Ocean Aid 2010 will be a concert event held at the restored San Diego Sports Arena in the fall of 2010, that draws the community together in a call to action for the oceans. We are bringing together nonprofits, scientists, corporate leaders, and cause-minded members of the artistic community to spread the word and ignite solutions. The event will educate the public on three critical problem areas: plastic pollution, overfishing, and ocean acidification, and offer ways that individuals can help with solutions.
Ocean Aid leadership is shared by a unique team of eco-advocates, cofounders Anthony Zolezzi, Tom Newmark and Paul Ligon. Zolezzi, who turned his attention from organic food to plastic pollution in the ocean three years ago, will chair the organizing committee. Newmark, a rainforest advocate dedicated to saving species in Costa Rica and now addressing overfishing on a worldwide basis, is responsible for the organization’s efforts to address the problem. Ligon is a Tellus waste specialist with over 20 years’ experience in the environmental field. The organizing committee also includes Netherlands-based Jesse Goossens (author of Plastic Soup); Ernie Hahn, an avid surfer and general manager of the San Diego Sports Arena; Melissa McGinnis, a millennial marketing consultant and eco-expert; Jason Rose, general manager for WM San Diego and Orange County, which has realized award-winning recycling diversion rates, and Mark Armen, an ocean advocate who began researching plastic pollution and marine protected areas four years ago.
The ocean infinitely contributes to our lives, yet evidence shows that it is stressed out. Marine debris, mainly plastic pollution, swirls in a handful of open sea gyres, outnumbers plankton in certain areas, strangles and suffocates wildlife, and contaminates our food supply. In addition, the human appetite for fish and our technological strides have eliminated 90 percent of large predatory fish stocks (e.g., tuna, sharks) and close to 80 percent of the world's fisheries have been either fully exploited, depleted, or are in a state of collapse. As we remove unprecedented amounts of fish, we deposit increased amounts of carbon in the ocean, drastically changing the chemistry of the marine environment. This “ocean acidification” destroys coastal coral barriers and alters the living conditions of marine organisms.
While each of these issues needs to be addressed head-on, marine protected areas, or marine reserves, offer one tool to combat these varied stresses and increase ocean resiliency. Scientists recommend protecting between 20 and 40 percent of the ocean (less than 1 percent is protected now). The international community promised to protect this amount by 2012 and needs to act quickly to reach this goal. One study estimates that such protection would cost between $5 and $19 billion per year worldwide and create around one million new jobs.
Ocean Aid 2010, will draw attention to these maritime issues, highlight practical adjustments and solutions, raise necessary funds for further research and action, and ultimately celebrate the wonders of the sea that unite us all! This will be a collaborative effort, bringing together several nonprofits, universities, and other organizations.
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