In case you missed it: Here is the next generation of climate change fighters and Planet Earth caretakers!
Meet the Summer 2024 interns for our scrappy little organization in Harvard Square, Cambridge: Meriam Alessandroni (New York University), Jackson Dempsey (Tufts University), Lindsey Parziale (University of Vermont), and Cara Wong (Suffolk University)!
They are developing a campaign of folks near and far calling on the government and the NOAA to create the Right Whale National Marine Sanctuary, approximately 6,500 square miles from Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary off the coast of Boston around Cape Cod to Block Island.
To save right whales, the government must slow ships to ten knots in the presence of whales, develop and implement line-less lobster trap lines, and create a sanctuary that brings all stakeholders and ocean users together to manage the ocean better. This place, where whales come in April to feed after a winter fast off Savannah, Georgia, has seen a 65% loss of phytoplankton and significant increases in various pollutants.
Meriam, Jackson, Lindsey, and Cara have researched the challenges right whales face. They would be better off if we could slow stormwater running off the land, carrying pollutants and heat, causing sea level rise and surface water warming. They recently joined me in the Cambridge Community Access TV studios to discuss troubled waters and what we can do for the right whales.
Feeling generous? Here’s a worthy opportunity for modest gifts to be very meaningful.
ORI Summer interns want to work 32 or more hours per week for ten weeks. However, that exceeds our annual budget, so the number of hours they work depends on how much is donated to the program. Some foundations have stepped up to underwrite some program costs, but more is needed for four interns. With your support, they can work more hours and do more good for right whales. Every $20 pays the salary for one hour of work, $5 for fifteen minutes.
Thank you for giving generously,
Rob
