Santo Domingo, 9/11/2011 On Saturday, September 10, 2011 guests at the first Dominican Republic Environment Film Festival (DREFF) joined with marine mammal conservation experts to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Dominican Republic’s historic Marine Mammal Sanctuary. The people of the DR formed the very first marine mammal sanctuary and it has grown over the years to be about equal in size to the land area of the country.  The celebration was organized in partnership with GFDD and FUNGLODE and was held at FUNGLODE’s headquarters in Santo Domingo, preceded by the screening of the documentary film Ocean Voyageurs. The film follows a mother whale and her young calf on their sometimes perilous journey of discovery, and much of the footage presented was captured at the Marine Mammal Sanctuary off the coast of Samaná.…

The legendary oceanographer calls the Arctic a ‘hope spot.’  In other words, she said, we still have time to get it right. You were part of the Aspen Institute Commission on Arctic Climate Change, which released a report on the Arctic in early 2011. What did the report say? The report underscores the opportunity that now exists, as never before.  Because never before have we known the risks, never before have we understood the impacts that the Arctic has on the world as a whole, as a driver of climate, related to such broad issues as sea level rise. The Arctic has a disproportionate impact on the world given its relatively small size. This is a moment in history when we will take actions one way or the other–or inactions–but we humans will influence much that determines the fate and future of the Arctic, the people and the creatures who live there.…