{"article":{"id":194262,"heading":"HEAL THE OCEANS Benefit Spearheaded by Michael Franti, Jack Johnson Benefit","author":"Geof Bard","created":"2007-02-27 22:44:11","modified":"2013-11-11 00:47:21","last_modified":"Mon, 11 Nov 2013 07:47:21","article":"original image ( 700x525<\/span>)<\/span>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

HEAL THE OCEANS BENEFIT ROCKS SANTA BARBARA
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\r\nMICHAEL FRANTI  SPEARHEADS<\/span> ALL STAR BILL<\/p>\r\n\r\n

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
\r\nDREW ATTENTION TO URGENT SOUTH COAST ISSUES<\/p>\r\n\r\n

===============================================
\r\nSanta Barbara, CA
\r\nMichael Franti<\/span> and his band, Spearhead,  headlined<\/span> a dynamite benefit <\/p>\r\n\r\n

concert<\/span> for various environmental\r\norganizations lead by Heal the <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Ocean this weekend.<\/span> Adding to the\r\nfestivities was a special guest<\/p>\r\n\r\n

appearance<\/span> by Jack Johnson.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

 Michael is a long time political activist, using his <\/p>\r\n\r\n

musical<\/span> talents to support\r\nanti-racist, anti-police brutality and anti-war <\/p>\r\n\r\n

organizing<\/span> around the country.\r\nOther fantastic acts included the Animal <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Liberation Orchestra and multimedia artist Mathew McAvene<\/span>, who <\/p>\r\n\r\n

provided<\/span> awesome puppets in the\r\nform of fish, jellyfish,  and assorted <\/p>\r\n\r\n

creatures<\/span> of the sea. Opening was\r\nthe Culver City Dub
\r\nCollective. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

The benefit was organized under the inspiring moniker  Solutions<\/span> for <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Dreamers.<\/span> It would be impossible,\r\nin a brief news item such as this,  to<\/span> <\/p>\r\n\r\n

do<\/span> justice to the many fine\r\nperformers and outstanding activists who <\/p>\r\n\r\n

contributed<\/span> to this event. Please\r\nsurf the websits<\/span> and educate yourself <\/p>\r\n\r\n

on<\/span> the fine work being done by http:\/\/www.healtheocean.org\/ and <\/p>\r\n\r\n

http:\/\/\/\/edcnet.org. Then\r\nreward yourself by cruising over to the <\/p>\r\n\r\n

musican<\/span><\/span>\r\nwebsites which are listed at <\/p>\r\n\r\n

http:\/\/www.solutionsfordreamers.org.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Heal the Oceans believes that the ocean can no longer be\r\nused as a <\/p>\r\n\r\n

dump<\/span>. Attacking all sources of\r\nocean pollution, the group has an <\/p>\r\n\r\n

interesting<\/span> take on activism:\r\ninstead of lobbying the government for <\/p>\r\n\r\n

action<\/span> on ocean-pollution issues,\r\nthey study the problem ourselves and <\/p>\r\n\r\n

recommend<\/span> practical solutions.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

They recently scored a major victory in the campaign to stop\r\nthe <\/p>\r\n\r\n

dumping<\/span> of homeowner waste into the\r\nocean. They succeeded in getting <\/p>\r\n\r\n

a<\/span> district of 81  homes to\r\nchange their method of waste management. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

This will remove septic systems from seven miles of\r\ncoastline in the <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Santa\r\n Barbara<\/span> south coast.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

Other organizations represented at the event include the\r\nEnvironmental <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Defense<\/span> Center<\/span>.<\/span>\r\nIMC spoke to Shiva Polefka<\/span>, EDC Marine <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Environmental  Analyst<\/span>, who\r\ndescribed numerous issues such as the <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Liquified<\/span> Natural Gas projects\r\nwhich the energy companies are striving <\/p>\r\n\r\n

to<\/span> plant off the southern California coast.\r\nAccording to the EDC <\/p>\r\n\r\n

website<\/span>, the proposed Cabrillo<\/span> Port would be moored off Malibu and <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Oxnard\r\nfor at least 40 years and would have no firm expiration date <\/p>\r\n\r\n

and<\/span> the floating factory terminal\r\ncould remain moored offshore for <\/p>\r\n\r\n

decades<\/span> longer. This raises serious\r\nenvironmental concerns, as LNG is <\/p>\r\n\r\n

just<\/span> a continuation of fossil fuels\r\ndependency with commensurate <\/p>\r\n\r\n

impact<\/span> on global warming and\r\ndisruption of marine ecosystems. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

The LNG factory terminal threatens one of the world’s\r\nrichest and <\/p>\r\n\r\n

most<\/span> productive ecosystems -The\r\nChannel Islands National Park and <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Marine Sanctuary.<\/span>  Cabrillo<\/span>\r\n Port would be sited just\r\noutside the <\/p>\r\n\r\n

sanctuary<\/span>, resulting in serious\r\nimpacts which may be irreversible.<\/p>\r\n\r\n


\r\nOther projects of EDC include work with the Mixtec<\/span>\r\nagricultural <\/p>\r\n\r\n

worker<\/span> community - Central Coast Envionmental<\/span> Health Project.  <\/p>\r\n\r\n

These workers, many of whom labor under the spectre<\/span> of deportation, <\/p>\r\n\r\n

are<\/span> often subject to levels of\r\npesticides which are intolerable. Due to <\/p>\r\n\r\n

their<\/span> technical immigration status,\r\nthey are subjected to greater  <\/p>\r\n\r\n

pressure<\/span> to accept substandard\r\nworking conditions and heightened <\/p>\r\n\r\n

risks<\/span> to their health and well\r\nbeing. EDC has trained trainers who are <\/p>\r\n\r\n

conversant<\/span> in both Spanish and Mixtec<\/span> so that workers will be aware of <\/p>\r\n\r\n

the<\/span> risks and in a position to\r\ninsist on safer workplace practices. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Shiva was also aware of recent developments in the ongoing\r\nissue of <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Naval sonar war games and its impact on\r\nmarine life.<\/span> Despite efforts <\/p>\r\n\r\n

via<\/span> the California Coastal\r\nCommission and a coalition of activist <\/p>\r\n\r\n

organizations<\/span>, the Navy appears to\r\nbe prepared to completely disregard <\/p>\r\n\r\n

the<\/span> recommended stipulations to\r\nreduce the impact of sonar on marine <\/p>\r\n\r\n

mammals<\/span>. In other words, the\r\nmilitary wants to use sonar round the <\/p>\r\n\r\n

cloack<\/span><\/span> at\r\nwill, with no mitigation; for whales and dolphins, this means <\/p>\r\n\r\n

pure<\/span> hell, disrupting their own\r\nnatural sonar navigation and possibly <\/p>\r\n\r\n

endangering<\/span> the viability of whole\r\ntribes of marine mammals. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

This point was brought home by a Nils<\/span>\r\nLarson documentary, filmed <\/p>\r\n\r\n

entirely<\/span> underwater, in which the\r\nsoundtrack was increased until <\/p>\r\n\r\n

everyone<\/span> in the audience was forced\r\nto cover their ears. This hellish <\/p>\r\n\r\n

racket<\/span> is what Naval sonar sounds\r\nlike to the whales and dolphins.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Despite the serious issues at hand, the festival focused on\r\nspirit and <\/p>\r\n\r\n

light<\/span> and affinity for the awesome\r\noceans on this planet and the <\/p>\r\n\r\n

inhabitants<\/span> therein. As I remarked\r\nto my companion, \" Soy<\/span> una<\/span>\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n

criatura\r\ndel mar, tu es una creatura del mar, todos criaturas del mar.\"
\r\n<\/span>I am a creature of the sea, you are a creature of the sea, we<\/span> are all <\/p>\r\n\r\n

creatures<\/span> of the sea.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

As this shared planet grows more crowded, it is inspiring\r\nthat we can <\/p>\r\n\r\n

still<\/span> bond in celebrations such as\r\nthis one, brought to you by Jacob Tell <\/p>\r\n\r\n

and<\/span> Oniric<\/span>\r\nRecords, Simple Shoes, and the organizing efforts of Heal <\/p>\r\n\r\n

the<\/span> Oceans.  Be sure to check\r\nout the compilation CD and the websites <\/p>\r\n\r\n

of<\/span> these dynamic organizations. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

(C)2007<\/span> Geof<\/span>\r\nBard<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n

8:00? 8:25? 8:40? Find a\r\nflick in no time
\r\nwith theYahoo<\/span>! Search movie showtime<\/span> shortcut.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n <\/span><\/span>\r\n\r\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\n","contact":"","link":"www.solutionsfordreamers.org","address":"","phone":"","parent_id":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","summary":"SPEARHEAD, ANIMAL LIBERATION ORCHESTRA, MATT McAVENE and CULVER CITY DUB COLLECTIVE rocked the house for the sea and all that lives therein...","numcomment":1,"fileurl":"\/uploads\/2007\/02\/avene2.jpg","filesize":"60.0 kibibytes","article_url":"\/news\/2007\/02\/194262.php","image":{"original":"\/uploads\/2007\/02\/avene2.jpg","small":"\/uploads\/2007\/02\/avene2.jpgthumb.jpg","medium":"\/uploads\/2007\/02\/avene2.jpgmid.jpg"}},"attachments":[{"id":194263,"heading":".","article":"Photo Credit: Clara Martinez","author":"Geof Bard","parent_id":194262,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","created":"2007-02-27 22:44:12","modified":"2007-02-27 22:44:12","fileurl":"\/usr\/local\/www-domains\/la.indymedia.org\/public\/uploads\/2007\/02\/weareallcreaturesofthesea.jpg","image":{"original":"\/usr\/local\/www-domains\/la.indymedia.org\/public\/uploads\/2007\/02\/weareallcreaturesofthesea.jpg"}},{"id":194264,"heading":".","article":"Photo Credit: Clara Martinez","author":"Geof Bard","parent_id":194262,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","created":"2007-02-27 22:44:12","modified":"2007-02-27 22:44:12","fileurl":"\/usr\/local\/www-domains\/la.indymedia.org\/public\/uploads\/2007\/02\/avene.jpg","image":{"original":"\/usr\/local\/www-domains\/la.indymedia.org\/public\/uploads\/2007\/02\/avene.jpg"}},{"id":194265,"heading":"Heal the Ocean .Volunteers","article":"Photo Credit: Clara Martinez","author":"Geof Bard","parent_id":194262,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","created":"2007-02-27 22:44:12","modified":"2007-02-27 22:44:12","fileurl":"\/usr\/local\/www-domains\/la.indymedia.org\/public\/uploads\/2007\/02\/healtheoceanvolunteers.jpg","image":{"original":"\/usr\/local\/www-domains\/la.indymedia.org\/public\/uploads\/2007\/02\/healtheoceanvolunteers.jpg"}}],"comments":[]}