I’m leaving this weekend for the Blue Vision Summit in Washington DC. It’s going to be a quick week, I have a feeling: Sylvia Earle, Ralph Nader, Fabien Cousteau… and a whole lot more speakers that I am looking forward to hearing, on topics that are critical for the health of the ocean. Marcus Eriksen will be there (time to say “thanks” for his help with my Master’s thesis), and Wednesday is “Hill Day,” when delegates converge on Capitol Hill to meet with Representatives and Senators and discuss current legislation that directly affects marine ecosystems. The issues we’ll be discussing in these meetings will focus on pirate fishing and offshore oil development along our coasts; As of now, I have 7 members of Congress and 1 Senator I’ll be meeting with in a kind of speed-dating policy confab. I’m just waiting for one more confirmation and I’ll call that good. (Looking at you, Senator Cantwell.)

There’s a lot to be done and, for the most part, these are the people that are doing it. Thanks to Surfrider for the plane tickets… I am looking forward to it.