CL Steele Studio

It’s my Birthday and some of you are about to learn something about me you may not know. I love nature. I don’t just mean I like to hike and fish, I mean I truly love nature and am constantly inspired by it and in awe of it. If it were up to me there would only be two things on our TV ever – action movies and nature shows. I watch things like Blue Planet and Life on the Discovery network. I also watch more obscure things like Oregon Field Guide and Art Wolfe’s Travels to the Edge on OPB. Along with those I watch any little show that involves nature I can find, especially if it involves fish. I can’t get enough of fish and the oceans.

When I was young I wanted to be a marine biologist. I love fish and water that much. When other kids in school were checking out “normal kid books” from the library , I was bringing home books like “The anatomy of a fish” and “Ocean life cycles” and “Pelagic fish of the Pacific.” Over time I decided that it maybe wasn’t for me as a lot of it involves sitting in a lab (which I would hate) but I would have followed through if I could have only done the water part of it (like the stuff you see on TV). I am a certified SCUBA diver though and it’s been far too long since I’ve gone on a dive. One of my Birthday presents was a certification brush up and I’m looking forward to going on a few dives later this summer with my buddy Chaz.

So by now you are thinking “Ok Chris, great, but what does this have to do with the title of this post?” I’ll tell you. I think we are messing up and messing up bad. We depend on our oceans way more than we even comprehend right now. Science is really still in it’s infancy as far as the oceans go and every day they are learning more and more that makes them go “Uh oh, we kinda already messed that up.” Ocean life is collapsing at an alarming rate. The truth is it may already be too late for some things, but it certainly isn’t too late for all of them. We, the humans on this planet, are solely responsible for messing it up and we alone have the power and technology to make it right.

I don’t believe we all need to start living like hipee’s. I certainly don’t (I do love granola though). But I do believe we can make a difference with our voice and pocket book. I often send letters to my local politicians (JD just learned something about me) about the mess on the Columbia river (gillnets, pollution, spill, etc.) and I believe it makes a difference. If we are quiet and think it’s someone else’s problem, or “they” will fix it, we are sadly mistaken. The truth is I think most people just truly don’t know what’s going on. They don’t know that there are bills trying to set up marine preserves that are getting shot down by oil companies. They don’t know that oil companies are trying to tap into existing marine preserves and what that would mean. Same is true for logging, construction, factories dumping waste, and on and on.

My wish is that everyone gets informed. Read something you normally wouldn’t. Watch a show you normally wouldn’t. See what’s going on out there on our planet and then decide where you stand. I’m not asking anyone to become and activist. Hell, I don’t do as much as I should. But just knowing the facts when it’s time to vote would make a HUGE impact. Talk about it with your friends, talk about it with your kids. Little things that take almost no effort like that can actually make a big difference. The bottom line is “they” is actually you and I.

This video is a great place to start. Not only does it have some amazing imagery, but it has a powerful message as well. I have seen Brian Skerry’s work several times before (he shoots for National Geographic) but never heard him speak and had no idea he loved the oceans as much as he does. Kudos to him for speaking out and trying to educate people. I hope you enjoy the video.