Articles by Andrew Sharpless

Second major oceans protection announcement

Two weeks ago, environmentalists' collective jaw dropped as President Bush designated 140,000 square miles in the Hawaii Islands a national monument. Not to be upstaged, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries countered today with an announcement it was protecting more than 370,000 square miles of seafloor in Alaska's Aleutian Islands.

NOAA's decision establishes the largest protected area in U.S. waters, and the third largest such area in the world. This designation is the result of five years of intense work by Oceana and others to stop destructive trawling.

Now, the question remains: Can President Bush beat 370,000 square miles?

New ad brings laundry to life

There's a wonderful new advertisement for an Italian washing machine that simulates deep sea life. A clever concept, brilliantly executed. If you've got 30 seconds to spare, check it out here.

Expedition results in arrest of illegal driftnetters

If you think about the fact that the Earth is 71% water ... patrolling our oceans is a pretty daunting task. So over at Oceana, we thought we'd give local coast guards a hand.

Our catamaran -- Ranger -- is currently in the Mediterranean as part of our 2006 driftnets expedition. For those of you that don't know, driftnets are large nets that indiscriminately catch massive amounts of fish and other creatures (like dolphins and whales). They are so destructive that many countries -- including the U.S. and the European Union -- have banned their use.

Our crew has identified several illegal driftnet vessels during the voyage and we have notified the Italian authorities on each occasion. The collaboration has been incredibly successful and many ships have been exposed. Just two days ago, working off of our tips, the Coast Guard arrested eight fishing boats.

The fishermen are so furious about the driftnet laws that they took a page out of the progressive playbook and had themselves a sit in last month, blockading two train stations. The protest wasn't enough to persuade the EU to reverse the ban, so the law remains on the books and Ranger remains in the Mediterranean on the look out.

Oceana names names as part of seafood contamination campaign

Along with your omegas, you've been getting a dose of mercury in some of your seafood. In fact, the amount of mercury in some seafood has risen to dangerously high levels, putting children at risk for neurological problems. In an effort to combat the growing number of contamination cases, the Food and Drug Administration issued an advisory in 2004 warning women of child-bearing age and children to avoid certain types of fish and limit their consumption of albacore tuna, for example, to six ounces a week. That's about one sandwich. Grist readers undoubtedly know this, but what about those that don't check the FDA website on a daily basis?

Oceana has been pressuring supermarkets for nearly a year to post this warning at their seafood counters. Yesterday, we held press conferences in eight cities across the nation, revealing which supermarkets are stepping up to the plate and outing supermarkets that aren't. On Monday, I got word that Whole Foods joined Safeway, Dominicks, Carrs, Genuardi's, Tom Thumb, Vons, Wild Oats and some others as members of the Green List by agreeing to post the signs.

Check out our new website to see if your store is on the "Green" list or the "Red."