Monday, September 14, 2009

Get involved with the oceans this week! Coastal Cleanup Day and Obama Ocean Task Force

In June, President Obama declared that June be National Oceans Month and his administration laid out a plan for moving forward to protect our ocean resources. This was great news amidst all our World Oceans Day activities in June. Now September has rolled around and this month offers some great opportunities to get involved in shaping the future of our oceans.

On September 17, 2009, from 2:30pm until 6pm, the Ocean Policy Task Force Public Meeting will take place in San Franisco at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco at Embarcadero Center, Ballroom A, 5 Embarcadero Center, San Francisco, CA 94111 (near BART and MUNI Embarcadero Station). This is the second public meeting to accept public input on the issues set out in President Obama's Memorandum. You have an unprecedented opportunity to play a roll in setting the priorities for this administration and our marine resources.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ceq/Press_Releases/September_1_2009/

If you are unable to attend the September 17th meeting, you can still submit your comments to the Whitehouse by visiting: http://www.whitehouse.gov/oceans Please be a voice to create and maintain healthy oceans by participating in the public process about the future of our oceans.

Several groups are planning a pre-meeting party and rally to prepare those of you attending the September 17th meeting. On September 16, please join ocean advocates at Baobab Village in San Francisco from 5:30pm until 9pm. Find out more details from the invite: http://www.oceanchampions.org/pdfs/OceanPartyInvite9_16_09FINAL.pdf

You can also get involved with the oceans this week by attending International Coastal Cleanup Day in your neighborhood. OceanHealth.Org will be a hosting a site at the Judah Street entrance to Ocean Beach in San Francisco from 9am until 12pm on Saturday, September 19th. If you're on Facebook, please sign up on our invitation (and while you are at it please become a fan of OceanHealth.Org on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/oceanhealth if you have not already). You can find out more details about our beach cleanup location by clicking this link: http://www.facebook.com/oceanhealth#/event.php?eid=55792934233

We hope that you can join us for all these great events! Thank you for your efforts to improve ocean health.