Earth Day was celebrated by millions of people from around the globe last month. Renowned anthropologist Margaret Mead saw Earth Day as “the first holy day which transcends all national borders, yet preserves all geographical integrities, spans mountains and oceans and time belts, and yet brings people all over the world into one resonating accord … devoted to the preservation of the harmony in nature.”
Earth Day couldn’t be more important for our moment in time, when nation after nation is conceding that global warming caused by man-made activities is threatening the survival of the planet. People are sensing the urgent need to come together and rise to the challenge of saving our planet.
The Santa Barbara County Action Network (SB CAN) celebrated Earth Day by hosting the screening of Earth, Disneynature’s premiere film production. It was the latest film in our SB CANNES “Movies with a Message” series, featuring films with a social justice or environmental edge, followed by a panel discussion highlighting current local issues.
Earth tells the inspirational stories of three animal families and their journeys. Rare live action footage, unimaginable scale, and stunning photography capture the most intimate moments of our planet’s wildest and most elusive creatures. Following the film, a panel discussion led by Geoff Green, executive director of The Fund for Santa Barbara, examined the implications of global warming and the need to preserve the Earth and its magnificent wildlife.
“How can people be expected to care if they aren’t inspired?” producer Alastair Fothergill explained at an early screening of his film. “This is a movie designed to inspire.”
And inspiring it is, or as one viewer put it, “mind-blowing, a stunning masterpiece that will leave even the most ardent coal lobbyist in awe of our planet and yearning to see more — and preserve it.”
Rick Rosenthal, a cinematographer for Disneynature’s Earth and one of our panelists, told how he left his work as a research biologist to film some of the spectacular images he was witnessing in the wild, convinced this would be a more effective way to inspire people to preserve the wilderness areas that are fast disappearing.
“If watching something like this doesn’t inspire people to care about the planet, nothing will,” noted panelist Dave Davis, executive director of the Community Environmental Council.
What some local viewers may not realize, however, is that Santa Barbara County is one of those rare corners of the Earth where the mountains and sea and lay of the land come together to create one of the richest bio-diverse areas in the nation. Because of our unique landscape and wildlife, Santa Barbara County ranks fourth in the nation as an endangered species “hot spot.”
“Remember that we, too, have equally impressive and amazing species in our front yard, the Santa Barbara Channel,” said panelist Gail Osherenko, president of the Environmental Defense Center. “Our coastal waters host a number of endangered whale species, including the largest mammal on earth — the blue whale. The largest concentrations of blue whales are found right here in our ocean front yard. In addition, San Miguel Island is home to five species of pinnipeds (or seals) — a unique combination not seen elsewhere.”
Osherenko, a project scientist at the UCSB Marine Science Institute, added: “Our piece of the planet is no less amazing and biologically rich than the areas depicted in Earth. But we are also a highly populated area with extensive tanker and cargo ship traffic that poses significant threats to these species.”
She explained how the channel is a feeding and resting ground for a number of the great whales. They arrive in spring to feed on the rich upwellings and can easily be seen from boats in the channel or from the islands. Last year, five blue whales were struck by ships between here and Los Angeles. This year already two whales were killed by ship strikes.
“This is preventable if ship speeds were reduced to 10 knots,” said Osherenko, adding that tankers currently travel up to 13-15 knots and cargo ships at 18-21 knots. Reduction in shipping speed would also reduce greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution and water pollution, she said. Shipping is one of the largest sources of air pollution in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, according to the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District.
The EDC is working through the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council to improve management and work with shipping companies and government agencies to reduce ship speeds. It’s this boots-on-the-ground kind of advocacy work that several panelists agreed helps get them through the day when the urgency and immensity of their work in helping to “save the planet” threatens to overwhelm them.
“The work I’m doing here with the Ocean Conservancy is what keeps me grounded and keeps me going,” said panelist Greg Helms, the conservancy’s Santa Barbara conservation manager.
Our ocean front yard isn’t the only habitat in our county that needs preserving. Other endangered species found in our “backyard” hills and canyons, while not as large or majestic as the blue hhale or some of the mammals depicted in Earth, when examined within their own scale of reference, are equally beautiful, valuable and threatened. These creatures include the tiger salamander, red-legged frog, steelhead trout, Western snowy plover, and Santa Cruz island fox, to name a few — not to mention the fabled California Condo.
Our actions locally can have a direct effect on the survival of these creatures that call our county home. Their survival is dependent upon the preservation of their habitat — the surrounding open space, including agricultural lands, wetlands, coastlines, waterways, parks and forests.
When we support the preservation of open space, we are doing our bit to preserve this corner of the planet. Let’s ensure that our children and grandchildren will have the pleasure and privilege of living in harmony with the precious wildlife that calls our corner of this “mind-blowing” Earth home.
— Deborah Brasket is executive director of the Santa Barbara County Action Network (SB CAN). She can be reached at deborah@sbcan.org or 805.722.5094. This commentary originally appeared in the Santa Maria Times.