Sam the Sea Lion Ocean’s Defender
NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuary Program announced today their ocean literacy and public awareness campaign featuring Sanctuary Sam. Sam’s a
“What Smokey Bear did for our nation’s forests, Sanctuary Sam has the potential to do, making ocean issues real for all Americans,” said Daniel J. Basta, director of the sanctuary program. “The future health of our oceans depends on all of us caring and taking action. Sam’s charge is to help bring that message to the nation.”
Sam is helping to educate people about the marine environment and bring awareness to issues such as pollution and habitat destruction.
Sam will be offering us tips on how we can be better ocean stewards. He will be featuring the messages “don’t trash where you splash” and “be wildlife wise” on public service announcements.
Some ways we can all improve our water’s quality:
- Conserve water.
- Don’t dump hazardous waste down the drain.
- Lead rain gutters to soil, grass, and not cement.
- Clean septic tanks every three to five years to prevent overflow.
- Avoid pesticides and herbicides and use natural fertilizers on gardens.
- Don’t dump motor oil and recycle it instead.
- Don’t dump boat sewage or trash in the water.
- Clean up litter at the beach.
- Put babies in proper swimming pants.
There’s already a blog and a web page on MySpace.com and the National Marine Santuary Program and OceansLive will be featuring Sanctuary Sam along with lesson plans and other learning materials.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and information service delivery for transportation, and by providing environmental stewardship of our nation’s coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 70 countries and the European Commission to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts, and protects.
SOURCE National Marine Sanctuary Foundation
Also see: David Helvarg’s 50 Ways to Save the Ocean
Water Quality at Beaches: Polluted Water Hurts Health and Tourism in U.S.
