Moir’s Environmental Dialogues

Jaco and Serena Vienings talk with Rob about their ambitious enterprise to save the natural world by producing Nature’s Voice. Jacu and Serena travel to remote shores of Hawaii and glaciers in Alaska to present two compelling videos. The first video they titled: Plastic for dinner? Explore with Jaco the biggest dump site on our planet in the ocean, a trash pile bigger than Texas. Their second video is “Who brought the sunscreen?” To answer how does global warming work; we go to Alaska to explore energy, deforestation, polar amplification, permafrost, and blowing up mountains. Jaco tells how problems start with mining fossil fuels. One can get woozy standing on a glacier, as Jaco does, that is melting back at an unnaturally high rate of retreat. Global warming is a very real. Fortunately, there are things one can do to reduce our carbon footprint. Tune in to begin to undo the warming and to learn what’s next on Jaco’s and Serena’s horizon for Nature’s Voice.

Randy Olson, marine biologist and filmmaker talks about “shifting baselines” for ecosystems and his newest film Sizzle to premier in NYC on Oct 23. Shifting baselines are the chronic, slow changes to an ecosystem or place that one is not apt to notice until. It is more difficult to appreciate and understand what has been lost in a degraded system if a baseline of what is there had not been established in the past. Sizzle, the documentary, addresses climate change without the graphs, but with disagreeable scientists and with sophisticated humor. Randy Olson explains the distinctions and advantages to “mockumentaries” versus documentaries, where media respects the better understandings that listeners have in order to get the parody. www.sizzlethemovie.com Dave Wilmot tells of marking-up a bill in DC for tackling harmful algal blooms and ocean hypoxia. www.oceanchampions.org Chukchi Sea hairy blob days are numbered.

Richard Charter a senior fellow at the Ocean Foundation talks with Rob. A House Committee passed yesterday a measure to boost oil production off of California and leases for drilling off of the U.S. Southeast. Known for protecting CA shores, Richard also raises concerns for living in Virginia, New England, and the NW. He calls for expanding National Marine Sanctuaries. Methane gas hydrate is gas locked in an ice-like lattice of water molecules. There’s more of it to be had than natural gas. Extraction is very risky as there is evidence that a great release of gas hydrates, called the clathrate gun hypothesis, caused an ice age. There is stronger evidence that this methane “gun” caused the Permian extinction event 251 million years ago, when 96% of all marine species became extinct. Despite our destructive tendencies, Richard explains how he still finds hope for humanity.

Rob’s guest is Radio Host, Actress and Singer, Christine Larkin. Christine reports on ocean life and storm changes to Long Island. In a reversal of roles, Christine interviews Rob about 7 animals of Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Cod and stockfish brought people long ago to Stellwagen. Declining cod stocks in 1639 alarmed the Pilgrims to pass a law protecting cod. It has been downhill for cod since 1620, until 2008 when a natural phenomenon on Stellwagen misled scientists to overestimate cod numbers. Rob describes what makes tuna a Boston Bluefin commanding high market prices, bubble netting by humpback whales, redfish of muddy bottom, haddock of gravel bottoms, goosefish or monkfish of sandy bottoms and the wolffish of boulder reefs. Christine and Rob suggest what one can do to save marine life and enjoy a more vibrant Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. For more information visit Ocean River

Molly Bolster, Executive Director of the nonprofit Gundalow Company http://www.gundalow.org and Jeff Bolster, Professor of History at the University of New Hampshire, talk with me about marine environmental history informing today’s ocean conservation and stewardship. We must understand the oceans of the past to protect the oceans of the future. According to a recent report the state of rivers and Great Bay that flow into Portsmouth NH are declining according to 11 out of 12 indicators. Molly Bolster addresses these trends by using a replica boat, modeled after the last gundalow, as an educational platform. A new gundalow is being built which poses challenges of its own. Jeff Bolster describes how skewed visions of the past have led to disastrous marine policies and why historical perspective is critical to revitalize fisheries and ecosystems. In The Fog Warning by Winslow Homer Jeff gives us new insights into ocean conservation.

Darren Saletta has caught Striped Bass by hook & line for 20 years. The Striped Bass fishery is a well managed, clean, environmentally sound operation with plenty of fish. Industrial fishing operations are destroying the striper’s food base. Herring, Mackerel, & Menhaden are caught in massive nets that can kill tons of by-catch, including Striped Bass. Water quality is an issue for Striped Bass in the Chesapeake. Burgeoning Gray Seal populations are fouling inshore waters with excessive waste and decimating inshore forage, forcing Striped Bass to feed much further offshore to the dismay of surf fishermen. Seals are also cleaning out fishing weirs, another environmentally favorable method of commercial fishing. Striped Bass fishermen are under attack by a special interest group attempting to close the fishery, stripping us of the ability to buy Striped Bass at fish markets or restaurants. Discover what you can do to protect Striped Bass and this culturally significant fishery.

David Helvarg returns with his new book: Golden Shore: California’s Love Affair with the Sea. CA resources once abused were followed by passionate stewardship. Not forgotten was CA oil spill and images of oiled seabirds. Today they’re first in the nation for ocean conservation. David gives many examples of returning wildlife. Blue whales swim just offshore of Los Angeles & Long Beach, two very busy ports. David, Wendy Benchley and a whole raft of us ocean advocates invite you to the Blue Vision Summit 4 and the Peter Benchley Oceans Awards, May 13-16, 2013. Discover what Dr. Sylvia Earle, Dr. Jane Lubchenco, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Representatives Ed Markey and Sam Farr, Sherman Lagoon cartoonist, a coast guard admiral, a port director, an oyster farmer, a young sub pilot and a coastal paddler all have in common? They and many others will gather and together we’ll tell Congress: “Now is the time. Our oceans are rising, none too cleanly, and our voices are too!”

Alison Chase and Sarah Chasis (pictured) of the Natural Resources Defense Council talk with Rob about what Sarah calls “a recipe for smart ocean management that could set our oceans on track to long term health.” With so many American jobs and communities dependent on oceans, this is a most opportune time for ocean planning. Let's dive in. Recently President Obama issued the final plan for managing our oceans, a call for collaborative communications and management across 27 federal agencies and departments in concert with state agencies, municipal, local groups and tribal nations. The National Ocean Policy directs federal agencies to use their authority under existing law to protect, maintain, and restore the health of marine ecosystems.

Terry Gibson, Senior Editor of Fly and Light Tackle Anglers talks with Rob about stewardship, fishing and changes he’s seen over the years. Terry recounts a fishing trip encountering tarpon where the younger fishermen were astounded by the number of fish while Terry wondered how small the school was. Changing baselines is one problem. Declining ecosystem health is another. There are nearly no fish to be found in Indian River Lagoon due to the nitrogen-fed algal blooms killing sea grass. Pelicans, manatees and dolphins are dying. Brevard County Commissioners seem to be missing the critical economic role of clean water, beaches not slimed with algae, and sport fishing. Terry discusses population dynamics of tarpon and sailfish, tales of concern, tales of hope. Terry combats cynicism with accounts of how much fishermen deeply care for sustainability most obvious in catch and speedy release program.

Matt McKenzie, Ph.D.,UCONN & Patrick Paquette, striped bass fishing community organizer say where have all the herring gone, how Cape Cod has changed. McKenzie tells the social and ecological history of the rise and demise coastal fisheries in the 19th century. His book: Clearing the Coastline, includes Thoreau’s thoughts on Cape Cod fisheries and how these changed after his death.Matt also tells of helping out a family’s herring weirs on Cape Cod and of a fisherman well known to Paquette.Patrick explains early efforts to save herring through the CHOIR collaboration“where different voices needed to learn to sing in harmony.”He also noted a striped bass food shortage along the East Coast caused by industrial-scale fishing of coastal herring, mackerel and menhaden. NMFS and the New England Fishery Mgmt Council failed to take measures to stem the decline of sea herring, river herring, and shad populations. Visit Ocean River Institute for how you can help w ORI’s lawsuit to save herring.

Lew Hastings executive director of the Boca Grande Chamber of Commerce tells of a most remarkable fish the tarpon. The World's Richest Tarpon Tournament promotes conservation through education. It is all about protecting the tarpon and a sustainable fishery. In this tournament tarpon bite baited hooks, are drawn swiftly to boats where an observer records the catch with fish in the water. Tarpon is quickly released with minimum disturbance of the fish's energy reserves. Tarpon energy demands are so high that they gulp air rolling at the surface. This magnificent 2 meter fish is inedible. Hence there is no market, no reason to kill these apex predators. Tarpons are challenged to survive on a number of fronts. Lew tells what we can do to help tarpon. Preservation of tarpon is crucial for today and future generations.If the tarpon population collapses, the entire Boca Grande economy will follow. Much of Florida's economy will go as well. Discover and marvel the tarpon of Boca Grande.

Les Kaufman, CI and Boston University professor along with John Williamson, president of Stellwagen Alive talk with Rob about their whale watch voyage onto Stellwagen Bank August 5th where forage fish were running strong and humpback whales feeding voraciously. Les Kaufman explains the biology and feeding behaviors of humpback whales. John Williamson tells of decades working as New England fisherman often on Jeffrey’s Ledges. Williamson, nominated by two states (NH and ME), served on the New England Fisheries Management Council. He explains the work of managing fish populations where the corner has been turned on over fishing for sustainable seafood, and of the need for more ecosystem-based research. Stellwagen Alive, John’s friends group for the Sanctuary is actively recovering lost fishing gear http://www.stellwagenalive.org For more info on Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary visit Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary

Marty Baum is the Indian Riverkeeper. Marty is deeply connected to Florida's coastal with family ties back to 1866. The estimated annual economic value of the Indian River Lagoon is $3,725,900,000. Marty is alarmed by the recent deaths of 58 manatees and relates this to the shocking die-off of sea grass last summer. Pelicans are found suffering like never before. More than half of the Lagoon dolphins are sick, weakened by nitrogen pollution and poisoned by methyl mercury produced by nitrogen fertilizer. Everyone along Indian River Lagoon is directly dependent upon the health and vigor of the ecosystem. We must demand clean water. Every single one of us via our property values, wages, tax bases, services, recreation or our direct livelihoods, benefits from the Lagoon. Essentially, everything about our way of life here is enhanced and given greater value due to the influence of the Indian River Lagoon.

Sustainability is good for business. Ed Humes, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author discusses his latest book: Force of Nature: The Unlikely Story of Wal-Mart's Green Revolution (Harper Collins, May 2011). The giant “box store” discovers that going green to address one’s carbon footprint saves money, no matter the product. Systems thinking where “carbon equals energy equals money” saves Wal-Mart’s bottom line. Discover Daisyville, cow power and the cow of the future. The pasteurization method is as much to blame for a cow’s carbon and methane footprint as is the cow. Grazing on grass is just one of the many steps diary farmers are now considering. A company can only save the planet if it can inspire all companies to make ecosystem services a market force. Hear about first corporate steps and partnerships on the quest of sustainability for planet Earth.

Lenni Armstrong talks with Rob about two of her eco heroes, Clair Patterson, a geochemist, and Herb Needleman, a pediatrician. These two men shared a passion about the dangers of lead and devoted their lives to measuring lead in the environment, finding out where it was coming from and how it was making people sick. Both men were willing to go to battle to get lead out of the environment to protect public health. Clair Patterson measured the age of Earth and in the process, discovered that the environment was contaminated with lead. Herb Needleman showed the effects of lead on the health of children. Lenni tells of the complex process resulting in a ban on the use of lead in gas and paint, which involved scientists, industry, government and the legal system. She then contrasts this story with the story of today's pollutants, CO2 and the other greenhouse gases.

The dolphins of Florida's Indian River Lagoon were dying at such an alarming rate that the situation was declared a marine mammal unusual mortality event. Most distressing is to see dolphins covered with skin-eating fungal infections. To save the dolphins, we must lessen the phosphorus and nitrogen entering the ecosystem. Rob talks with Stephen McCulloch, Founder/Manager of Marine Mammal Research and Conservation Program, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Florida Atlantic University at Fort Pierce. Steve rescued dolphins, manatees, and even Arctic seals in Florida. Since 1999 more than 200 marine mammals have been rescued. Steve recently helped transport and release almost 400 sea turtles; in FL effort that released 4,000 turtles. We can greatly reduce nutrient pollution in the Indian River Lagoon and lessen our subsequent role in the death of the lagoon dolphins by not using fertilizers with phosphorous and quick release nitrogen. Take Action with the Ocean River Institute.

Leesa Souto talks with Rob from the shores of Indian River Lagoon. When at the University of Central Florida, Leesa surveyed lawn care practices and the advantages, including cost savings, of fertilizing one’s lawn once a year, early in the Spring with a slow release nitrogen fertilizer. This will save one effort on a hot June day. We must not spread fertilizer close to waterways. Instead let the plants in buffer zones to do what they do best, take up nitrogen. Leesa is Executive Director of the Marine Resources Council. Volunteers have for 20 years monitored water quality. Sea grass die-off is the big concern this year for the lagoon. MRC works also on shoreline restoration fighting back invasive plant species. Right Whales are observed by volunteers in the Lagoon. Finally, Leesa is doing much to improve interactive educational displays at the Lagoon House.

No one has worked harder to defeat harmful algal blooms and to stop red tide outbreaks in Florida during the last six years than has Cris Costello of the Sierra Club. Cris talks with Rob about the many battles by both municipalities and counties across the state of Florida to pass strong responsible lawncare ordinances. Each ordinance has a “backbone” of responsible stewardship that Cris clearly points out. We talked the day after the city of Rockledge tabled the vote reduce nitrogen pollution to improved local ecosystems and economies. Cris and Rob also discuss how a good ordinance was defeated in Brevard County. Lessons learned along the way will with time, sufficient vetting, and burgeoning coalitions result in passage. Success in Tampa Bay when people modify their turf care practices lawns stayed green and water quality improved. Most remarkable has been the comeback and new growth of sea grasses – food for green turtles, nurseries for game fish.