September 1 marks the centenary of one bird’s death—Martha, the last known passenger pigeon on earth. Pigeon flocks once darkened the North American sky for hours and nested so densely that trees toppled under their weight. But a frenzy of 19th-Century harvesting and habitat destruction diminished their billions down to one infertile female in the Cincinnati Zoo. And then, there were none.

The loss’s anniversary will not go unmourned, with museum exhibits, magazine spreads, conferences, and new books glorifying the species, examining their demise, and drawing lessons for the present. The most comprehensive, Project Passenger Pigeon http://passengerpigeon.org/, seeks to catalyze public concern for biodiversity protection through the pigeon’s tragic example, emphasizing that most contemporary observers refused to believe such an abundant creature could vanish. Even as its end approached, when silences in their roosting trees must have been deafening, the bird was assumed to be indestructible, or humans too inconsequential to impact God’s creation.

Yet a few decades of relentless human effort, abetted by advancing technology, undid the work of eons. Evolved to nest in vast numbers, the noisy flocks inevitably attracted attention. Telegraph messages spread the word, and trains delivered throngs of hunters to harvest nature’s bounty. As long as flocks still flew low and thick, even unskilled hunters could shoot dozens without aiming or knock squabs from their nests with long poles. Professionals also brought nets, capturing thousands flying in for evening rest, and axes, for hacking down trees harboring plump nestlings. Millions of adults and young were too damaged from careless practices to sell. So market hunters killed more, packing boxcars bound for cities where restaurants served pigeons to anyone wishing a taste of the wild. That insatiable, nation-wide demand meant the slaughter continued until the last cars stood empty.

Descriptions of the flying birds--slate blue backs with glints of purple, and coppery bellies--remind me of fish schools, iridescent multitudes that dart and dive under the waves. Once, billions of Atlantic cod, Pacific sardines, bluefin tuna, and other gilled wonders traveled the world’s oceans, unimaginably numerous and unfathomably fertile. Yet global demand and accelerating technologies have inexorably deplete their numbers. Wetland development works like chopping nesting trees, destroying nurseries that could have helped replenish exploited fish populations. Most ominous of all, climate change threatens ancient patterns of fish movements as they feed and seek mating grounds, and imperils the very chemistry of the sea. What will prevent these glorious marine species from sharing the magnificent birds’ fate?

“To love what was is a new thing under the sun,” wrote ecologist and ethicist Aldo Leopold, in his lament for a species he called a “feathered tempest.” Celebrating these lost birds and recognizing their urgent conservation lesson are laudable signs of human progress. But protecting creation requires yet another step, a step of faith and values, to love what is enough to save it. Let us devote ourselves to ensuring that one hundred years hence, finned tempests need no monuments, and oceans still teem with an exuberance of life.

Each year, the Capitol Hill Ocean Week Conference offers marine advocates, scientists, and the public a chance to mingle, meet ocean champions, and hear the latest reports from researchers, policy makers, educators, and grassroots activists. This year’s meeting, June 10-12, addressed a breadth of issues of direct concern to the IOEC—climate change, plastic pollution, declining fisheries, and shrinking biodiversity. Yet for those fortunate enough to attend, the overwhelming message from the speakers was about our mutual love for the oceans.

This shared devotion was clear from the opening keynote, when John Podesta—Counselor to President Obama—joyfully announced that nominations will again be accepted for new National Marine Sanctuaries to protect treasured marine resources. Less than 3% of the world’s oceans are protected in any form, and new nominations to the U.S. system have been closed since 1995. Clearly, an expansion of the National Marine Sanctuaries program is vital. This new rule was crafted to solicit nominations from local communities of much-needed additions to the existing network of 14 U.S. sanctuaries. Each of us was asked to identify the ocean and Great Lakes sites we love enough to support saving forever.

Later at the conference, California Congresswoman Lois Capps spoke of her experiences in the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, and Michigan Congressman Dan Benishek reflected on his attachment to the wilderness around the Great Lakes sanctuary at Thunder Bay, Their talks and others recognized the diverse values protected in these special places, not simply conservation, scientific, or ecological but also historical, cultural, and aesthetic, as well as personal history, family memory, community identity, and meaningful connections with the future.

The existing sanctuary system of 150,000 square miles honors sites ranging from the Stellwagen Bank off Maine, to California’s Channel Islands, to the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary. Protected areas have been chosen to preserve the wreck of the USS Monitor, coral reefs around American Samoa, and underwater archaeological sites around the Florida Keys.

Yet as profound as were the values discussed on stage, no one addressed the need for honoring Creation itself or places of spiritual significance in the sanctuaries. The secular view of sanctuary is of a safe haven, of resources specially protected from human exploitation, but shouldn’t there also be room to protect sacred places in the ocean? Perhaps it’s time for communities of faith to reflect on the ocean sites that mean the most to their history and teachings, and nominate their candidates to NOAA. In identifying ocean places fundamental to our faiths, we would as communities and individuals strengthen our own understanding of the bounty of the sea, our profound responsibilities to protect it – and the Creator’s place in every part of our world.

Details about sanctuary nomination process can be obtained from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. 

World Oceans Day is June 8, with extraordinary news to celebrate! On June 2nd, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy announced a proposal for rules to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from existing U.S. power plants. This is a huge step toward protecting the future of our climate and reducing ocean acidification. We at the IOEC share Rev. Sally G. Bingham’s joy as she says, “As people of faith called to care for God’s people and Creation, especially the most vulnerable, we have a moral obligation to address the profound impacts of the way we use energy.”  The US Conference of Catholic Bishops also voiced their support, among many other diverse religious leaders and organizations.

Coastal and arctic communities know that climate change is already here. Rising sea levels are already submerging their shorelines, and they are experiencing more frequent and intense storms, like Hurricane Sandy.  Warming waters are shifting fish populations and reducing reproduction, harming vulnerable fisheries. Oyster beds and coral reefs are dissolving and bleaching from the seawater’s acidity and warmth. These are only samples of the harm being felt now from fossil fuel pollution and resulting climate shifts.

According to a recent ABC poll, 70%  of Americans—from diverse backgrounds and political views--favor these tighter federal emissions limits to even if utility prices rise and some jobs disappear. Reducing CO2 emissions by 30% from 2005 levels by 2030, as proposed in the EPA’s new “Clean Power Plan,” also offers a chance for the U.S. to lead other governments toward more responsible policies. 

Yet we also urge that this first step be followed by still greater efforts, personally and together. We ask that all communities of faith do what they can and lead their members and supporters in transforming our habits and products and in advocating for still-stronger policies. We must press ahead to require even steeper cuts in emissions, worldwide, investments in new sources of energy, and reforestation of our planet to absorb the carbon already in the atmosphere, knowing that together we can—and must—“renew the face of the earth.”

 Blessings and gratitude,                                                              

Marybeth Lorbiecki and Julie Dunlap

May 3, 2014

As you all know, good planning is absolutely necessary for the survival of ocean systems and species and people, and they are all affected by fossil fuels and climate change. The US has never had an integrated ocean policy, especially one based on ecosystem science, and now we have a chance! We need to make this step forward to more integrated thinking and action if we want to be good guardians of the oceans and prevent or alleviate some of suffering of the poor harmed by poor guardianship.

We want to ask the House of Representatives to pass the National Ocean Policy Act--but without the Flores Rider, which would weaken it. Act today to have your name added to an Ocean Conservancy petition in support of an integrated National Ocean Policy. Contact Adam Mistler <amistler@oceanconservancy.org>, by May 5. Members of the Ocean Conservancy will personally walk this petition around the House over and over. You can make a difference!

The other key spring ocean bill is the reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act, which is extremely needed to rebuild our fisheries. Many recreational game species that have not been scientifically managed, and major commercial species are being overfished here and around the world. This Act has been a model for the world, mentioned at the UN as a success story. It needs expansion, not weakening. The House needs to appropriate funding for research-based fisheries management. There are efforts to revise the Act, such as the Hastings Rider (which some call the "Empty Oceans Act") that would undermine Magnuson-Stevens’ effectiveness. Please ask your Congressman to reject the House Hastings bill and any other attempts to weaken catch limits.

For more information, you can read the Ocean Conservancy's blog about the issue.
The Ocean Conservancy has also produced a wonderful explanatory piece on why the Magnuson-Stevens bill is important without weakening and the community success stories that have already come from this important legislation.

Please draft your own personal or organizational letter in support of a strong Magnuson-Stevens bill, addressing it to your Congressman, or, if your organization represents regional or national interests, to the House Appropriations Committee.   

AND PLEASE PASS THE WORD AND URGE OTHERS TO ACT too!

Thank you all for your work for caring for God's peoples, species, and systems, especially in terms today of the oceans.

Blessings and gratitude,

Marybeth

Announcing the publication of a major new book by IOEC Director Marybeth Lorbiecki.

Following St. Francis: John Paul II’s Call for Ecological Action (Rizzoli, 2014) is the first book to explore the visionary sermons, encyclicals, and other writings by Pope John Paul II in his heartfelt and scripturally-grounded defense of the Earth. Long before others recognized the role of faith in environmental protection, John Paul II laid the foundation for groups like the IOEC to bring together religious communities in service of a healthier, more just and more beautiful planet.

Director Lorbiecki devoted over a decade to collecting the pope’s most significant environmental writings, and her book gracefully interweaves passages from his works with passages from Scripture and excerpts from Patriarch Bartholomew, Gandhi, Aldo Leopold, and other leading thinkers and ethicists. She draws careful connections between John Paul II’s views and those of St. Francis of Assisi—patron saint of ecology—and of Pope Francis. While based in strong scholarship, Lorbiecki writes engages readers from diverse religious and non-religious backgrounds, whether familiar with Catholic teachings or not, through vivid stories and accessible language.

Especially relevant to IOEC supporters will be sections on how the late pope viewed ocean-related issues such as climate change, biodiversity declines, wasteful fishing practices, clean water scarcity, and the connections between poverty and ecological responsibility. While replete with articulate warnings about the consequences of human action, the book provides uplifting words to urge and to guide fundamental change.

This powerful book will reawaken readers to a message Pope John Paull II often reminded us, “As I have said before: Protect the world, the beautiful endangered world.”

“Lorbiecki provides a wonderful connection Franciscan spirituality and Pope John Paul II’s call to care for all of God’s creation. She not only explains why we are called to action but offers clear examples of how to accomplish it.” ~ Patrick Carolan, executive director of the Franciscan Action Network.

Welcome to two new members of our compassionate community. The Ecological Research and Development Group (ERDG) and the Dharmadhatu Center have both generously agreed to become Endorsing Partners of the IOEC.

The Ecological Research and Development Group is the world’s leading conservation organization focused on a true ocean survive: horseshoe crabs. Founded in 1995, ERDG supports research, education, legislation, and direct conservation efforts such as creation of horseshoe crab nesting sanctuaries. One creative program is the “Just Flip ‘Em Campaign,” which urges beach-goers to recognize the value of each individual stranded crab and take the time to turn it over, allowing it to return to the water. This elegantly simple program saves the lives of breeding age horseshoe crabs up and down the Atlantic Coast.

The Dharmadhatu Center in Dover, Delaware is affiliated with the Xuafa Institute and honors and celebrates the teachings of H. H. Dorje Chang Budda III. The Center actively practices Buddhist values at annual Dharma Assemblies on the mid-Atlantic coast, when Buddhists from around the region gather for a ceremony blessing horseshoe crabs and to act on their belief in the animals’ worth as living beings by rescuing stranded crabs and returning them to the sea.

IOEC Director Marybeth Lorbiecki, assistant Claire Zajac, Franciscan Action Network Executive Director Patrick Carolan, and UN Specialist for Franciscan International Amanda Lyons represented the IOEC at the UN Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals, February 3 – 5.

At each session, participants expressed enthusiasm about the IOEC message: faith-based communities want and need to join international efforts to craft sustainable goals for oceans based on long-term vision and ethical values.

Along with Franciscan Action Network, Franciscan International, Mining Working Group at the UN, Mercy International, Edmund Rice International, and others, IOEC helped to craft and submit a joint statement entitled, “Justice for the Ocean, Coastal Communities, and Future Generations: A Rights-based Approach to Ocean Conservation in the Sustainable Development Goals.”

Many other connections with individuals and groups were also initiated during the stimulating and inspiring UN meetings. The warm welcome to the IOEC affirmed the great potential for bringing together faith communities on behalf of ocean protection and restoration.

Key sessions:

"Healthy Oceans and Seas: A Way Forward," co-sponsored by Palau, Italy, and the Sustainable Oceans Alliance and the Global Partnerships Forum.

"Small Island Developing States and Resiliency."

"Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals--Seventh Session."

Our community is growing! The Interfaith Center of New York has generously agreed to sign on to the IOEC’s Position Statement on Ocean Ethics, to be presented at the United Nations in February.

The Interfaith Center of New York has a mission “to make New York City and the world safe for religious differences by increasing respect and mutual understanding among people of different faith, ethnic, and cultural traditions and by fostering cooperation among religious communities and civic organizations to solve common social problems.”

The non-profit group, led by Executive Director Rev. Chloe Breyer, addresses social problems in New York City by catalyzing collaborations among grassroots and immigrant religious leaders and public officials. Much of their work focuses on social justice and assisting immigrant and disenfranchised communities throughout the city.

The IOEC is delighted to be supported by the nationally recognized Interfaith Center of New York and looks forward to working with them. Welcome!

On October 16, 2013 the World Bank released a report urging businesses to take action to reverse damage to oceans that includes depleted fish stocks, ocean acidification, habitat destruction and ocean warming. The report was the product of the Blue Ribbon Panel of the Global Partnership for Oceans, a team of 21 experts from 16 countries which includes government ministers, environmental conservationists, academics and the CEOs of some of the world’s largest seafood companies. The report finds that piecemeal solutions that leave out social, economic, political, and ecological interactions will not be sufficient to solve the current decline of ocean health. Instead, the report recommends a global strategy utilizing public-private partnerships that leverage companies, local communities and governments to both protect and sustainably invest in the ocean. “Getting to healthy oceans is a global challenge that needs the concentrated effort of big and small business, government and science,” said panel chair Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, the director of the Global Change Institute at the University of Queensland in Australia. The study explains that the ocean has so far hidden the full impact of anthropogenic climate change by absorbing 25 percent of carbon dioxide released by human activities. “Ocean change is climate change and vice versa,” Hoegh-Guldberg remarked. “With looming threats of rising sea levels, warmer waters and a growing human population we need healthy oceans and coasts to mitigate climate change, feed billions and protect coastal communities.”

For additional information see: Environmental Leader, World Bank, Reuters