Criminalizing oil spill observation

I'm ashamed to be an American when my government makes it a felony to do what Carl Safina did (take pictures of oil booms in the Gulf of Mexico).

There can be reasons to keep people away from booms, but this is ridiculous. Here's the story, in his own words:

You’d think that, with an ongoing environmental disaster caused by a foreign corporation, the U.S. government would be OK with letting the public see what’s going on. Land of the free, right?
Well, not necessarily.

Among the latest and most enraging developments in the ongoing Gulf oil blowout catastrophe is that on June 30, the Coast Guard suddenly decided that something we’ve been doing for weeks—getting near booms deployed ostensibly to deter oil (because you really can’t avoid them)—is a felony.

A felony.

This, after weeks of people screaming for transparency and complaining about interference, the Administration promising transparency, and journalists (and myself) complaining of petty bullying on public roads and beaches by people now getting paid by BP. [For plenty of other reporting on the news strangle, do a Google search with the words: media access gulf oil]
A felony.

Here it is:
http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/doc/2931/726955/

...

So, in the spirit of Independence Day, honoring the Revolution and all, I decided to be willful, thus commit a felony, and record it photographically. I report it here, patriotically and unrepentantly. Shame on BP, and shame on the Coast Guard. Shame, indeed, on us all, for letting our own government drift so deep into corporate territory, so far from allegiance to We, the people.

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Boston seafood show 3

Day 2 of the Boston Seafood Show, and my stamina is wearing out. Meetings, meetings, and new people to meet and talk to about fish and seafood and conservation.

Is there a recession? You woudn't know from the size and grandeur of some of the seafood displays here. Maybe it's whisting through the graveyard, but there seems to be plenty of money being spent to sell seafood.

Sustainability is everywhere, in word if not in deed. People promise they have sustainable products, and that's a good sign. It's no longer difficult to get seafood business people to talk about sustainability. Now comes the hard part, making all those promises real.

One issue that is looming bigger and bigger in my mind is illegal, unreported, and unmanaged fishing (IUU fishing). It will matter more and more, and efforts to stop it are going to change the seafood business.

I think currents will come together to make seafood safer, better, and more transparent, so that people will know what they're eating when they eat seafood. Seafood fraud has got to end, and the industry seems aware and active on this serious problem. It will help sustainability as well, by allowing people to know what they're buying.

Now for some sights and sounds and tastes. First, the shrimpster, a custom motorcycle that mimics a--you guessed it--shrimp:


Then there's the polar bear booth:


The vulnerable species booth:


And finaly, Boston Harbor, where blogfish was drawn for a bit of rest. It looks peaceful and it's nice to know that the cleanup project is helping what was once one of the most polluted places in the US.


Hopefully tomorrow I'll get to take a water taxi to the airport on my way home. I love the water taxis and they're cheaper than a taxi with wheels.

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