Save Our Seas

[Carl Stepath]

Please send this notice of our upcoming celebration to your friends and
other interested parties:

We would like you to consider working with Save Our Seas®.  We are planning
a celebration of the United Nations sponsored International Year of the
Ocean in June of 1998.  The Mission of the conference is:  To create a
model educational forum for the open exchange of ideas, to promote
conservation of our oceans through community and corporate partnership, and
to increase awareness through active participation in preserving our
world's greatest resource - the ocean.  We are already well into the
planning stage of our 1998 Oceans Conference which will take place on the
Island of Maui June 11-14, 1998, to coincide with Oceans Day and the global
celebration of the International Year of the Ocean.  At this time we do
need financial and volunteer support for the event.  The areas that we need
help are in promotion, administration, fund raising, video equipment
acquisition, facilities coordination, film selection, graphic arts design
and public relations.  If you are not able to help with our celebration,
consider organizing something for the International Year of the Ocean in
your own area.  It is time to start giving back to the ocean and practicing
stewardship.  Please check the website
http://planet-hawaii.com/sos/coc98_article.html for more information about
this upcoming event.

The other programs we promote are the creation of underwater marine parks,
the "Ocean Pulse" coral reef monitoring project for young adults (middle
and high school students), and community education through workshops and
videos for community access TV stations.   Please let us know if you are
interested in any of these projects.  More information can be obtained
about our organization at the website http://planet-hawaii.com/sos/.

The main theme for 1998 is to create underwater marine parks, and to tie
these into Hawaiian Ahupua'as.  Over 100 years ago, John Muir, the Father
of the American National Parks and founder of the Sierra Club, sought and
found in wilderness the source of humanity's spiritual health and
wholeness. From this source came his vision for
the establishment of a national park system which would promote
environmental education and protect our natural resources for future
generations.

Today, John Muir's legacy is a priceless and irreplaceable series of
national parks which include Yosemite, Mt. Ranier, The Petrified Forest,
and the Grand Canyon National Parks. Without Muir's vision, we would be a
country devoid of the natural wonders that sustain our spirit, nurture our
connection to the planet, and inspire our reverence for creation.

But what about the last wilderness, our Living Oceans? What have we done to
create a similar park system for the seas that sustain all life on our
planet? According to Dr. Sylvia Earle, author of SEA OF CHANGE, the United
States has only set aside ten (10) national marine parks.  Even in Hawaii,
the Ocean State, with the recent approval of the Hawaiian Islands Humpback
Whale National Marine Sanctuary, the grand total is now a pitiful eleven
(11)!   Maybe a marine, wetland, or water park would be a great addition to
your community.

The "Ocean Pulse" project has been on going since 1995, and is an
experiential education program that introduces young students to science.
The "Ocean Pulse" coral reef project educates the public about coral reef
ecology, promotes community involvement in and awareness of the protection
and health of nearby reefs, introduces students to science education
through the living laboratory surrounding their own island, and promotes
island stewardship and husbandry.  By making this on-going interactive
study available we educate people about coral reef monitoring procedures.
Our goal is to establish a global network of informed and empowered
"reefkeepers" to insure the well-being of coral reefs worldwide for future
generations, while empowering the local communities to continue their own
coral reef monitoring.  Check with your local schools and see if they would
like to have more experiential education in their science classes.

Community education is key to working to protect our oceans and the future
of our natural resources.  Our organization has committed itself to
producing educational videos that will bridge the gap between the
scientific community and the community at large.  The decisions are being
made at the community level, and the people making policy  need to be
informed about global as well as local issues.  Save Our Seas has been
making education videos for television since 1996, and feels that it is an
excellent way to reach people who would otherwise never have the
opportunity to learn some of these facts and concepts.  You can help by
getting these educational videos on the community access TV station in your
area.

Save Our Seas is continuing to plan a summit in celebration of the
International Year of the Ocean, 1998.  It seems that Hawaii is the perfect
place in the United States for such and event, since it is the Ocean State.
A number of government agencies and NGO's are co-sponsoring or
participating in the conference.  We invited Vice President Gore to attend
and have received a positive (though tentative) response from him.
Logistically, the Conference is well on its way, but we do need help,
especially with funding.   We are open to input about this ocean
celebration concept, as we are looking for a proactive way to introduce
ocean husbandry ideas to the general public.

Please contact us by mail at P.O. Box 1437, Paia, HI 96779, by telephone at
(808) 579-6282, by fax at (808) 579-6283, or by email at sos at aloha.net and
let us know if you are interested in working with any of these programs.
Thank you, and remember that you can do some of this same work in your own
community.





Have a great 1998, the International Year of the Ocean -
Carl  :)

 		      http://planet-hawaii.com/sos/

 	 	   Carl M. Stepath, Executive Director
	       "Save Our Seas"  P.O. Box 1437, Paia, HI 96779 USA
		       808-579-6282, fax 579-6283

 "Most people do not listen with the intent to understand, they listen with
the intent to reply.  They're either speaking or preparing to speak.'"
				Stephen R. Covey