoyment in our natural environment I couldn’t vote for Republican John McCain based on his environmental policies. The fact that he supported offshore drilling and chose a running mate who had strong ties to the commercial fishing industry, creationism and wanted to remove Polar Bears from the endangered species list made McCain a candidate that did not have Mother Earth’s best interests at heart.

Mr. Obama has cited climate change as something his administration will take very seriously and I hope in the coming years we see a sea change in America’s environmental policies. While the United States is better then some there is so much work to be done when we consider preserving our oceans. Rising ocean temperatures, ocean acidification, over fishing and global warming all threaten to end coral reef eco-systems within our lifetime. The United States commands a great deal of attention when they attack an environmental problem. California has set precedent for environmental restrictions, the U.S. helped back the formation of the IWC and has sponsored environmental movements throughout history. Sadly, for the past eight years the conservative administration of George W. Bush has ignored many of the important ideals past Presidents took so serious. Under Bush the first attempts at drilling oil in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge where made. Deforestation was on the rise and deep penetration sonar, (known to kill a variety of aquatic mammals) was legalized for military testing. Bush hoped to conceal his environmental destruction by creating the Hawaiian Marine Sanctuary though failed to enforce the sanctuary’s rules therefore it became a haven for illegal fishing.

Appointing oil tycoons to global warming chairs and taking the word of energy profiteers over scientists George W. Bush and at many times John McCain have helped accelerate the current crisis that threatens coral reefs. It is with tremendous hope that I look upon our new leader, Barack Obama to bring about a difference.

I was recently at the DEMA show in Las Vegas, NV. It was there that I had the honor of meeting Captain Paul Watson, founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation society. On November 7, 2008 Animal Planet will begin airing “Whale Wars” a documentary that covers Captain Watson’s last mission in Antarctica protecting whales from the Japanese. Paul Watson’s commitment (as well as the commitment of the Sea Shepherd crew) to protecting our blue planet is legendary. As the United States ushers in an era of change, a time when we realize our past mistakes let us all, as Obama asked make the sacrifices that help each other. Let us understand that the mentality of take, take, take can no longer work for our planet and strive to work together and to make things better not just for man but for the entire spectrum of ecology.

Till next time…

Captain Paul Watson, Kelly and I at DEMA 2008 in Las Vegas, NV