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Attended “New Approaches for the Ocean Conservation” lecture presented by Michael Sutton, Vice President and Director of Monterey Bay Aquariums Center for the Future of the Oceans.

Part of a series of free events held in Stanford’s multidisciplinary sustainability showcase, Y2E2 Building, this talk covered  strategic approaches being utilized to conserve and protect ocean resources. Including:

  • Marine Protected Areas
  • Ocean Policy Reform
  • Sustainable Seafood
  • Protecting Wildlife and Marine Ecosystems

Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program has been so successful in modifying buying practices and increasing consumer awareness that is now more recognizable as a brand than the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Inspired by the talk, I met with Chasing Giants film maker Chris Hanson. Hanson and fellow film maker Chris Fedor went to Norway to make a documentary about the tradition of Norwegian whaling and take a closer look at this controversial practice—in the past and today. Both film makers are graduating seniors in Stanford’s Earth Systems Department.

“Chasing Giants was inspired by a simple question: “Why does Norway continue to hunt whales?” The filmmakers set out to answer this question by flying to Norway and attending the third annual International Symposium on Whaling and History in June 2009. Spending the summer of 2009 traversing Norway–from Oslo in the south to Lofoten in the north–they interviewed the head of the Norwegian Fisheries Ministry, the head of the Norwegian Whalers’ Union, and the head of Greenpeace Norway, among others. The film was funded by awards from Stanford’s Department of Anthropology (Beagle II Award), Earth Systems Department, and Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education.” –from events page here

Here’s the film trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IijCqBAKWsw

I look forward to continuing to expand my world with glimpses into the brilliant, strategic solutions coming from Stanford and the Woods Institute for the Environment.

Special thanks to Austin Becker of the Coastal Society and Chris Hanson.