We conserve only what we love

In my search to confirm this,

Google confirms  7.0 million…. gathered in less than 30 days!  Learn more here

NOW – Does anyone have any doubts about the Power of the Petition in today’s connected world?

Can anyone seriously doubt that when coupled to a Campaign to seek Proclamations from mayors, legislators, county executives and governors that this is even more powerful? (Learn how John Hibbs accomplished this with Career Day Proclamation in Oregon.)

NEED MORE PROOF?
learn more here

In the not unlikely event that some readers have concluded that what I opined in my “Unleashing the 2nd Superpower” post -especially coupled with the post yesterday Virtual Oceans Cup – there is no substance in the pathways offered. Here, now, are the “bites” I believe need to be taken if “we” are to mitigate the grave risks facing the oceans:

Bite One: Get a clear picture of both the size of the elephant and the very large numbers of people it will take to eat it. Don’t underestimate the size of either. Or the diversity of those at the table.

Bite Two: As much as I am in favor of the 2nd Superpower and distributed work loads, the hard fact (I say) is that without world class Luminaries to lead this charge, inside an “appropriate” umbrella entity, it ain’t gonna happen. Those Luminaries can decide which of them should be at the top of that totem pole; eating the elephant by Committee rarely works.  {My vote? As much as I love, love, love Dr. Slyvia Earle and SEA, as a sailor, businessman, baseball fan and long, long time adoring fan of Ted Turner, my hope is he will be drafted into this position.}

Bite Three:  Identifying the scope of the problem and then making resource and recruiting decisions; particularly ones that lead to strategic alliances. Money crunchers and those with terrific team managerial skills would, I say, be very high on this list.

Bite Four: The words “strategic alliances” has become diluted – at leas since I got my MBA, way back in the stone age. Today, a better choice of words might be “cross-platform” alliances.  We need leaders – and Luminaries – from a wide landscape:  Beyond the Friends and Allies advocacy world, and the oceanography world, here are a few places we should look:  Hollywood film-makers; authors, publishers, and opinion publicists; technology, sporting; fundraising, outfits — that can do for Mission Blue what “pink” has done for cancer and Nike has done for tennis shoes. (A good start can come via World Ocean Day.)

Bite Five: Petitions and Proclamations. I have written extensively about this Campaign. We should elevate it sufficiently so that one of the three major companies in this business – Move-On, Change, Cause2. “adopts” the undertaking.  None of those entities will “adopt” us unless there are Luminaries at the top and a management structure that – really and truly – can eat this elephant.{I cannot argue an more forcefully than I am doing now:  We get the most bang for the buck here; we get the “needle and thread” to knit the whole entire effort through this (never ending) effort. Hard, grinding, boring work. But it will pay big, big dividends!

Bite Six:  Education. Education. Education. Make plans to participate in the e-learning, e-conference, webinar space. Dr. Earle has it right when she says that “ignorance is the biggest problem. For my money, the Luminaries should include Sir Ken Robinson and Sir John Daniels. And the Worker-Bees’s should be modeled after a group called Webheads.

Bite Seven:  Iconic image — like Smokey-the-Bear. The Luminaries might not like this as much as I do. But I would hope they could put it reasonably high on their Agenda.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls — I believe we can eat this elephant. But we have to have an all-inclusive Road Map. One that starts with agreement of the size of the elephant and how to organize ourselves sufficiently to bring it to our table — in bite-sized amounts.

By 1992, Ocean Round was fast becoming Ocean Brown

The Race - Around the World No Holds Barred

In the Sources section of Tim Zimmermann’s fascinating true story “The Race” {subtitle “Extreme Sailing and the Ultimate Event“–”Non-stop, Round the World, No Holds Barred” } Zimmermann lists thirty-one books that were “especially helpful” in his research. They begin with Into the Wind by Tony Bartelme and end with The Circumnavigators by Derik Williams.

You don’t need to read them all. Zimmermann nicely traces the history of long-distance ocean racing in the first forty pages – red meat to a lion if you like adventure, innovation, life-or-death challenges, overcoming long odds and the long-in-the-future heavy impact of these undertakings.

If there is any single take-away it is the extraordinary power of imagination when tied to those with the intellectual drive, courage and intensity to tackle extraordinarily complex problems through extraordinarily creative solutions.

There are very few problems as complex as how to make a sailboat go fast in all the conditions Mother Nature can throw at you. Everything from no wind at all in the 100 plus degree heat of the Doldrums to 100 plus mph freezing winds in the Antarctic.

Add to this the problems of money-raising, on-board crew and on-shore support, complicated rules and ever-changing regulations; food, water, nutrition and medical emergency necessaries. Gear and structural failures, family problems, stiff competition and fierce pirates, collisions – ice bergs, whales, logs and waves higher than the Titanic. Plus fist-fights, chicanery, jealousy  — no wonder the result – at least for some – is lunacy and madness.

Which is exactly why I have written to Tim.

What’s more complex than how to mitigate the threats to the Ocean?

What’s more important?

Who better than the racing community to provide the imagination, resources, talent and organization than those Tim already knows? Who is in a better position to help enlist the leadership in that community? At minimum, to help frame the issues and make the introductions. At maximum, to collar those in the same mold as Columbus, Drake, Cook, Chichester and Blake.

This too; and it cannot go unmentioned. When Willie Sutton was asked ‘Why do you rob banks?’ his answer was delightfully simple:

“Because that’s where the money is.“

Change that slightly to ask this question:  Who has within its membership more resources, more imagination, more love for the ocean than those who like to sail fast?

Where these breadcrumbs will lead nobody knows. What we do know – or at least what we can imagine – is that high-octane salesmanship and smart marketing has to be as much a part the Ocean’s song book as scientific fact and hard evidence. That what Ted Turner has to say in his Call Me Ted is just as important as what Dr. Sylvia Earle has to say in her (very hard hitting) Sea Change. That what Facebook, Twitter, Google, Apple and Oracle can bring to this party is just as important as all the work of our Friends and Allies,  listed here. That those crunching the numbers are just as important as those uncorking the champagne. That managing all of this with excellence is the most elusive secret sauce of them all.

How can we collar those willing to row if we don’t have great leadership at the helm?

Finally, — and I admit this is both a very long-shot and a terribly, terribly murky idea — what I can imagine is a “Virtual Race For Ocean Blue“. This “Race” (in my mind’s eye) would be as data-driven as was Club Med’s on-shore weather forecasting to win (in 62 days) “The Race”. That the components to calculate the winner(s) of this Virtual Race would be arrived at by very sophisticated analytics; and some very smart head-scratching. Input by anyone, anywhere with a browser. Not about sail boat races but about Oceans advocacy. Who gets the most bang for the buck? Who delivered something truly jaw-dropping? Who has solutions nobody else ever thought about – but really, really worked? Who raised the most money – and spent it the wisest? Can the success be scaled – and repeated?

A No Holds Barred “Race for Ocean Blue” — for those who truly love the Ocean.

To enter all it takes is a good idea. To win, what it will it take are measurable results. The sure bet is that those with extraordinary imagination – who really do think well-outside-the box – are the ones we need the most.

I can imagine the competitors; here are some those with lots of imagination can mix-and-match, cajole and enlist: Teams Oracle, Facebook, SEA, Elders, TeamYachtClubs; on-the-water racers, especially by those 18-and-Under; Teams Greenpeace, Ocean Project and Associations from the Surfing, Scuba and Cruising Community; Teams Dr. Ocean and Dr. Seuss; Teams e-Learning and  e-Conference;  Tree Huggers   Technology Teams to include Teams Kickstarter, MoveOn.Org Change.org, Care2 and Wildfire. All of them goldmines– that is if we can induce the Luminaries help “us”, collectively, cast our nets far and wide. This effort can’t possibly be any harder than the difficulties the organizers of The Race overcame!

As always, the first step is the hardest. (Made easier, I hope, by some specific proposals as found here.)
See also How Do You Eat An Elephant?
Tim?

Recently, we developed a beta online advertising campaign, to measure its effect on raising conservation awareness. Conducted in Houston during spring and summer 2011, this campaign marked one of the first times that a nonprofit organization has implemented a “placed media” strategy. The campaign used many of the same technologies and techniques that BP deployed (quite successfully) to obfuscate and mitigate the perceptual impacts of the Gulf oil spill–in this case to spark a positive wave of interest in ocean conservation.

The campaign goal was to raise awareness of plastics pollution and its effect on sea turtles. We directed the campaign at tweens, teens and young adults — the audience the market research shows will provide the greatest conservation bang for the buck. We chose Houston as a test community in part because it has the lowest median age of major US cities, a high percentage of ESL households, and it is not a city known for its progressive conservation attitudes (figuring if it worked well in Houston we could achieve success in other cities).

We chose an online campaign to test this audience because it is the best method to effectively deliver enough impressions to the target audience with the budget available. It also allowed the campaign to reach the target audience through their preferred communication channel at their preferred hours of engagement, increasing the likelihood of successfully connecting with this audience. We selected plastics pollution as the campaign focus because our research indicates that of all the issues facing the ocean, pollution concerns people the most. We chose a sea turtle as it’s a charismatic animal that helps visually and emotionally tell the story of plastics pollution. The ads were deployed for eight weeks through Facebook and Google; with Google we also ran an enhanced search campaign.

With this type of campaign, we expected positive results, but the breadth and depth of the impact on the target audience was much more significant and longer lasting than any of us anticipated.

From the start of the campaign to its completion, we saw a 14.8% increase in the belief that the world’s ocean is endangered and an 8.9% increase in concern for the health of the ocean. There was also an increase in the belief that individuals’ actions affect the ocean: a 10.1% increase in agreement with the statement “The ocean is affected by the actions of people” and a 17.4% drop in agreement with the statement “My actions have little impact on ocean health.” And surprisingly, this increase of concern for the ocean moved beyond just the issues of plastics. By the end of the campaign, there was an 18.1% increase in agreement with the following statement: “Climate change threatens ocean health.”

Moreover, and most exciting, youth retained their increase in awareness and concern for the ocean following the campaign. Awareness levels did not significantly diminish in testing two months after the campaign. In a matter of a few months, we achieved truly significant changes with the youth of Houston, American’s fourth largest city.

Based on the impressive results from the beta in Houston, the next step is to scale up this campaign to 5-7 more major cities over the next three years, working closely with our partner zoos, aquariums, and museums and focusing both on raising awareness and motivating personal action to help build a new movement of social responsibility and conservation action for our ocean.

PROBLEM – An existential threat to the planet. The threats to the Ocean are well-documented by vast numbers of scientists and ocean advocacy groups worldwide. Dr. Sylvia Earle has it exactly right that among all of the Ocean’s perils, “the gravest one of all is ignorance“. 

BASIC SOLUTION – The only antidote to ignorance is education. The best – and perhaps the only way – to distribute the necessary antitoxins is by use of what Harvard professor Dr. James Moore calls “The Second Superpower” . {Written in 2003, much of that Power is now on bright display by way of the Arab Spring.} I borrow the thrust of Moore’s thesis to particularly identify the tens of thousands of divers, surfers, sailors, fishermen, yacht club members, advocacy groups, oceanographers and climate specialists who, I say, make up the bulk of the “Ocean’s Second Superpower“.

They are the Lilliputians that can slay the Ignorance Dragons.

THE SPECIFIC COMPONENTS FOR TAPPING THE SECOND SUPERPOWER

1. Petition and Proclamation Campaigns: It all starts here, and like painting the Golden Gate, this is a never-ending task. These Campaigns are the mind, heart and muscle, needle, thread and stitch, magnet and megaphone which can both mine and bring together the combined strength and awesome resources of The Second Superpower. Third-party petition technology is affordable, proven and at hand; when skillfully employed and put high on the Totem Pole, all things are possible. Subordinating it to a secondary activity – or not seizing this splendid opportunity  – is foolish to the extreme. NOTE: Learn more about successful use of Proclamations here. Like love ‘n marriage, horse ‘n carriage, they go hand-in-hand!

2. Signature Events & Educational Podcasts: The best example is World Ocean Day. But there should be at least three other Signature Events, annually – each for the purpose of broadcasting the voices of the Choir and increasing the size of the Congregation. Signature events, I say, include presentations at TED; participating, annually, in a week-long, 24 hour, 24 time-zone event called the Global Education Conference (possibly in this format/imagery); and (of course) World Ocean Day. In a perfect world these “Prime Time” events should be supplemented and complemented by regularly scheduled podcasts -  ones modeled by extraordinary educators and technologists operating worldwide.– the Webheads. { Author’s Note: Learn more about Global Learn Day here}

3. An Iconic Image for the Ocean – Think what Smokey-the-Bear has done for the forests! Then imagine, just for a moment, how much good could come from an Ocean’s “Smokey”? How about this idea — Paul (or Paula?) – the ‘Ocean’s Polar Bear’-  one that is “put up for adoption” by every child twelve and under, sponsored by corporate advertisers from the Arctic to  Antarctica. Crafted and created by a “world-class” Facebook contest. What fun! What reach! Learn more here

Excepting for the knitting and empowering capacity of the Petition and Proclamation Campaigns, such creation might ultimately do more good than any other lure contemplated here — or elsewhere. Learn more here.

4. Logos & Tag Lines & Distribution & The Lilliputians -  Start here:  Think Nike and the Swoosh. Think about  “Just do it!“  Then think about placement of a Blue Ocean logo on every home page on our Short List. (which is not so short!) Next, picture the logo on swim wear and beach ware, surfboards, scuba tanks, sailing gear. Best of all, picture them on jib, spinnaker, main and mizzen, featured on sailing races for those from 10 and under to those competing for the America’s Cup. And every sailing regatta in between. We won’t get them all. But we could sure get a lot!

5. The Optics & The Heavyweights: Naturally, think Sir Peter Blake and Ted Turner and Richard Branson and Sylvia Earle and the Heavies in Ocean Doctoring. But also think Sir John Daniel and Sir Ken Robinson, and other obvious heavyweights in e-education, e-learning, e-conferences, e-collaboration, e-innovation. To include, most certainly, those doing novel work to reach children 12 and under. Examples of such people? Try:  Adrian Hoad, Bill Mott, Vance Stevens, Steve Hargadon, among many, many others. Learn more here

6. Use of The New Tools – All of this must be guided by solid metrics, superb analytics, good data storage and data recovery. All of these must be the basis for accurate navigation and accurate measurement. (Think pie-charts and columns, budgets and percentages.) All the talk these days is about Social Networking, from Facebook to Twitter, from Google to Smart Phone.  Well deserved, to be sure. But the best results will come, as they always have, from those asking the hard questions; the ones who come up with the metrics; the ones who value measurable results.  FACT:  Hard facts trump lofty polemics. (learn more here!)  FACT: Exceptional results come from leaders who recruit passionate, geeky, strong-minded individuals unafraid of ‘being disobedient’. (rare birds indeed!)  FACT:  Great leaders put these birds at the top of their Totem Pole and support them every way from Sunday. Who cares who gets the credit? LEARN MORE HERE

It’s the best secret sauce of them all!

____________

CONCLUSION: The choice is Ocean Blue or Ocean Brown…which is no choice at all.

“All that’s at stake is the whole human race.” Dr. Sylvia Earle

 
John Hibbs

How do we KNOW our train is on track? And on time? How many are on board? What is the contributing value of engineer, fireman, conductor, passengers and cargo? Like an Alaskan dog sled, how do we get all of them to all to run harder? And all together? How do we make this a Team?

3. Budgets & Metrics/Graphs and Spreadsheets -

(Hibbs Quip, from Dragnet’s Jack Webb: “The facts ma’am. Just the facts.”)

How common is the use of graphs? circles? columns? spreadsheets? Ones that provide ratios, history, running lanes, performance? Do they show both units of measurement (dollars, audience size, people by profile) and percentages with ratios of gain or loss? Can “alerts” be plugged into the system with computer generated alarms that go off when a train is off track? Or an engineer missing? Or an announcement not made?

WARNING: DULL STUFF FOLLOWS: BUT IT’S CRUCIAL, I PROMISE.

Slicing and Dicing the Questions:

a) Which elements of our audience bring the most impact? Which part of which program gives the most bang for the buck? What element would we most like to expand by a factor of ten? Which ones are a distraction?…and should be eliminated?

b) What aspect of our target audience generates superior results? Is it sliced and diced by by age? Geography? Profile? Rank? Does a Harbor Master count more than the President? Do the mayors who live by the beach count more than the Governor who lives inland? Of what value is the yacht club Commodore as compared to the membership manager for the Scuba Diving Association? How many of which kind are in our data banks? And how are they weighted by value — in metrics one can easily eyeball and come away with an accurate impression?

c) How much, by percentage of total expenditure, is spent on advocacy? research? education? distribution? testing? feedback? How narrowly are these sliced and diced? How then are they measured and monitored?

d) Hard as it is — and it is very, very hard - do the graphs, charts, spreadsheets “match” dollar of expenditure with units of impact?

e) How high on the totem pole is the Department Head or Point Person responsible for these deliveries?

{Hibbs belief, though guarded: The oddity is that the smaller the organization the more valuable the metrics.}

This is ALL very hard stuff.

BOTTOM LINE: Look for people who are asking all the right questions — then look to the “proof of the pudding” by way of the metrics. It’s not for nothing that schools everywhere issue report cards from first grade to doctorate. It’s not for nothing that those at the top of Goldman Sacks, Nike and Apple pay top money to those who provide the hard data.

PREFACE: “…… the single most frightening and dangerous threat to the Ocean, the one that stands alone, yet is at the base of all the others, is ignorance.” Dr. Sylvia Earle, Sea Change, Page 336.

LIGHTENING ROD: The Second Superpower by Harvard Professor Dr. James Moore. Linked to and allied with Friends and Allies identified in our Short List.

GOLDEST NUGGET?: From Bill Mott, The Ocean Project. Click here for the biggest gem of all!

WARNING FROM JOHN HIBBS: Unhappily, this (overly-long) submission ignores one of the most valuable pieces of advice I received in all my formal education years with: the Jesuits at St. Catherine’s; the University of Oregon (History); Golden Gate University (MBA), and from tough courses at the University of Mexico; London School of Economics; University of North Carolina. That advice, from a brilliant Russian history professor, was that he would flunk me unless I drastically cut the length of my submissions. I tried, he didn’t flunk me, and the rest is a good yarn for another day.

Now, in the Age of Twitter, I continue to ignore that advice. Sorry. Pithy, I am not.

THEREFORE: If you want the Short Version of this Plan, click here

SO – WHY READ THE WHOLE ENCHILADA?

Because the perils facing the Ocean – and therefore “the whole human race” – are “an existential threat” to the whole entire planet. Because knowledge of these risks is shared by millions of sailors, surfers, divers, marine animal lovers, scientists, fishermen and Healthy Ocean advocates worldwide. Because the prescriptions outlined are not in place – and they should be. Because each component is based on proven business principles: Ones that start by asking the hard questions then proceeding, cautiously, collaboratively, in ways that will gather buy-in from those with the resources, brain-power and will-power to make them work.

Ultimately, each component will be coupled to cold, carefully calculated metrics – benchmarks, schedules, pie-charts, costs, revenues, numbers, numbers, numbers. The Second Superpower may operate by way of The Cloud; but it will be measured by grounded facts.

Help Wanted: This submission is only a starting point……”intellectual cheese” designed to attract and engage entities already well established in the Ocean advocacy realm. We need their help to kick-start the Petition and Proclamation campaigns, the first step to engage The Second Superpower.

Central Premises – That the biggest risk to the Ocean is ignorance; that the only antidote to ignorance is education; that the New Tools of e-learning, e-conference, and e-education, when fashioned along the lines of Dr. Mooree’s The Second Superpower, and then placed inside well-tested delivery and promotional vehicles, that all of these, together, provide optimum methods to slay the Ignorance Dragons.

Targets  & Goals: The chief target is those in Ocean Advocacy  who believe that by harvesting the networking power of the Lilliputians (aka Second Superpower) can change deeply embedded cultures of grave danger.  The end goals are to move from a culture of neglect and toxicity to one of sanctuary, conservation and protection; from ignorance and apathy to enlightenment and action. Not for the faint of heart.

The How:  By following examples of promotional campaigns that have worked brilliantly in the for-profit world; by putting education and enlightenment at the heart of the enterprise; by engaging those on The Short List for reasons of their own self-interest; by skillfully tapping resources from the sailing, diving, surfing, oceanography, education and Web technology communities; by pointing the bulk of our efforts to kids 14 and under.  And by leadership that is hard-wired to the concept of thinking inter-generationaly.

Hibbs Chestbeat:  During the last 20 years I have had a front row seat to the most innovative people in the e-learning, e-training, e-conference, and social networking world. They use the “New Tools” in remarkably novel ways to achieve jaw-dropping results. It has been a privilege to watch them, learn from them, be a wee part of their undertakings – from Prague to Perth, Alaska to Argentina, Cairo to Capetown. The great bulk of them are in the business of teaching English as a foreign language and the great bulk of those are foreigners working in difficult circumstances. What they do best is use the New Tools to knock down institutional barriers, excite the kids and open new horizons that were unimaginable just twenty years ago. What they do best is collaborate like crazy. What they embrace the most is each other.

The Jaw-Dropper: The Arab Spring & The Second Superpower: Proof of the power of jaw-dropping change is everywhere. But I say the very best evidence is The Arab Spring. (forecasted by Harvard’s Dr. James Moore ten years ago in his masterpiece – The Second Superpower.)

The Obvious:  At our collective fingertips is the reach, technology and educational force that is on high display in every nook and corner of the planet. Thread, needle, sewing machine, fabric, design and work force is at hand. What’s missing is a clear-cut call to action  – one that starts with an on-line Petition Drive organized by a commonly-held “Oceans” umbrella.

Toilet Dump or Bullion Lock Box? If we are to reduce the perils facing the Ocean, avoid going over the cliffs just ahead, nothing less than wise, distributed management of this Power can possibly change a worldwide culture of treating the ocean like a toilet when it should be protected like the bullion at Fort Knox.

The Ocean -- Toilet? Or Bullion At Fort Knox?

The Choice: Ocean Brown? Or Ocean Blue?

If we don’t change the culture, then color the Ocean Brown — and color human life as we now know it — color it GONE.

 Ignorance – “The gravest risk.”

DR. SYLVIA EARLE HAS IT EXACTLY RIGHT!

On Page 336 of her Dr. Earle”s “landmark publication”, Sea Change, A Message of the Oceans, she writes:

“What do I believe is the greatest threat to the oceans, and thus to human survival and well being? Is it the huge amount of trash, toxic chemicals, pesticides, grave threats and destruction to shoreline marshes, reefs, and sea grass meadows, oil spills, overfishing, predator species?”

“These are all great problems.”.

“But the single most frightening and dangerous threat to the Ocean, the one that stands alone, yet is at the base of all the others, is ignorance.”

______

The ONLY antidote to ignorance is education. 

What follows are tactics designed to slay the Ignorance Dragons, The short of is that

• (a) we must use the whole array of (education) anti-toxins that are available, affordable and have an impact substantially greater than the cost of their deployment;
• (b) that the best way to ensure wide distribution is to follow promotional models that have worked for others and can work just as well for us;
• (c) that the best way to gain both political traction and a large, powerful grass roots network is by a combination of changing the optics and through year-in-year-out Petitions and Proclamations campaigns -  from Prague to Perth, Alaska to Argentina.

While this is a hard slog, none of it is terribly new or terribly novel. But it will only happen when there is buy-in by those already in the business of saving polar bears and sharks, penguins and star fish, coral reefs and pristine beaches; from those shooting undersea videos, writing books and doing scientific research; those taking kids to the beach and those we can recruit who love being in, or under, or on, or near the Ocean.

My contention is that the millions of sailors, surfers, swimmers, divers, and boat owners represent a tremendous resource “we” should – must – tap. I say that a reasonable percentage of these would volunteer modest amounts of time and/or money for programs that would help save what they  love deeply.

I say that these should be thought of as the “core” of  “The Ocean’s Second Superpower“. From the fruits of the Petition Drive, and the courting of those on the Short List, will come those who can help us distribute “our” logo (and tag line) for placement on surfboards, scuba tanks and wet suits; on jib, main, mizzen, mast, boom and back stay;  on outer wear and beach ware; on cups, mugs, hats, sweat shirts, swim fins, mask and snorkel; on yacht club dinnerware, and most particularly on sailing races here, there and everywhere – for those from eight and under to those competing for the America’s Cup.

This is a long slog. But do-able.

All of it has to be data-driven, using vehicles already well-tested, available and affordable.

Personal Note: This entire submission comes with a deep personal conviction that all of these efforts must be data driven; that appropriate metrics must be developed by asking very hard questions; that the remedies offered must come with sound histories and sound premises; that the best of these will almost certainly come from well-tested vehicles that have already proven their worth, their reliability, their use-ability. And – most important of all – their financial sustainability.

USING WHAT IS PROVEN AND IS AT HAND

We are not in the business of inventing any new wheels! We are not in the business of paving any new roads. Our challenge is to use proven vehicles, proven navigation tools and well-traveled pathways.   If we stick to the knitting of what we do particularly well – most assuredly by way of Petitions, Proclamations and capable harvesting of its yield, then all of this is possible.

NOW – SOME HARD QUESTIONS

The Core Questions. (They are always the same)

Who exactly do we target? Who gets paramount attention? How do we reach? In what proportion? On what premises? How is “progress” measured? Monitored? Rewarded? How are our assumptions reflected in the budget? Who pays? Who manages the manpower both volunteer and those on the payroll? And what does that cost?And how is it measured?

LEARN MORE @ THE HARD QUESTIONS POST

NOW (finally, whew!) — TO “THE ELEMENTS” OF THE HIBBS PLAN

1. PETITION & PROCLAMATION CAMPAIGNS –

By Far, The Most Bang For The Buck

I contend that these Campaigns should do for the Ocean what painting the Golden Gate does for San Francisco It’s a job that goes on 24/7/365, year-in and year-out. Part of it is grime removal and oil-can greasing. But a more important part is the work represents a continuing love affair with a gleaming, iconic edifice.

Casting a net for signatures to protect the Ocean should be as common as selling Girl Scout Cookies – and be just as profitable.

The ponds operated by those on the Short List are already heavily stocked with those we need to enlist. Neither the asking for the signature nor providing it is very hard.

Neither is the acquisition of Proclamations from mayors, governors and county supervisors . What politician, from small town mayor to big state governor doesn’t want to be spotlighted for protecting the Ocean?  The publicity from these Proclamations has huge impact; done wisely and well, the publicity alone is worth its weight in gold.

None of this is rocket science; not much of it is novel. Yes, like any political campaign, it’s a gazillion phone calls, emails and pointed door-knocking.  But it’s all  within “our” grasp – “all” we have to do is cast the nets and carefully mine that which comes into our boat.

 2. Changing The Optics

The short of this is I love the optics of Red Socks Day in New Zealand, organized by the Sir Peter Blake Trust. I also love, love, love the optics that come from World Ocean Day.

In a perfect world, “we” would highlight the Kings and Queens in the world of e-learning, e-training, e-conferences and e-education. People like Sir Ken Robinson and Sir John Daniel. They  should seen seated next to people like Ted Turner, Sylvia Earle and Richard Branston.

Let’s elevate, and spotlight, the role of those from the realm of education; make them part and parcel to the realm of Ocean Advocacy.  Let’s do it with the tools of e-learning and e-conference as on display here, and here, and here.

3(a) E-LEARNING; E-CONFERENCES; E-EDUCATION 

I have some bragging rights about this subject; and some scars to it. In the early 90′s, when just only a rare few knew what a browser was, much less something about blogging, webcasting, broad-band, or anything at all about Google, Skype, Facebook, My Space or Twitter, I was the “imagineer” to a 24 hour, 24 time zone event called Global Learn Day.

We featured Russians from outer space, mountain climbers from the Himalayas, scientists at the South Pole, climbers English teachers in New Guinea, Nigeria and Newfoundland. educators knighted by the Queen, innovators from Cairo to Capetown, Prague to Perth, Alaska to Argentina. We hooked them up by everything but two tin cans tied to a string: ham radio, ordinary telephone, chat room, and live streaming in real time. We opened in New Zealand, where the planet “begins the New Day”, We closed, 24 hours and 23 time zones later, on an speck of an atoll somewhere in the far Western Pacific. We did it all on a shoestring, 99.9% volunteers –all virtual; all the time. We did it for 14 years, and we all learned a lot.

The Point? What all this portended was the ability to acquire a world-class education and/or world-class training and/or participate in world-class conferences: affordably; reliably; anywhere and everywhere. The most important result? The ability to build world class networks that are both megaphone and muscle for Big Change.  What it yielded was a remarkable confluence of innovation, experiment, collaboration, volunteerism, regularity and accomplishment.

THE BEST MODEL ON EARTH? CLICK HERE!

And so it should be for those in leadership positions for the preservation of the Ocean.

3(b) E-Learning + E-Conferences

Budgets, Scheduling, Timetables and Tasks

It is well beyond the scope of this post to “get in the weeds” for decisions about who? when? how? how much?

BUT – if “ignorance is the gravest risk” –and it is — and if e-conferences and e-learning are (easily) one of the most effective, affordable means to mitigate ignorance and knit the community together — and they are – then the question should be posed: What are “we” going to do to incorporate these into our strategic and tactical plans?

(More specifics follow)

 4. Optics- Iconic Image-A Smokey for the Oceans

Repeatedly, I have argued that the Ocean needs an iconic image that will do for the Oceans what Smokey the Bear has done for the forest. I consider that the creation of this is very nearly as important as the image finally selected. How do we engage Art Schools and Grade Schools, You Tube and Face Book, Coke and Pepsi, Webmaster, Blogmeister, Walt Disney and Hollywood?

Learn more here.

5. The Metrics of Impact

In all the investigation, research, reading and conversation I have undertaking on this (whole) subject, nothing has glittered more brightly, than work done under the direction of Bill Mott at The Oceans Project. What Bill has enabled is a metrics based, scholarly undertaking that measures the impact of “presentations” to children using a Facebook platform. PLEASE CLICK HERE LEARN MORE!!!

This has staggering implications!

 6. Logos and Distribution

When you live in the shadow of Nike, and daily walk past Knight Stadium, Knight Law School, Knight Business School, it’s hard to underestimate the power of the “Swoosh” and it’s tag line: “Just Do It.” From personal conversation with Phil Knight I know that for every dollar Nike spends to “protect” the Swoosh (from pirates, or “unauthorized use”, Nike spends many, many thousands for its distribution. Repeatedly, I have argued that an “Oceans Logo” – Mission Blue? – should have at is goal to appear on: scuba tanks surfboards; on mast, boom, main, jib, blooper, hull and winch; on yacht race scorecards and postings, from those competing in the ten and under to those in the America’s Cup or on Alone Around the World. The logo should be on sailing outer-wear, back-packs, school busses, life jackets and life rings and swim wear and beach ball, sand bucket, sun tan bottle, sun glasses, visor and chair; on yacht club front door, menu, calendar and every event from New Year to Christmas.

7. Signature Events -

“Nothing concentrates the mind like a hanging.” (Samuel Johnson). “Nothing concentrates the mind like an Signature Event.” (John Hibbs)

My efforts to “juice” World Ocean Day together with Capital Hill Ocean Week with America’s Cup competition, with the Sylvia Earle Alliance, with a Signature Event on either Larry Ellison or Larry Page’s multi-million dollar cruisers (in San Francisco) did not gain enough traction to make them happen – this year.

Learn more here about the “bones” of this event.

(Like Operation Market Garden in WW2, this may have been “a Bridge Too Far.)

What is not “too far” is an event configured around Steve Hargadan’s Global Education Conference, in November 2012. What is also not too far is to consider the possibility of a webcast following the “route” of Global Learn Day but with participation by way of those already committed to World Ocean Day, June 8.

In any event, VERY LARGE events, focused on education and advocacy – obviously to include TED – should be part and parcel to a “War on Ignorance.”

Learn more here about being part of a 5 day world class learning event.

8. The Role of Dr. Sylvia Earle

I will not come within “a long country mile” of suggesting “the role” of Dr. Earle. (Even the dumbest, youngest priest dares not to tell the Pope how to run the Mass.)

But I will add my own observations and tender, very lightly, two suggestions.

Here’s the observation. My very personal observation and conclusion is that Dr. Earle is to Saving the Ocean what Dr. Martin King was (is) to Civil Rights. This whole Oceans undertaking is a Movement –that should go on, will go on, long, long after she or I taken our place in by Dad called “The Marble Orchard”. Her books, her presence in Davos, Singapore, at TED presentations, and at high level conferences all over the globe are testimony to that. The SEA Alliance brings together people, resources, stature, knowledge, experiences of the rarest kind. The chief challenge is how to manage the operation with the same level of brilliance that Dr. Earle brings to it. Should any of the “Points” outlined above be something that I could help with, I hope we can meet for “Next Step” discussions.

Now, the two suggestions:

a) Somehow, someway, I would like to help SEA bring into its “Alliance” the history, adventure, accomplishments of Sir Peter Blake and the work of the Sir Peter Blake Trust. I call this “Taking Sir Peter Blake Global” possibly in an “alliance with Ted Turner.

b) The value of books already published by Dr. Earle could, I say, could be “re-tooled” into “a fiction, non-fiction” book co-authored by someone of the talent and stature of John Vaillant. Not convinced? Read The Golden Spruce After that, then read The Tiger.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Inspiration from: Dr. Sylvia Earle, Author, Oceanographer, Research Scientist, TED Prize Winner, Founder of The Sylvia Earle Alliance

AND VERY SPECIAL FRIENDS, ALLIES AND ADVOCATES FOR HEALTHY OCEANS AND INNOVATIVE LEARNING DELIVERIES 

Directors of the Sir Peter Blake Trust in New Zealand, Bill Mott, Mover & Shaker behind World Ocean Day, Laura Cassiani and many of those “leading the charge” at many of those listed here

Particularly important Mention for Contributions in the E-Conference, E-Leaning Community : Vance Stevens and all the Webheads; Blaine Berger, Adrian Hoad Riddick, Nathan Lowell, Dr. James Moore, David Wortley, Annette Stock, Steve Hargadon, Sir John Daniel, Sir Ken Robinson.

And to Christina Clark, for web design, to Sandy Hibbs for putting up with me all these years; and most especially to Bevan Waite (who worked with unflagging determination on graphics development.)

A new partnership to raise $1.5bn (£633m) for the world’s oceans, double marine protected areas and rebuild fish stocks was launched on Friday by the World Bank.

The Global Partnership for Oceans, a coalition of governments, NGOs, scientists and businesses, is a political boost for the world’s overfished, heavily polluted and increasingly warming oceans.

More controversially it proposes the expansion of aquaculture (farmed fish) to provide two-thirds of the world’s fish, up from half today, to alleviate pressure on wild fish as a growing human population increasingly looks to the sea for protein.

World Bank President, Robert Zoellick warned that

World Bank President Robert Zoellick in Singapore

“The world’s oceans are in danger, and the enormity of the challenge is bigger than one country or organization. We need coordinated global action to restore our oceans to health,” he told the Economist’s World Ocean Summit in Singapore.

The alliance brings together many nations and organizations that are already attempting to alleviate what is, after the climate, the ultimate “tragedy of the commons” – the running down of resources that are largely owned by no one, exploited by anyone and woefully unregulated.

Among the confirmed backers are small island states, many leading conservation organizations – including Conservation International, WWF, the Nature Conservancy, and business groups committed to sustainable practices. The World Bank is also in discussion with with other potential supporters, including the Prince’s Trust and the governments of Australia, Monaco, New Zealand, and Norway.

But the success or failure of the partnership is likely to be determined by its ability to find funding and reach out to leading economies in Europe, North American and big developing nations, such as China, India, Indonesia and Brazil, where increasingly affluent and large populations are looking to the oceans for more protein, energy and minerals. Many are reluctant to accept protection measures that might constrain opportunities to exploit these resources.

Zoellick – who is approaching the end of his tenure at the World Bank – says the first step is promoting greater awareness of the value of oceans – for example, in absorbing carbon dioxide and regulating weather patterns – and then helping governments to incorporate this in their policies.

“Oceans are the home of an under-recognised and underappreciated ‘blue economy’,” he said.

But he still needs to find the money to push this initiative. The partnership is committed to mobilising at least $300m in catalytic finance and aims to use that to leverage another $1.2bn from businesses, NGOs and other institutions.

NOTE: RELATED STORY FULL TEXT AS BELOW

SINGAPORE, February 24, 2012 (ENS) – The World Bank today announced the Global Partnership for Oceans, gathering governments, scientists, advocacy organizations, the private sector and international public institutions to confront the increasingly urgent issues of over-fishing, marine degradation, and habitat loss.

“Oceans are the lifeblood of our world,” said World Bank Group President Robert Zoellick, announcing the new partnership in a keynote speech at “The Economist” magazine’s World Oceans Summit in Singapore.
Healthy corals attract fish and dive tourists to Sharm el-Sheikh on the Red Sea lapping Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.

“They flow over more than 70 percent of our planet, and hold about 97 percent of its water. They absorb heat and carbon dioxide, generate oxygen, and shape the world’s weather patterns. They provide about 15 percent of the animal protein for the world’s population, the air that we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat,” Zoellick said. “Whether we live inland or on coastlines, each one of us relies on healthy oceans.”

“About 85 percent of the world’s fish stocks are either seriously depleted or well on their way. We have over 400 dead zones where life has stopped – an area about the size of New Zealand.”

“So for us as a development institution, it’s also a core issue because about a billion people in the world depend on fish as their primary source of protein. It’s a key source of jobs, whether for tourism or fisheries. There’s hundreds of millions of jobs depending on this.”
World Bank President Robert Zoellick in Singapore (Photo courtesy World Bank)

“So what we’re trying to do is bring the different parties together and send a signal – SOS – Save Our Seas,” said Zoellick. “The oceans are everybody’s business but no one can do it alone.”

“The world’s oceans are in danger, and the enormity of the challenge is bigger than one country or organization,” he said. “We need coordinated global action to restore our oceans to health. Together we’ll build on the excellent work already being done to address the threats to oceans, identify workable solutions, and scale them up.”

All entities involved in the partnership are already engaged in ocean protection activities. They agree that the key now is to mobilize around a set of shared goals to help coordinate activities and mobilize new financial support.

RELATED STORY BELOW, SOURCED FROM HERE

The global conservation organization WWF is working with the World Bank and others to protect and restore habitats and species and manage risks to ocean health from land-based pollution and offshore extractive industries.

For instance, WWF-New Zealand today urged the government to ban set net fishing throughout Hector’s and Maui’s dolphins’ habitat, to prevent more dolphins dying needlessly in nets. The call came as two Hector’s dolphins were killed by the illegal use of set nets within a sanctuary for the endangered species.
Hector’s dolphins die in fishing nets. (Photo courtesy NZ Department of Conservation)

Fishing with nets is the main reason the numbers of Hector’s dolphins have declined from around 30,000 in the 1970s to just over 7,000 today, said the WWF.

In another evidence of ocean degradation, a study by the International Union for Conservation of Nature released this week shows that 12 percent of marine species surveyed in the Gulf of California, the coasts of Panama and Costa Rica and the five offshore islands and archipelagos in the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean are threatened with extinction.

A member of the Global Partnership for Oceans, the IUCN has identified geographic zones where conservation efforts are needed most – around the mouth of the Gulf of California and the coastlines of Panama and Costa Rica.

“Understanding species vulnerability to major threats is paramount for determining how species and marine environments are likely to respond to one or more simultaneous threats,” says Beth Polidoro, research associate, IUCN Marine Biodiversity Unit, and lead author of the study. “Identification of threatened species and patterns of threat in the tropical eastern Pacific region can help guide local and regional marine conservation priorities for biodiversity conservation, as well as serve to inform policy.”
Giant sea bass, Gulf of California (Photo by D. Ross Robertson, courtesy IUCN)

Once common in the waters of southern California and the Gulf of California, Mexico, the giant sea bass, Stereolepis giga, now is listed as Critically Endangered, the IUCN said. When spawning, these fish form large groups that attract fishing vessels, reducing the chances of rebuilding sustainable populations.

Across the world’s oceans, the partners intend to address improved governance systems for fishing, more marine protected areas, intensified efforts to attack the sources of ocean pollution and degradation as well as improved coastal management to develop resilience to weather and climate-related threats.

Heading into the Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development in June, ocean health is a key issue. The Global Partnership for Oceans will act in support of countries meeting commitments for improved ocean management.

“Brazil is committed to achieving specific results in conservation and sustainable development of oceans and hopes that Rio+20 will allow all countries to renew commitments made in 1992 with specific new commitments,” Francisco Gaetani, Brazil’s deputy environment minister said in Singapore.

“While the ocean itself is undivided, its management is a complex web of inter-related, intertwined, converging and competing demands and interests,” said the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, announcing its participation in the partnership. “The scale of the challenges facing the ocean today is such that singular efforts by various organizations specializing in one aspect or area are not enough.”
School of jacks in Philippine waters (Photo by Darren Abcede)

Numerous ocean-focused NGOs have expressed support for the new alliance.

“As the world’s population grows to nine billion people by 2050, the demand for food and other resources will double,” said Conservation International chief executive Peter Seligmann. “It is in the enlightened self interest of all nations and all communities to wisely steward our oceans. Humanity needs the oceans to thrive. Collaboration is essential.”

President of The Nature Conservancy, Mark Tercek said, “There is an urgent need to scale up the pace of ocean conservation around the world by bringing together a wide range of partners who are vested in the oceans; the World Bank’s leadership and commitment is a huge step forward towards achieving this.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for countries to realize tangible benefits – jobs, livelihoods, and economic development – by managing their oceans in a way that builds their natural capital,” said Tercek.

Other supporters of the new alliance spoke of the need for improved governance to improve oceans management, and unleash greater private investment in sustainable ocean enterprises.

“Almost all the challenges facing ocean sustainability stem from governance and market failures,” said Andrew Hudson, head of the UN Development Programme’s Water and Ocean Governance Programme.

“Our experience has been that supporting ocean governance reform at all levels creates an enabling environment that can in turn catalyze sizeable quantities of public and private sector finance to sustain ocean ecosystem services,” said Hudson. “The Global Partnership for Oceans provides a key means of implementation to scale up proven approaches.”
Lobster from the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Maine (Photo by Jackie Childers)

Private companies like Darden Restaurants, one of the world’s largest seafood purchasers, are supportive of work that mitigates ocean health risk and will support the sustainable health of fisheries for generations to come.

“The health of the world’s oceans is critically important. Like so many, we depend on the natural resources the oceans provide and investing in their health helps ensure the long-term viability of those resources,” said Roger Bing, vice president of seafood purchasing for Darden Restaurants, a multi-brand restaurant enterprise with more than 1,900 restaurants in North America, including the Olive Garden and Red Lobster chains.

Support for the Global Partnership for Oceans includes developed and developing countries and country groupings, including island nations; nongovernmental organizations and advocacy bodies like Conservation International, Environmental Defense Fund, the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, National Geographic Society, The Nature Conservancy, Oceana, Rare and World Wildlife Fund; science bodies like the United States’ National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration; private investors such as Paine & Partners and industry groups like the National Fisheries Institute, and the World Ocean Council, whose members rely on sustainable seafood supplies or are dependent on ocean resources.

International organizations involved include the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the Global Environment Facility, the Global Ocean Forum, GRID Arendal (Norway), the UN Development Programme, UN Environment Programme, UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission and the World Bank Group.

NOTE: FULL TEXT OF PRESIDENT OF WORLD BANK CLICK HERE

Here are the videos.
THE FUTURE OF WORK

SIR KEN ROBINSON ON EDUCATION

Now, within that context, as above, let us ask these questions:

Sea Change

1. THE CORE ISSUE: If the perils of the ocean are an existential threat to the planet – as they are; and if Dr. Sylvia Earle’s “gravest fear is ignorance” — as is well articulated in her book SEA CHANGE; and if “the antidote to ignorance is “education“– Shouldn’t all advocates for protection of the Ocean resource their entities accordingly? Isn’t everything else either a side-show? Or support elements to be subordinated to what I call the War on Ignorance?

2. Queen Noor, Richard Branson, Ted Turner, Oprah, etc. etc. etc. bring powerful spot lights to the problem. But where are “equal” spotlights to those likely to bring the EDUCATIONAL solutions? Where is Sir Ken Robinson? Sir John Daniel? And those of sterling mettle?

3. The revolution in e-learning, e-education, e-conferences, has been well underway for twenty years. There is an abundance of talent we should tap. Which leads me to these questions:(a) Who, exactly, is “in charge” of the “education component”; where can we read more about him or her? (b) How do we DEEPLY incorporate 21st Century tools into both education and advocacy? (c) How do we bring all of this together?

4. In 2003, Dr. James Moore wrote a brilliant piece called “The Second Superpower“. What he portended then has now become “The Arab Spring”. Education delivery is now undergoing the same level of impact – most especially for those now 12 years old and under. If we don’t inculcate into those 12 and under the need to conserve and protect, aren’t we kidding ourselves that REAL change can actually take place?

5. What are SEA, OWOO, The Ocean Project, World Ocean Day doing to be at the forefront of this wave? What are the plans to change both optics and follow-through? What are the metrics?

P.S. More pointedly: Where is Mark Zuckerman in the photo?