COARE: news | archives | newsletter: March/April 2010

The Tides of March and April Showers . . .

Thursday, 22 April 2010

-------------------------------------
Contents:
- Offshore Drilling
- CITES
- eBay Fundraising Tournament
- Great Nonprofits
- Northwest Dive & Travel Show
- SFIFF
-------------------------------------

Hello, and Happy Earth Day, fellow ocean lovers!

While Earth Day has been celebrated for 40 years now,
it's clear that we still have a quite a way to go to
making it more than just a day on the calendar.

---
- Offshore Drilling
---

At the beginning of April, President Obama surprised us
by opening broad swaths of the nation's coastlines to
offshore drilling. While the California, Oregon, and
Washington coasts along with Bristol Bay remain
protected, proposed drilling will be allowed in the
highly sensitive Arctic area known as the Chukchi Sea.

Offshore drilling without consideration of marine
spatial planning (and marine protected areas),
effectively undermines the promise of a unified
national ocean policy, which the president began
advocating last June, and which his administration has
been pursuing since.

---
- CITES
---

Last month, the Conference of the Parties to the
Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species
(CITES) met in Qatar to consider proposals to include
numerous terrestrial and marine species in the Appendices
of listings, which would afford named species protection.

While several reptiles and amphibians were added to the
list of protected species, the meetings concluded
without providing any additional protection for our
oceans whatsoever.

Among the key disappointments were proposed listings for
the severely depleted Atlantic bluefin tuna, four
vulnerable species of sharks (scalloped hammerhead,
oceanic white tip, porbeagle, and spiny dogfish), and
rare pink and red corals, which are commercially
harvested for jewelry.

While setbacks like these are disappointing and
discouraging, they reaffirm the importance of COARE's
work and how vital it is that we all remain engaged and
passionate. Remember, everyone has the power to make a
difference.

---
- eBay Fundraising Tournament
---

eBay is holding a fundraising tournament to benefit the
environment and invited COARE to participate as a
beneficiary. "Humanity Calls" began today (Earth Day,
22 April), and will run for two full months until 22
June.

Similar to other contests, we need to gather as many
votes as possible. You can vote using your Facebook,
Twitter, or Humanity Calls website login. If you
have all three, you can tally votes using each one!

In addition to voting, we're hoping that you'll also
help us encourage other people to vote too. Please
share this with your friends, tweet it, and add it to
your Facebook status.

Here is the link that will take you directly to the
voting page:

http://humanitycalls.org/HumanityCalls/OrganizationProfileView.action?id=176

---
- Great Nonprofits
---

Guidestar, a source for information about nonprofits,
and the website GreatNonprofits.org are offering a
feedback forum for nonprofit organizations. Share your
thoughts about us, and let the world know about the
great work we're doing.

Please visit either of the following pages and take a
few minutes to share your experiences with us.

http://greatnonprofits.org/reviews/write/the-center-for-oceanic-awareness-research-and-education-inc

http://greatnonprofits.org/whitelabel/write/347349

These reviews not only inspire us and our volunteers,
but will also help us encourage other people to get
involved. As an added bonus, the GreatNonprofits.org
website is running a contest benefiting environmental
organizations. Our goal is to get at least 10 new
reviews by the end of the month so that we can enter a
drawing for $500.

---
- Northwest Dive & Travel Show
---

This year, we've begun reaching out to new audiences,
and we're excited to participate in the Northwest Dive
and Travel Show in Tacoma next month. We've got
shipping and lodging covered, but need another $300 to
pay for the booth space.

Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to
sponsor our booth and make is possible for us to attend
this show.

---
- San Francisco International Film Festival
---

Last year, one of the featured films at the San
Francisco International Film Festival called attention
to ocean conservation, and this year the SFIFF continues
the tradition of honoring the ocean with tributes like a
special screening of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and
the new Mexican film Alamar, directed by Pedro González.
The Mexican Caribbean's stunning Banco Chinchorro, home
to the world's second largest coral reef, provides
setting and inspiration for this effortlessly beautiful
film, which follows a Mayan father and young son as
they spend a summer working (and playing) along the
coast.

The 53rd San Francisco International Film Festival
(SFIFF53) returns 22 April - 06 May with more than 100
unique programs of the finest independent, documentary
and international cinema, combining a range of marquee
premieres, international competitions, digital media
work, and star-studded gala events. The Festival will
honor film icons including Robert Duvall and Roger
Ebert, open with Jean-Pierre Jeunet's dazzling caper
Micmacs, feature the original score and live
performance of Stephin Merritt to the silent epic
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, celebrate a comedic
legend on Closing Night with the documentary Joan
Rivers - A Piece of Work, with Rivers in attendance.

For tickets and information, visit www.sffs.org or call
925-866-9559. For more information on Alamar, visit
http://fest10.sffs.org/films/film_details.php?id=2.

---

Please feel free to share this newsletter with friends,
family, and colleagues. If you received this newsletter
second hand, we encourage you to subscribe directly by
visiting http://coare.org/subscribe

Wishing you healthy oceans,
- Your friends at COARE

==========================

P.S.: We encourage you to add info@coare.org to
your addressbook to facilitate delivery of our
newsletter to your inbox.