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Bringing Ocean Conservation to the Web

By Andrew Kornblatt, co-founder of the Online Ocean Symposium
The Online Ocean Symposium is a digital forum that uses streaming video to connect and broadcast different voices from the ocean world. We have guests that speak on issues ranging from ocean acidification to plastic legislation to climate change. Each conversation is not only live-broadcast where the audience can ask questions directly of the participants, but it also is forever housed in YouTube.
For the past two years we have invited guests like Sylvia Earle, Bill McKibben, Don Walsh and most recently, Richard Branson, to discuss their work and passions as they relate to the ocean. We have hosted over 30 different Hangouts. Now the Symposium is honored to become an official partner of Mission Blue.…

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Speaking Up for the Ocean During Climate Week NYC

By Courtney Mattison
Climate Week is in full swing and started out with a spectacular series of events in New York City last weekend, many of which related to the ocean. While the ocean was not (to many conservationists’ surprise and dismay) a focal point of the UN Climate Summit with world leaders yesterday, it has received the attention it deserves for absorbing carbon dioxide (CO2) and bearing the brunt of climate change at numerous independent events.
On Saturday night, the Oceanic Preservation Society (OPS) illuminated the 30-story United Nations Headquarters with a magnificent architectural-scale public light display of inspiring imagery ranging from macro footage of undulating coral polyps to a vast landscape of the aftermath of an oil spill. The visual effects were dynamic, constantly morphing and pulsing into one another with music and creating an experience that was at times haunting and at others uplifting.…

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Hope Spot Update: Protecting Bahamian Reefs

By Courtney Mattison
With Shark Week in full swing and beach vacation season beginning to wind down in the U.S., it’s time for an update on one of our favorite shark-loving tropical Hope Spots – the Bahamian reefs. Many NGOs, governments and other stakeholders are doing exciting work there and throughout the Caribbean Community that is good for the ocean and good for us.
With over 3,000 low-lying islands covering 1,400 square kilometers off the southeastern tip of Florida, the Bahamas are home to a wealth of marine life and host millions of visitors each year. More visitors mean more people hungry for seafood and eager to explore the reefs. It’s great that tourists want to get wet and explore the ocean both for their own enjoyment and to support the regional economy (tourism accounts for 60% of the Bahamian GDP), but as with any good thing, responsibility and moderation are key.…

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Shark Finning Ban Success in Costa Rica

By Richard Branson
We’re in Costa Rica today with very exciting news from the OceanElders‘ efforts to stop shark finning.
I saw the film Sharkwater a few years ago and it shook me to the core. Here we were decimating 1.5 million sharks per week – all for a bowl of soup. Like anyone who has seen the film, I was determined to do anything I could to see if I could help.
Sharkwater was largely based around the slaughter of sharks off Costa Rica, where you also have the beautiful Coco Islands. It was sickening to see the tens of thousands of shark fins drying out on the roofs and to see live sharks being thrown back into the water to die after their fins were cut off.…

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Campaign is Launched to Protect the Arctic

By Mera McGrew
Heads of state and environment ministers are meeting behind closed doors over the next few days at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) to create a document that will renew political commitment to sustainable development and identify emerging global challenges. While leaders decide on the final wording of the agreement text, the public has begun to take action and demand the future they want for the world’s ocean.
At a press conference at the Rio Earth Summit hosted by Sir Richard Branson, actress Lucy Lawless and Kumi Naidoo, the International Executive Director of Greenpeace announced a campaign to save the Arctic.
The initial focus of the campaign will be to push for a UN resolution, within the official text, that would establish a global sanctuary around the Arctic that would ban oil drilling and unsustainable fishing in Arctic waters.…

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