Parley for the Oceans

For decades, the legendary ocean activist Captain Paul Watson has stood up for our life support system - now it’s time to stand up for him. 🐋 After his third hearing today since his arrest on July 21st, Paul’s extradition case has been extended for another three weeks. Paul faces charges for his efforts opposing illegal whale hunts in Antarctica and could face up to 15 years in prison if extradited to Japan. There is no legal basis for his extradition. The judge has refused to review any evidence that would aid in Paul’s release. The prime minister of Denmark must now make the final decision. We need all hands on deck to #FreePaulWatson. Support the movement by signing the petition here: https://lnkd.in/dkyjwCYw and contact your country’s minister of justice and/or the Prime minister of Denmark and encourage Paul Watson’s immediate release. ⁠ Head to Captain Paul Watson Foundation for the latest updates. v: @nadia.aly.photo (IG)

Believe it or not, there are solutions to the plastic crisis. It’s coming from right out your window, under your feet, and just beyond the horizon. A few artists, designers and scientists are actively listening and learning from the natural world — and successfully creating awe-inspiring alternatives to some of our most harmful, human-made materials. Swipe to learn from the minds that are bringing you seaweed, mushrooms and banana fibers as plastic alternatives from everything to bags, clothing, acoustic and floor panels, sustainable aviation fuel and more — all for a cleaner future. #ClimateWeekNYC #futurematerials #innovation #design #materialrevolution Sway, Bananatex®, Nature Coatings, AIR COMPANY, THE UNSEEN Beauty, Modern Synthesis, TômTex Inc., SQIM

Caring enough to slow down and pay attention to the unseen is one of the grandest forms of love. To be observant of the world’s curiosities is one thing, but to learn from them is to open an invitation of infinite possibility - one that lends hope towards a better future. ⁠ It’s time to take notes from the natural world’s most talented creatives - watching and borrowing from the mysteries that these scientists and designers are constantly ⁠weaving, hiding in plain sight. 🫣 Some people in our world are actively listening. One of them is Marizio Montalti, cofounder of SQIM, a company collaborating with nature to design a fungal future. SQIM has two key strands of its business – MOGU, which creates acoustic panels and flooring made entirely of fungal mycelium and #ephea, a leather-like material that can be used in fashion and has already been adapted by Balenciaga for a coat in its AW22 collection.⁠🍄 ⁠ Learn more about how biology can help redesign the world in Parley for the Oceans latest Material Revolution interview. ⁠ https://lnkd.in/gPgkTRaH ⁠ V: @yeweijun98 & @laurent_nam

It's been hard at work for roughly 4.5 billion years. The rest of us are just trying to catch up. ⁠ ⁠ Nature wastes nothing and upcycles everything. It designs to create conditions conducive to life and living - not destructive to it. It's beautiful, functional, almost always without imperfections. Question is, who's out here taking notes? ⁠ ⁠ It's time for a material revolution - and some designers and companies are making it happen by transforming seaweed into a plastic alternative, using mushrooms for floor tiles and leather alternatives, banana fiber for ropes and more. ⁠ ⁠ See who's learning from the best teacher on the planet at the Parley Journal. ⁠https://lnkd.in/gfcEjVdj ⁠ V: A stunning capture of the alluring humphead wrasse by Christian Miller.

Using #artificialintelligence to unlock communication with the animal kingdom is quickly becoming a reality. Of course, we had a lot of questions, so we turned to the professionals. For our latest interview in the Parley Journal, we spoke to Jane Lawton, Director of Impact at the Earth Species Project about their work decoding the language of nature using machine learning. Learn more about how these advances in technology can be used to improve conservation and understand events like mass strandings, why this will never lead to a “Dr Dolittle moment”, and whether or not we could ever see a “voice of nature” on a sub council of the United Nations. Full interview: https://lnkd.in/gzkC_s6h

How many different species do you see in this video? 🔎 “This is what a thriving ecosystem looks like,” writes photographer Tom Cannon. “We must do everything we can protect it. Almost every level on the food chain is working in unison here to devour this gigantic bait ball on the Ningaloo Reef.” Happy #whaleshark day to one of the most beautiful, gentle giants on the planet.

Communicating with animals has long captured people’s imaginations though fictional stories, but now, it’s becoming a reality. With Artificial Intelligence, we’re on the verge of translating animal sound and movement into a language we can begin to understand. Organizations like the Earth Species Project are determined to push beyond the novelty of it all. “We’re probably in this situation of climate breakdown and biodiversity crisis because human beings ultimately have lost our connection to nature,” Jane Lawton Director of Impact at Earth Species Project, shares. “We’ve forgotten that we’re part of it. So can we use the new insights and breakthrough that are coming through this work to try and reconnect people to nature?” Learn more in our latest feature in the Parley for the Oceans journal about how these advances in technology could improve conservation efforts, why this technology won’t lead to a “Dr Dolittle moment”, and whether a “voice of nature” could ever be part of a UN sub-council.

Parley’s Oceans 101 course is now available in Spanish! Can you guess which language we’ll have it in next? 😏 Dive in here: https://lnkd.in/gpeB9S4q

Valuing Indigenous knowledge in today’s world is vital to protecting the future of our planet. ⁠ ⁠ In a Parley interview, Loyiso Dunga reflects on the influence of Indigenous lessons that were passed down to him from his grandfather, a traditional healer, and how it has shaped his work as a marine biologist studying the Great African Seaforest. ⁠ ⁠ Loyiso explains why scientific research cannot exist without Indigenous knowledge and how he has made it his life’s mission to bring people together by connecting them to sacred spaces. “Think of it like this, someone safeguarded our ocean heritage and passed it to us, so it’s a life obligation for us to do the same.” ⁠ ⁠⁠ Read the full interview and learn more about his work in South Africa on the Parley Journal: https://lnkd.in/dkpzc5sC ⁠ P: Zoe Lower via Kogia

Who is Captain Paul Watson? Having worked with him for over a decade, our crew can attest to Paul Watson’s character as a devoted father, empathetic conservationist and perhaps the most quotable collaborator in the Parley network. ⁠ ⁠ His opponents paint him as a radical environmentalist and an eco-pirate with controversial tactics. But as Captain Paul has clarified, “protesting illegal activity is not piracy.” If he is feared, it is because he’s effective - and because he tells the uncomfortable truth: humans are killing the oceans, and “if the oceans die, we die.”⁠ ⁠ His actions have always been in the interest of upholding international conservation law and ensuring the health of our oceans. He goes where no one else will to protect vulnerable sea life in critical ecosystems - enforcing laws meant to protect the biodiversity that keeps Earth a habitable home. ⁠ Captain Paul Watson is the original Parley catalyst. We would not exist without his example and commitment to the oceans, nor without the personal risks he takes to get more eyes on the living realm beneath the waves. For decades, the legendary ocean activist has stood up for our life support system. Now, he needs us to stand up for him. ⁠ ⁠ Since Paul’s arrest in July, thousands of supporters have joined the campaign to #FreePaulWatson. When Captain Paul Watson protects whales, he protects the role they play in the ecosystem that generates most of the oxygen in the air we breathe. When he stands up for the oceans, he stands up for us all.⁠ ⁠ This Thursday, August 15th, marks Paul's court date in Denmark. We need all hands on deck in order to #FreePaulWatson. Sign the petition here: https://lnkd.in/exNQvJH3 and follow Captain Paul Watson Foundation for the latest updates. ⁠