June 15, 2018: The Ocean is Rising and So Are We: The June 9, 2018 March for the Ocean

Posted on June 15, 2018 at 12:00 AM

On a hot Saturday morning, a wave of blue formed on the Washington Monument grounds in the shadow of Mz. Blue, a life size inflatable blue whale.  Promptly at noon, the blue wave—a large throng of us mostly in blue shirts—poured out onto the surrounding streets, up and around the White House, and back to the monument grounds.  Included in the blue wave were E&E Task Force members Jean Stewart, Arlene and Tom Gross, and Anne Montgomery. On the march we met a mermaid, a merman, a six-foot tall Nemo, and a very cool shark in sunglasses. There was also a woman in a dress and parasol all made entirely of single-use plastic. Later, we heard inspiring speakers like Philippe Cousteau, Jr., grandson of Jacques Cousteau, and Michael Fishbach of the Great Whale Conservancy, who brought Mz. Blue to energize the march.

All of this was to advocate publicly and strongly for the health and future of the oceans and the creatures that live in them.  Earth’s oceans are foundational for all life on this planet. We are demonstrating the damages to the oceans caused by climate change, and by the flood of plastic waste now pouring into the sea, and ultimately back into our own drinking water in the form of microparticles.  We demonstrate in the hopes that our voices will ignite a nationwide movement to save our precious ocean resources.

–Jean Stewart, Chair, Earth and Environment Task Force