Covering Climate: The Case Against Deep Sea Mining & The Case For Holding Onto Hope
Journalist Sean Holman on finding hope in climate stories & anti deep Sea mining activist Jonathan Mesulam on the latest two episodes of Skaana with Mark Leiren-Young
So even though we released a new episode last week it seemed odd to send a non-orca post on World Orca Day. And we are taking a serious shot at sending out weekly Skaana updates because we want to make sure you still know what’s up in the world of orcas, oceans while Canadian news - like ours - is being suppressed online…
Sean Holman on Fighting for Facts and Holding Onto Hope as the World Burns
I’ve known Sean Holman for ages and I’ve been a fan of his work even longer. Sean has an astonishing eye for news and his work makes waves. When he became a professor at Mount Royal College his commentaries on the media - especially on the media and climate coverage - helped shape the Canadian conversation.
Yeah, I’m still a fan.
A few years ago Sean became the Wayne Crookes Professor in Environmental and Climate Journalism at the University of Victoria and launched the Climate Disaster Project where he’s sharing stories - and teaching others to tell stories - to fight the climate emergency with facts.
When Sean asked if I’d help with the Climate Disaster Project I was delighted to dive in - and since I plan to be joining his ambitious and essential adventure - it seemed like I ought to let you know more about it on Skaana.
We talk about climate coverage, media messaging and so much more. Also hope. Sean’s big on hope. We both are.
Decimating the Deep: The Dangers of Ocean Floor Mining With Jonathan Mesulam
Back in February I attended the Fifth International Marine Protected Areas Congress in Vancouver and listened to guests like keynote speaker Sylvia Earle warn about the dangers of Deep Sea Mining.
One reason people were issuing these warnings in Vancouver is because while deep sea mining is set to take place in Nauru, the company doing the mining - The Metals Company - is based in Vancouver. I’ve seen ads for this company that look like parody ads for Saturday Night Live and read promotions for this project boasting that ripping open the ocean floors was better than clearcutting the rainforest - which strikes me as about the same as arguing that it’s better to be shot in the right lung than the left lung.
One of the people I most wanted to interview at the conference was Jonathan Mesulam who had come from New Guinea to lead the fight against ripping up the ocean floor. While I was looking for Jonathan at the protest, one of the organizers asked if I could take the edge of the banner that he’d been holding so he could go organize the crowd. The other person holding the banner... Jonathan.
So we walked through the streets of Vancouver together, chanted together and then - when we were done - sat in a room back at the Convention Centre so he could tell me his story.
And our Patreon plug…
If you’re into oceans, orcas, octopus - and all sorts of vital issues and animals that don’t begin with the letter O, please support our work at Patreon.
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Orca, Octopus & Ocean News
If you’re not in Canada you may not realize that you may no longer be seeing Canadian news online…
Google and Facebook are currently at war with the Canadian government and our news sites aren’t being shared and/or are actively being blocked so… I’m going to start sharing some vital stories here… Because of this situation, we will be focusing on sharing links to Canadian stories/sites.
And the plan is to start sharing weekly.
I hope you’ll also share our stories and episodes because our stories are also being disappeared from search engines and social media.
Southern resident orcas
And the latest CANADIAN threat to the southern residents… is Terminal 2 terminal for the orcas? Ottawa greenlights megaport project, furthering extinction trajectory of endangered killer whales
B.C. port expansion threatens endangered killer whales, claims court challenge
With salmon vanishing, where are the residents residing? Endangered orcas changing seasonal behaviour to follow salmon, research shows
Sidney display about dead whale a reminder of pressures on southern resident orcas
Orcas being awesome
An orca hanging out near Vancouver: Playful solo orca whale delights observers in Howe Sound
'I was crying': B.C. woman encounters majestic pod of orcas
The humpback comeback
Humpback comeback: Record number of humpback whales spotted in Salish Sea this year
Octo-stories
An awesome octopus story about one of the only known octopus nurseries in the world being discovered in BC: Deep-sea octopus nursery discovered in Nuu-chah-nulth waters off Vancouver Island
A realllllllly big fish A Truck-Sized, Alien-Looking Fish Swims Off The Coast Of British Columbia Every Summer
Stop Deep Sea Mining
Another scary story about Deep Sea Mining… Deep-Sea Mining’s Dirty Dilemma
And to get ready for Shark Week
A great piece on the really scary animal in the oceans. Us. Humans Scare More Reef Fishes Than Sharks Do
Canada Failing to Protect At-Risk Sharks and Skates
And stay tuned for Shark Week on Skaana. You can kick off with a reading from my book, Sharks Forever.