On Tuesday, April 22nd, the Great Whale Conservancy hosted its second annual D.C. Earth Day rally. Our purpose was to ask President Obama to direct the U.S. Navy to remove its objection to the use of an alternate shipping lane along the CA coast, where cargo ships, oil tankers, and cruise ships have been killing blue whales trying to feed on krill blooms during the summer months.
The Great Whale Conservancy hosted Mz Blue, a 90-foot inflatable whale, on the Ellipses past the south lawn of the White House on Earth Day. A group photo of Gershon Cohen, Michael Fishbach, Sylvia Earle and David Guggenheim.
GWC Co-Directors Mike Fishbach and Gershon Cohen were joined by GWC staffer Sara Randall for an inflation of Mz Blue, GWC’s life size blue whale inflatable on the Ellipse, just below the South Lawn of the White House. A press conference was held during the afternoon, where GWC was honored by the presence of Dr. Sylvia Earle, “Her Deepness”, and Dr. David Guggenehim, the “Ocean Doctor”, two of America’s most famous oceanographers and defenders of marine life and habitat.
Just before the press conference began it started to rain, so chairs were pulled under Mz Blue, who graciously provided shelter from the weather while creating an intimate space for a conversation about many of the serious issues our cetacean friends face in today’s world. We were also joined by Isabel Apadia, a young woman from Pennsauken NJ, who drove for hours to get to DC in time to add the 260 petition signatures she gathered from her high school to the 120,000 signatures GWC was preparing to submit to the administration.
GWC wants to shout out a special thank you to Phil Kline, John Schumaker, and the rest of the Greenpeace gang who provided huge logistical support, and helped hold Mz Blue down on the ground when afternoon winds kicked up and threatened to have Mz Blue make an unexpected migration toward the White House. And once again, Kathy and Paul Armington were wonderful hosts to the whole GWC team – it was the second year they allowed us to turn their home into GWC HQ East.
So check out the photos of the GWC Earth Day event – “link us” and “like us” to your friends and families. Sign our petition, make a donation to help support our work if you can, and let us know if you have skills and resources that can help the cause. We will be posting a new page on our website in the next few days that will list specific needs of the organization for the coming year.
MZ Blue’s next appearance will be in Charlotte NC for World Ocean Day, June 8th. We’d love to see you there!
The Great Whale Conservancy hosted Mz Blue, a 90-foot inflatable whale, on the Ellipses past the south lawn of the White House on Earth Day. Dr. David Guggenheim and Michael Fishbach discuss during the conference.
The Great Whale Conservancy hosted Mz Blue, a 90-foot inflatable whale, on the Ellipses past the south lawn of the White House on Earth Day. Sylvia Earle listens as Pennsauken High School’s Isabel Abadia talks.
The Great Whale Conservancy hosted Mz Blue, a 90-foot inflatable whale, on the Ellipses past the south lawn of the White House on Earth Day. Great Whale Conservancy co-founders Michael Fishbach and Gershon Cohen discuss during the conference.
The Great Whale Conservancy hosted Mz Blue, a 90-foot inflatable whale, on the Ellipses past the south lawn of the White House on Earth Day. Greenpeace staffers Phil Klein, Miranda Beck and Christina Morgan pose with Mz Blue.