May 1, 2026

The Ocean Agency You’ve Never Heard Of, But Depend On Every Day

The Ocean Agency You’ve Never Heard Of, But Depend On Every Day
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NOAA affects your daily life more than you think, from the weather forecasts you check to the seafood you eat, yet most people have no idea how important it really is. In this episode, we break down what NOAA actually does, why it matters for your safety, food, and environment, and what could happen if funding cuts weaken its ability to operate.

Ocean science plays a critical role in predicting hurricanes, managing fisheries, protecting marine wildlife, and understanding climate patterns like El Niño and La Niña. But when programs are cut or overlooked, the consequences ripple through communities, economies, and ecosystems in ways most people never see coming.

This conversation with Jeff Watters from Ocean Conservancy reveals the hidden systems behind NOAA, why public science infrastructure matters, and what’s at stake if we stop paying attention.

Transcript
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What if the most important agencies

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protecting your food, your weather

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forecasts, your safety,

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and the ocean was being cut apart and

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most people still do not

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know what it does? Today,

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we are talking about NOAA, the National

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Oceanographic and

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Atmospheric Administration,

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and why it matters, what is at risk, and

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why people everywhere should care.

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This is the How to Protect the Ocean

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podcast, your weekday news update.

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If you care about staying informed on the

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ocean every weekday,

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hit that follow button

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right now so you don't miss tomorrow's

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story. Today's episode is a

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special interview with Jeff

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Waters from the Ocean Conservancy. Now

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Jeff works at the

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intersection of ocean policy,

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government funding, and public advocacy.

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He helps translate

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what happens in Washington

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into what it actually means for the

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ocean, coastal communities,

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wildlife, and to be honest,

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everyday people. In my interview with

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Jeff, we break down

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what NOAA really does,

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why so many people depend on it without

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even realizing it and

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what recent cuts could mean

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to the administration and why protecting

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public science

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infrastructure matters far beyond the

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coastline. If you have ever checked out

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the weather, eaten

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seafood, cared about marine life,

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or wondered who was watching over the

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oceans, this conversation is

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for you. So let's get into it.

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Here's the interview with Jeff Waters

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from the Ocean Conservancy. Enjoy, and I

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will talk to you after.

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Hey Jeff, welcome to the How to Protect

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the Ocean podcast. Are you

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ready to talk about NOAA?

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Of course, thanks for having me.

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You bet, I'm excited. This is a very

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important interview because I've talked

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about all the cuts that

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have happened to NOAA,

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but I've also talked over the 11 years

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that I've been doing this podcast about

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the benefits that NOAA brings

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to not only the US, but to the world

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really in terms of the research that it

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does, the work that it does,

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the services that it provides for safety

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and so forth. So we're

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going to get into all of that,

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but we're also going to talk about what's

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happening with NOAA since this latest

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presidential administration has gone in

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and made severe cuts to

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many of the programs. I've had,

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you know, full disclosure. I've had some,

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a lot of friends who are

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out of work because of it

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that were doing amazing work. And I feel

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like online and just

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people in general really don't

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have a good grasp of what NOAA does. And

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so what I want this interview to be where

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you and I, we're going to

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talk about the benefits of NOAA.

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We've been talking about the benefits of

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NOAA in these episodes leading into this,

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but also just what it brings, what it is,

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and what people need to understand about

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NOAA that's so important for us, not only

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as like for people of American

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citizens, but for the world and that we

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need to support them more and the

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government needs to support them.

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So we're going to get into all of that,

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but Jeff, before we do, why don't you

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just let us know who

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you are and what you do.

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Well, thanks. So I, in my work life, I'm

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the guy who goes into the depths of the

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government to figure out what the heck is

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actually happening, right?

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So I'm the guy who goes along with my

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team and my colleagues who are fantastic

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here at Ocean Conservancy.

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You know, we go into the budget

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spreadsheets, we go into the

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appropriations bills, the legislation,

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the OMB spending spreadsheets, and we try

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to translate that into what it actually

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means for the ocean,

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what it means for people, what it means

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for communities, what it means for ocean

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wildlife, because at the end of the day,

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what happens in Washington, D.C. matters

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for everyone, including the coast and

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including the oceans.

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And so, but in terms of who I am, in

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terms of my role, I'm the vice president

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of external affairs

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here at Ocean Conservancy.

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So I oversee our government relations

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team, our international government

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relations team, and our Florida program.

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So whether it's the state, federal,

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international level, you know, really

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helping our teams to do the advocacy that

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we need to do on behalf of the ocean.

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I can imagine you and your team must be

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so detail oriented to sift through all

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those line items in the budget and all

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the policies that are going through.

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Like, it's not easy work to go through

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amendments and regulations. And it's not

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exciting reading, let's be

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honest, to many of us, right?

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You're not reading a novel or nonfiction

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novel or whatnot. You're reading like

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some pretty dry stuff, but to get through

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it all and to put it into a kind of like

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a product, I guess, or something that we

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could all understand of what's happening

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and bring it down to try and simplify it

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as much as possible, as complex as a lot

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of these things are.

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I think that's really important. Now,

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you've spent your career at the

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intersection of science and policy.

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But what like what first pulled you into

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ocean policy, especially growing up in

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the Midwest, you grew up in, I believe it

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was Illinois you

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mentioned before we press record.

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What called you to get that coastal envy?

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Because I've had it too. I grew up in

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Ontario. I have the Great Lakes and you

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might have a piece of the Great Lakes.

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Great Lakes. But the ocean call is a

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different call. So what

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brought you that that call?

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I mean, it's funny you say coastal envy

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because that's literally the phrase that

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I use when I explain things to people.

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Yeah, I'm a kid from the Midwest to grow

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up with coast envy. I wish I lived by the

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beach and never had the chance to. We

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would go down to Florida every year as a

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family and do our family vacation. And so

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that was the sliver of the ocean that I

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got to experience every year.

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When I went to the University of

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Wisconsin, Madison, I went there for

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undergrad and for graduate school. And

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for grad school, I went there for

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limnology and marine science. That

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limnology is like basically lakes and

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streams and rivers and wetlands. So I got

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to play around in all these great

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freshwater environments

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in northern Wisconsin.

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And then the marine science part, which

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is where I did all of my research for my

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master's degree. My research focused on

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sea turtle bycatch in the Hawaii long

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line fisheries. So they'll swordfish and

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tuna fisheries. So every winter during

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grad school, I got to go to Hawaii and

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dig into the details of sea turtle

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bycatch issues. But I was hooked once I

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went into grad school. I was hooked on

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ocean issues and knew that that's what I wanted to spend my time.

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I wanted to spend my career doing. So you

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always grew up having that that that

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coastal envy going to Florida. Where did

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you go in Florida? Was it always the same

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place? Yeah, Madira Beach. So come here,

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St Pete. So yeah, yeah, yeah. That's like

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growing up in Toronto. You know, we go

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down there. Of course, he hit the Orlando

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for Disney World. And so for the one

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thing that I worked out of Louisiana and

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one thing I learned is Destin, Florida

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probably has the best beaches. But we

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don't not a lot of people from Canada. I

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hear go there. Oh, that's right.

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I feel like that's more of a southern

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sort of destination. They kind of keep it

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quiet, but it's so beautiful. Probably

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some of the best beaches I've ever seen

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in the US. So so yeah, I just think it's

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hilarious how we always go to the same.

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And I don't know if you actually been

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down there in some of the state parks,

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but some of the coastal state parks where

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there's, you know, these barrier islands,

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Sandy, your islands that are completely

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undeveloped. You know, you're used to

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just seeing condos in these places.

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They're all built up.

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And so to be able to experience that in

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its natural state is really eye opening

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in terms of the beauty of that part of

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Florida. I'm going to tell you as a as a

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Canadian, the National Park System in the

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US is one I envy. I got we have a great

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National Park System here too. But I just

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love it. I think it's a great, great

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program, which obviously is also under

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fire at times. But it seems like a lot of

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a lot of Americans love their their national parks.

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So hopefully that will will will stay

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intact. But you know, it's interesting

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because you you've you know, you

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mentioned that like I think it's funny

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how you chose like Hawaii to go. I don't

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obviously bycatch is important Hawaii as

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well. But I love how you chose Hawaii. I

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think that's a good good for you to do

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that. That that kind of fall in your lap

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with the master supervisor or do you

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actually seek it out being like, no, no,

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I want Hawaii. No, it totally fell. It

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fell on my lap. I wish I could say I was actually smart on my own.

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But no, it was an opportunity that that I

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just couldn't pass up.

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Gotcha. Yeah, it's twist your rubber arm.

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And they say, yeah, you're going to get

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in the winters. You're going to go to

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Hawaii, especially in being in Wisconsin.

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Like it's pretty cold there.

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No, like for people who are hearing your

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name for the first time, because this is

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the first time. Hopefully we'll get we'll

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get you back on down the road to get more

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information on updates and stuff.

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What's happening with Ocean Conservancy?

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But what do they know about your experience that helps you understand sort of how Washington.

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Decisions affect the ocean.

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Yeah, it's a great question. So I, you

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know, after grad school, I had a

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fellowship actually through the Canals

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Sea Grant Fellowship

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program, which is a NOAA program.

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I was basically a fellow and on Capitol

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Hill for a year and then stayed on as a

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full time staffer for several years. And

260
00:08:54,250 --> 00:08:55,416
it was, you know, it was an eye opening experience in terms of the way government really works.

261
00:08:56,458 --> 00:09:02,250
How it can feel so inaccessible for

262
00:09:02,250 --> 00:09:05,708
people, but how it really is more and

263
00:09:05,708 --> 00:09:07,041
more accessible than you think. And that,

264
00:09:07,041 --> 00:09:09,541
you know, governance and politics. It is

265
00:09:09,541 --> 00:09:12,083
not a spectator sport. It feels really

266
00:09:12,083 --> 00:09:15,208
distant. It feels like it's hard to to

267
00:09:15,208 --> 00:09:16,416
impact. But at the end of the day, it's the people who show up and the people who make their case.

268
00:09:17,458 --> 00:09:23,166
Person to person, human to human. It

269
00:09:23,166 --> 00:09:25,250
really is thousands and thousands of

270
00:09:25,250 --> 00:09:28,375
small conversations. And, you know, I

271
00:09:28,375 --> 00:09:30,375
think that's a it's a wonderful thing. It

272
00:09:30,375 --> 00:09:32,500
can be immensely frustrating because we

273
00:09:32,500 --> 00:09:34,166
live in a big country with a lot of

274
00:09:34,166 --> 00:09:35,291
people who have a lot of different

275
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beliefs that often, you know, can conflict with one another.

276
00:09:36,458 --> 00:09:42,500
But that human to human process is is

277
00:09:42,500 --> 00:09:45,208
just fascinating to me. And so to be able

278
00:09:45,208 --> 00:09:47,583
to do that on behalf of the ocean and on

279
00:09:47,583 --> 00:09:49,416
behalf of the environment, which I am

280
00:09:49,416 --> 00:09:52,333
deeply passionate about, it's just an

281
00:09:52,333 --> 00:09:54,041
honor to be able to do that every day.

282
00:09:54,458 --> 00:09:55,916
Well, and we appreciate the work you and

283
00:09:55,916 --> 00:09:57,791
your colleagues do because like you said,

284
00:09:57,791 --> 00:10:01,708
it's not always easy and you have to get

285
00:10:01,708 --> 00:10:03,000
to know a lot of people. You have to

286
00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:05,541
definitely smooth your way around Capitol

287
00:10:05,541 --> 00:10:06,416
Hill and understand what you're doing.

288
00:10:06,458 --> 00:10:06,583
It can be a lot of fun.
But you have to


289
00:10:06,583 --> 00:10:08,166
understand how it works and who to speak

290
00:10:08,166 --> 00:10:10,875
to. And so one of the things that the

291
00:10:10,875 --> 00:10:12,416
stories that I really like, I did an

292
00:10:12,416 --> 00:10:15,458
interview in a number of years ago and a

293
00:10:15,458 --> 00:10:17,000
gentleman that was on would say that he

294
00:10:17,000 --> 00:10:20,166
brings like a book of stories that he

295
00:10:20,166 --> 00:10:22,208
gets that he collects from people and he

296
00:10:22,208 --> 00:10:23,375
brings him and he goes to

297
00:10:23,375 --> 00:10:24,791
Democrats and Republicans alike.

298
00:10:27,458 --> 00:10:28,708
conversations with him over the

299
00:10:28,708 --> 00:10:29,958
relationships that he's built over the

300
00:10:29,958 --> 00:10:31,958
years with these politicians to have

301
00:10:31,958 --> 00:10:32,875
conversations be like hey

302
00:10:32,875 --> 00:10:34,250
Here's what I'm looking to do

303
00:10:34,250 --> 00:10:35,250
And these are all the people who are

304
00:10:35,250 --> 00:10:37,000
supporting what we're trying to do and

305
00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:37,708
they take it and they

306
00:10:37,708 --> 00:10:38,875
go back and they try

307
00:10:38,875 --> 00:10:40,708
And do their best but a lot of these

308
00:10:40,708 --> 00:10:42,458
these politicians are very environmental

309
00:10:42,458 --> 00:10:43,375
focused whether they're

310
00:10:43,375 --> 00:10:44,750
Republican or Democrats

311
00:10:44,750 --> 00:10:47,166
It's just a matter of what's what's being

312
00:10:47,166 --> 00:10:49,583
what line is being towed at that time and

313
00:10:49,583 --> 00:10:51,625
hopefully you get people on the right day

314
00:10:51,666 --> 00:10:53,166
So those relate that relationship

315
00:10:53,166 --> 00:10:55,750
building must be a big part of of your

316
00:10:55,750 --> 00:10:56,833
job and of you and

317
00:10:56,833 --> 00:10:57,875
your team's job, correct?

318
00:10:58,333 --> 00:11:00,208
Yeah, I mean relationship building and to

319
00:11:00,208 --> 00:11:03,083
what you just said storytelling, right?

320
00:11:03,083 --> 00:11:05,000
Yeah, the story is how you open someone's

321
00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:07,333
mind and help them visualize and

322
00:11:07,333 --> 00:11:09,000
understand what it is that you're saying

323
00:11:09,083 --> 00:11:11,291
It's not about putting up charts that

324
00:11:11,291 --> 00:11:12,750
tell the facts of the world

325
00:11:12,750 --> 00:11:14,500
It's about telling a story that someone

326
00:11:14,500 --> 00:11:16,458
can relate to and wrap their heads around

327
00:11:16,500 --> 00:11:19,083
You know, sometimes people say that, you

328
00:11:19,083 --> 00:11:20,208
know Capitol Hill runs on

329
00:11:20,208 --> 00:11:21,750
anecdotes and it's really true

330
00:11:21,875 --> 00:11:23,791
But I think again, that's a that's a

331
00:11:23,791 --> 00:11:25,750
reflection of the very human nature of

332
00:11:25,750 --> 00:11:27,500
the process where you know

333
00:11:27,500 --> 00:11:30,291
The story is how you reach someone and

334
00:11:30,291 --> 00:11:31,583
are able to convince them

335
00:11:32,333 --> 00:11:34,333
It's not always about just you know,

336
00:11:34,333 --> 00:11:35,541
reciting talking points and

337
00:11:35,541 --> 00:11:37,166
facts and figures and data

338
00:11:37,375 --> 00:11:38,791
It's about telling a story

339
00:11:38,791 --> 00:11:40,041
that someone can understand

340
00:11:40,583 --> 00:11:42,166
Absolutely. It's going back to I'm not

341
00:11:42,166 --> 00:11:44,083
sure if you know Randy Olson his don't be

342
00:11:44,083 --> 00:11:45,041
such a scientist book

343
00:11:45,041 --> 00:11:45,625
where he talks about

344
00:11:45,958 --> 00:11:47,958
getting it to the gut of people getting

345
00:11:47,958 --> 00:11:49,375
to their emotions and

346
00:11:49,458 --> 00:11:51,541
Working on that instead of just the logic

347
00:11:51,541 --> 00:11:54,333
of sharing data like we do as scientists.

348
00:11:54,333 --> 00:11:56,333
I think it's it's really important

349
00:11:56,625 --> 00:11:58,291
Yeah, now going back to your your

350
00:11:58,291 --> 00:11:59,875
master's degree with

351
00:11:59,875 --> 00:12:01,583
the sea turtle and bycatch

352
00:12:02,416 --> 00:12:04,083
project or thesis

353
00:12:04,666 --> 00:12:06,333
Did working with these

354
00:12:06,333 --> 00:12:07,541
types of marine animals?

355
00:12:07,541 --> 00:12:10,541
Did that like that change how you thought

356
00:12:10,541 --> 00:12:12,833
about like policy and conservation how

357
00:12:12,833 --> 00:12:13,791
important it could be?

358
00:12:14,041 --> 00:12:16,083
When when we're looking at you know

359
00:12:16,083 --> 00:12:17,625
bycatch and the regulations that go

360
00:12:17,625 --> 00:12:18,291
around bycatch

361
00:12:18,291 --> 00:12:19,458
especially around sea turtles

362
00:12:19,500 --> 00:12:21,250
I mean it was actually the working with

363
00:12:21,250 --> 00:12:22,750
the people part that change

364
00:12:22,750 --> 00:12:24,833
Oh interesting and really shaped the way

365
00:12:24,833 --> 00:12:27,291
I kind of view the world because you know

366
00:12:27,291 --> 00:12:28,125
The the sea turtle

367
00:12:28,125 --> 00:12:29,458
bycatch issue down there

368
00:12:29,458 --> 00:12:31,125
It was something that was you know, kind

369
00:12:31,125 --> 00:12:32,416
of popping in the

370
00:12:32,416 --> 00:12:34,500
late 90s and early 2000s

371
00:12:34,500 --> 00:12:35,958
Yeah, it's a big problem for the fleet.

372
00:12:35,958 --> 00:12:37,708
There were a bunch of lawsuits. There

373
00:12:37,708 --> 00:12:39,625
were all sorts of administrative actions

374
00:12:39,833 --> 00:12:41,500
You know trying to find a

375
00:12:41,500 --> 00:12:43,000
solution to the bycatch issue

376
00:12:43,916 --> 00:12:45,541
You know so that the fleets could

377
00:12:45,541 --> 00:12:47,666
continue to fish and the turtles can

378
00:12:47,666 --> 00:12:49,583
continue to survive and

379
00:12:49,583 --> 00:12:51,416
it was a it was a real

380
00:12:51,416 --> 00:12:54,000
lesson in the importance of conflict

381
00:12:54,666 --> 00:12:56,958
In that, you know conflict drives

382
00:12:57,500 --> 00:12:59,208
creativity and solutions

383
00:12:59,208 --> 00:13:00,833
as painful as it can be

384
00:13:01,583 --> 00:13:04,000
But also the the potential for conflict

385
00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:05,916
to get out of hand and sometimes if you

386
00:13:05,916 --> 00:13:07,375
get mired in a fight

387
00:13:07,583 --> 00:13:08,916
Where it's not just

388
00:13:08,916 --> 00:13:11,041
about winning on your side

389
00:13:11,041 --> 00:13:11,791
It's about making

390
00:13:11,791 --> 00:13:13,541
sure the other side loses

391
00:13:14,291 --> 00:13:16,416
That can be a dangerous place and you can

392
00:13:16,416 --> 00:13:18,791
really lose sight of your your original

393
00:13:18,791 --> 00:13:20,166
goals and intent and

394
00:13:20,166 --> 00:13:21,416
what you're trying to do

395
00:13:21,625 --> 00:13:23,208
on behalf of the environment and on

396
00:13:23,208 --> 00:13:25,875
behalf of the world and so it taught me a

397
00:13:25,875 --> 00:13:28,708
lot about how conflicts can be a very

398
00:13:28,958 --> 00:13:30,291
constructive and

399
00:13:30,791 --> 00:13:33,666
innovative driven kind of force in our

400
00:13:33,666 --> 00:13:35,958
world but can also kind of get out of

401
00:13:35,958 --> 00:13:37,750
hand and can become very

402
00:13:38,250 --> 00:13:41,875
You know destructive if you don't kind of

403
00:13:42,083 --> 00:13:43,500
Go into it with a lot

404
00:13:43,500 --> 00:13:45,125
of thoughtful awareness

405
00:13:45,458 --> 00:13:46,666
Yeah, absolutely

406
00:13:46,833 --> 00:13:47,208
Absolutely

407
00:13:47,250 --> 00:13:47,916
and you know

408
00:13:47,916 --> 00:13:49,875
there's a lot of stuff that goes on like

409
00:13:49,875 --> 00:13:51,875
with these regulations that we look at

410
00:13:51,875 --> 00:13:53,875
these policies that we try and and

411
00:13:53,916 --> 00:13:56,208
Implement and and some have like we just

412
00:13:56,208 --> 00:13:57,708
in the US just celebrated

413
00:13:57,708 --> 00:13:59,166
I believe it's 50 years of the

414
00:13:59,166 --> 00:14:00,166
Magnuson-Stevenson's Act

415
00:14:00,166 --> 00:14:01,458
Which is probably one of the most

416
00:14:01,458 --> 00:14:02,625
successful fisheries acts

417
00:14:02,625 --> 00:14:04,541
in in the world at this point

418
00:14:04,958 --> 00:14:06,666
Bringing back a lot of fisheries that

419
00:14:06,666 --> 00:14:08,541
were in trouble in the 1970s, which was

420
00:14:08,541 --> 00:14:10,125
brought in by Republicans

421
00:14:10,166 --> 00:14:12,458
I like to remind people in the 70s with a

422
00:14:12,458 --> 00:14:14,000
lot of those regulations the Marine Mail

423
00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:15,500
Protection Act and so forth

424
00:14:15,666 --> 00:14:18,250
And so we saw like the people were very

425
00:14:19,125 --> 00:14:20,125
Worried about the

426
00:14:20,125 --> 00:14:21,208
environment at that point

427
00:14:21,291 --> 00:14:22,750
Especially around fisheries that were

428
00:14:22,750 --> 00:14:24,541
declining and you know using those

429
00:14:24,541 --> 00:14:25,833
policies to bring them back

430
00:14:25,833 --> 00:14:27,333
But not only just putting the

431
00:14:27,333 --> 00:14:29,666
implementation and having you know

432
00:14:29,666 --> 00:14:31,500
advocates like yourself and the ocean

433
00:14:31,500 --> 00:14:32,958
Conservancy and and other

434
00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:36,916
you know ocean ocean focused and or or

435
00:14:37,333 --> 00:14:39,833
Big NGOs that look at these types of work

436
00:14:39,833 --> 00:14:41,500
and even small NGOs that make sure that

437
00:14:41,500 --> 00:14:43,166
the government is looking after this

438
00:14:43,166 --> 00:14:45,083
But the government itself, you know

439
00:14:45,291 --> 00:14:47,375
Evaluates how these regulations are doing

440
00:14:47,375 --> 00:14:49,583
and you know stays up to date on on

441
00:14:49,583 --> 00:14:51,958
fisheries and stock assessments and and

442
00:14:51,958 --> 00:14:52,916
so looking at marine

443
00:14:52,916 --> 00:14:54,291
Mammals are they being harassed? Are they

444
00:14:54,291 --> 00:14:55,041
not making sure those

445
00:14:55,041 --> 00:14:56,583
regulations are put in place?

446
00:14:56,583 --> 00:14:58,916
It's a very important aspect and one of

447
00:14:58,916 --> 00:15:00,791
those bodies that does

448
00:15:00,791 --> 00:15:02,333
that within within the

449
00:15:02,625 --> 00:15:04,750
Within the US government is Noah the

450
00:15:04,750 --> 00:15:06,375
National Oceanographic and

451
00:15:06,375 --> 00:15:07,500
Atmospheric Administration

452
00:15:07,500 --> 00:15:09,750
Now it's a mouthful to say and a lot of

453
00:15:09,750 --> 00:15:11,416
times I mess it up and probably I'm happy

454
00:15:11,416 --> 00:15:12,583
to say that I didn't mess

455
00:15:12,583 --> 00:15:14,416
That one up. We'll call it Noah from now

456
00:15:14,416 --> 00:15:17,375
on but Noah is a huge organization

457
00:15:17,500 --> 00:15:20,250
It's a huge department that sits within

458
00:15:20,250 --> 00:15:22,833
the US government and being Canadian

459
00:15:22,833 --> 00:15:24,500
I don't know exactly how it sits. I know

460
00:15:24,500 --> 00:15:24,958
it's part of the

461
00:15:24,958 --> 00:15:26,708
Department of Interior, but

462
00:15:26,833 --> 00:15:28,750
Actually the Department of Commerce

463
00:15:28,750 --> 00:15:29,958
commerce. That's right.

464
00:15:29,958 --> 00:15:31,083
There you go. Yeah, sorry

465
00:15:31,125 --> 00:15:32,833
So it's a very good example

466
00:15:33,166 --> 00:15:34,750
Exactly. So can you Jeff?

467
00:15:34,750 --> 00:15:36,375
Can you just talk about you know, what

468
00:15:36,375 --> 00:15:37,541
Noah is where it sits

469
00:15:37,541 --> 00:15:38,750
within that hierarchy?

470
00:15:38,750 --> 00:15:42,166
And and how important it is for like for

471
00:15:42,166 --> 00:15:44,291
what Noah does and we'll get into

472
00:15:44,291 --> 00:15:45,625
obviously what it does

473
00:15:45,625 --> 00:15:47,291
But just how important it is. Yeah, I

474
00:15:47,291 --> 00:15:48,375
mean at the highest level

475
00:15:48,375 --> 00:15:51,000
I think of Noah as the eyes and ears of

476
00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:52,541
our ocean and our atmosphere

477
00:15:53,250 --> 00:15:55,875
It all boils down to that whether it's

478
00:15:55,875 --> 00:15:58,250
weather forecasts whether it's you know

479
00:15:58,291 --> 00:15:59,750
Trying to manage our fisheries

480
00:15:59,750 --> 00:16:01,166
sustainably so that the

481
00:16:01,166 --> 00:16:02,583
seafood that lands on your plate

482
00:16:02,958 --> 00:16:04,250
When it's wild caught in

483
00:16:04,250 --> 00:16:06,000
the US is is sustainable

484
00:16:06,666 --> 00:16:09,416
Whether it is ocean monitoring marine

485
00:16:09,416 --> 00:16:12,083
sanctuaries like the eyes and the ears of

486
00:16:12,083 --> 00:16:13,291
the ocean and the atmosphere

487
00:16:13,291 --> 00:16:16,583
And and the planet as a whole and so, you

488
00:16:16,583 --> 00:16:18,583
know, it does a lot and it's hard to

489
00:16:19,125 --> 00:16:21,791
Articulate all of the specific details of

490
00:16:21,791 --> 00:16:24,208
what you're done. So much. Yeah, but at

491
00:16:24,208 --> 00:16:25,708
the highest level it's our

492
00:16:25,708 --> 00:16:26,583
eyes and ears in the world

493
00:16:27,958 --> 00:16:29,958
And so you said it sits within

494
00:16:30,208 --> 00:16:33,416
Department of Commerce how and and why is

495
00:16:33,416 --> 00:16:34,750
it in the Department of Commerce? That's

496
00:16:34,750 --> 00:16:35,500
what I would love to know

497
00:16:35,708 --> 00:16:37,750
Yeah, so it was originally created as

498
00:16:37,750 --> 00:16:40,083
part of an executive order by President

499
00:16:40,083 --> 00:16:42,000
Nixon under the Nixon administration

500
00:16:42,375 --> 00:16:45,166
There's a long winding history about you

501
00:16:45,166 --> 00:16:45,916
know, where the fisheries

502
00:16:45,916 --> 00:16:48,125
service was and you know

503
00:16:48,125 --> 00:16:50,583
And is that part of commerce versus an

504
00:16:50,583 --> 00:16:53,208
interior there? You've also got you know,

505
00:16:53,208 --> 00:16:55,416
the various histories of

506
00:16:55,791 --> 00:16:56,916
you know, the the

507
00:16:56,916 --> 00:16:59,750
predecessors of Noah in terms of you know

508
00:17:00,041 --> 00:17:01,500
Surveys and ocean

509
00:17:01,500 --> 00:17:02,916
surveys and that sort of stuff

510
00:17:02,916 --> 00:17:03,875
And so, you know

511
00:17:03,875 --> 00:17:05,875
I can't speak to exactly why Nixon chose

512
00:17:05,875 --> 00:17:07,250
to put it in commerce the

513
00:17:07,250 --> 00:17:08,666
way he did other than that

514
00:17:08,708 --> 00:17:11,833
There's a long and winding history behind

515
00:17:11,833 --> 00:17:14,125
that it has a lot to do with bureaucracy

516
00:17:14,125 --> 00:17:15,750
and the way bureaucracy evolves

517
00:17:16,250 --> 00:17:18,833
And it's constantly something that people

518
00:17:18,833 --> 00:17:19,875
are questioning, you know

519
00:17:19,875 --> 00:17:22,041
Does it belong in commerce? Should it is

520
00:17:22,041 --> 00:17:24,041
it a better fit if it was in interiors?

521
00:17:24,083 --> 00:17:25,958
Should some of the functions move over to

522
00:17:25,958 --> 00:17:28,416
over to interiors? So that's a that's a

523
00:17:28,416 --> 00:17:29,583
live discussion under both

524
00:17:29,583 --> 00:17:31,000
Democratic and Republican

525
00:17:31,375 --> 00:17:33,791
Administration, so it's a it's a good

526
00:17:33,791 --> 00:17:34,708
question and one that

527
00:17:34,708 --> 00:17:36,583
people keep asking for sure

528
00:17:37,416 --> 00:17:38,500
Well, yeah, cuz it's such a you know

529
00:17:38,500 --> 00:17:40,375
people when I think it's it's interesting

530
00:17:40,375 --> 00:17:41,500
because there's definitely

531
00:17:41,500 --> 00:17:43,000
a commerce side to the ocean

532
00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:45,041
The ocean has a lot of ecosystem services

533
00:17:45,041 --> 00:17:46,375
including fisheries and so forth that

534
00:17:46,375 --> 00:17:47,791
brings in a lot of money

535
00:17:47,791 --> 00:17:49,500
Especially in in the past when you had

536
00:17:49,500 --> 00:17:50,750
whaling and everything like that

537
00:17:51,250 --> 00:17:52,916
Obviously that's that's done now

538
00:17:52,916 --> 00:17:55,166
But it I think for now a lot of people

539
00:17:55,166 --> 00:17:56,791
when they think of ocean and atmosphere

540
00:17:56,791 --> 00:17:57,791
they think of protection

541
00:17:57,791 --> 00:17:59,458
and conservation less about

542
00:17:59,916 --> 00:18:02,208
money bring being brought in and commerce

543
00:18:02,208 --> 00:18:04,250
and revenue and so forth so I can

544
00:18:04,250 --> 00:18:05,666
understand where that where

545
00:18:05,666 --> 00:18:06,916
that comes from and where that

546
00:18:06,916 --> 00:18:08,375
That is and of course, you

547
00:18:08,375 --> 00:18:09,375
know with with executive orders

548
00:18:09,375 --> 00:18:10,750
You just never know what's gonna happen

549
00:18:10,750 --> 00:18:11,541
and what the thought

550
00:18:11,541 --> 00:18:14,625
process was back in the 1970s

551
00:18:14,625 --> 00:18:15,583
especially with the Nixon

552
00:18:15,583 --> 00:18:17,000
era and and and so forth and

553
00:18:17,666 --> 00:18:19,583
But I think it's I think it's really I

554
00:18:19,583 --> 00:18:20,875
think it's really interesting

555
00:18:22,458 --> 00:18:24,666
But you know, it's it's it's also

556
00:18:24,666 --> 00:18:27,750
interesting to look at just Noah in

557
00:18:27,750 --> 00:18:31,333
general, you know, cuz like a

558
00:18:31,333 --> 00:18:33,416
lot of people that they they they haven't

559
00:18:33,416 --> 00:18:35,000
really heard of Noah

560
00:18:35,458 --> 00:18:37,583
Yeah, I'm sure even in the US like

561
00:18:37,583 --> 00:18:38,458
there's like, you know,

562
00:18:38,458 --> 00:18:39,291
all is as big as they are

563
00:18:39,291 --> 00:18:40,750
They probably haven't heard of it and

564
00:18:40,750 --> 00:18:42,250
maybe really don't know what it does

565
00:18:42,250 --> 00:18:44,458
You kind of talked about some of them in

566
00:18:44,458 --> 00:18:45,208
this and like and you

567
00:18:45,208 --> 00:18:46,208
talked about in the simple form

568
00:18:46,750 --> 00:18:49,791
But why should people care about having

569
00:18:49,791 --> 00:18:51,416
Noah around because I

570
00:18:51,416 --> 00:18:52,625
mean it's it right now

571
00:18:53,125 --> 00:18:54,125
You can talk a little

572
00:18:54,125 --> 00:18:55,333
bit about this, you know

573
00:18:55,333 --> 00:18:57,500
Noah a lot of the programs with a Noah

574
00:18:57,500 --> 00:18:59,916
are in question a lot of the budgets have

575
00:18:59,916 --> 00:19:00,958
been slashed some of the Noah

576
00:19:01,666 --> 00:19:02,416
Departments within

577
00:19:02,416 --> 00:19:03,958
Noah have been taken out

578
00:19:04,458 --> 00:19:06,875
So like why should people everyday

579
00:19:06,875 --> 00:19:09,416
Americans even know or just people around

580
00:19:09,416 --> 00:19:11,708
the world care that Noah exists today

581
00:19:11,791 --> 00:19:12,333
Yeah

582
00:19:12,833 --> 00:19:15,000
I mean Noah is like the silent force in

583
00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:16,500
your life that you don't even know is

584
00:19:16,500 --> 00:19:17,708
there until it's gone

585
00:19:17,708 --> 00:19:18,791
or until it's in trouble

586
00:19:19,333 --> 00:19:22,083
Like literally every single American uses

587
00:19:22,083 --> 00:19:24,166
and depends on Noah services

588
00:19:24,333 --> 00:19:26,708
Every single day without even knowing it

589
00:19:26,708 --> 00:19:27,625
because a lot of the

590
00:19:27,625 --> 00:19:29,208
times when you interact with

591
00:19:29,541 --> 00:19:32,000
You know Noah's dad our Noah services.

592
00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:34,416
You don't see a Noah logo

593
00:19:34,416 --> 00:19:36,208
So you don't know that there's this

594
00:19:36,208 --> 00:19:37,958
agency behind it whether

595
00:19:37,958 --> 00:19:39,333
it's the seafood on your plate

596
00:19:39,791 --> 00:19:42,000
Whether it's your you know, your weather

597
00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:44,166
forecast on the local news. It's your

598
00:19:44,166 --> 00:19:45,416
local news station's logo

599
00:19:45,416 --> 00:19:47,291
That's on that not necessarily Noah and

600
00:19:47,291 --> 00:19:49,125
that national weather service

601
00:19:49,166 --> 00:19:51,666
But I'll give you like one great little

602
00:19:51,666 --> 00:19:53,583
example of like a way that

603
00:19:53,583 --> 00:19:55,458
an example of when Noah is

604
00:19:55,458 --> 00:19:56,833
Important in a way that you probably

605
00:19:56,833 --> 00:19:58,916
haven't even thought of so a

606
00:19:58,916 --> 00:20:00,833
number of years ago, you know

607
00:20:01,041 --> 00:20:04,375
Our house where we lived was on this the

608
00:20:04,375 --> 00:20:06,041
short little street the street

609
00:20:06,166 --> 00:20:09,125
You know, it was a hilly street and there

610
00:20:09,125 --> 00:20:10,750
were all sorts of flooding issues with

611
00:20:10,750 --> 00:20:12,708
our neighbors at the bottom of the street

612
00:20:13,208 --> 00:20:15,458
The street, you know didn't have

613
00:20:15,833 --> 00:20:16,916
Kind of any sewer

614
00:20:16,916 --> 00:20:18,333
stormwater drainage system

615
00:20:18,333 --> 00:20:20,083
So it just kind of flowed down the street

616
00:20:20,083 --> 00:20:21,750
the county for years as

617
00:20:21,750 --> 00:20:22,791
this was a county road

618
00:20:23,208 --> 00:20:25,000
The county for years knew that this was a

619
00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:27,375
problem and they you know over many years

620
00:20:27,375 --> 00:20:29,083
decided that they needed to put in

621
00:20:29,083 --> 00:20:31,583
a stormwater drainage system and so they

622
00:20:31,583 --> 00:20:33,833
dug up our street and I I don't know if

623
00:20:33,833 --> 00:20:35,750
you've ever lived on a street when it's

624
00:20:35,791 --> 00:20:38,083
Being completely dug up. Oh, man. It is

625
00:20:38,083 --> 00:20:40,208
such a mess. It's such a pain

626
00:20:40,208 --> 00:20:42,541
well, and my heart broke the

627
00:20:42,541 --> 00:20:44,000
day they had to come in and like

628
00:20:44,291 --> 00:20:46,833
Tear down like half the trees on the

629
00:20:46,833 --> 00:20:47,791
street because they were

630
00:20:47,791 --> 00:20:49,958
like too close to the street

631
00:20:49,958 --> 00:20:51,625
Is this street that's been around for you

632
00:20:51,625 --> 00:20:53,875
know years and years? Yeah, so they you

633
00:20:53,875 --> 00:20:55,000
know, they tore down the trees

634
00:20:55,000 --> 00:20:57,750
They dug up the street. They dug up the

635
00:20:57,750 --> 00:21:00,250
sidewalks and everything and they you

636
00:21:00,250 --> 00:21:01,541
know put in this brand new

637
00:21:01,583 --> 00:21:04,166
You know stormwater drainage system,

638
00:21:04,166 --> 00:21:05,666
which is wonderful fix the flooding

639
00:21:05,666 --> 00:21:06,791
problems and everything

640
00:21:06,791 --> 00:21:08,333
brand new street. It's beautiful

641
00:21:09,416 --> 00:21:11,041
the thing that most people don't know is

642
00:21:11,041 --> 00:21:12,875
that when the engineers from the county

643
00:21:12,875 --> 00:21:14,500
and the department of transportation

644
00:21:14,833 --> 00:21:17,125
Make all of the design choices and then

645
00:21:17,125 --> 00:21:19,458
engineering choices for all the water

646
00:21:19,458 --> 00:21:21,750
flow for the stamp stormwater drains

647
00:21:21,750 --> 00:21:23,666
Literally the pipes underneath your feet

648
00:21:23,666 --> 00:21:26,250
when you're taking a walk all of those

649
00:21:26,750 --> 00:21:30,791
You know decisions are made based on rain

650
00:21:30,791 --> 00:21:32,208
tables and precipitation

651
00:21:32,208 --> 00:21:36,041
Tables that are all fed by the weather

652
00:21:36,041 --> 00:21:38,125
and climate labs at NOAA

653
00:21:38,291 --> 00:21:41,500
Like it is NOAA data and NOAA predictions

654
00:21:41,500 --> 00:21:43,166
about it's not just about what is the

655
00:21:43,166 --> 00:21:44,333
rain gonna be like today?

656
00:21:44,333 --> 00:21:46,791
It's one of the risk windows in terms of

657
00:21:46,791 --> 00:21:48,083
the biggest precipitation

658
00:21:48,083 --> 00:21:50,291
events that you can anticipate

659
00:21:50,291 --> 00:21:52,875
you know 50 years from now because

660
00:21:53,500 --> 00:21:55,083
Goodness, you don't want to have to do

661
00:21:55,083 --> 00:21:56,375
this every 20 years in

662
00:21:56,375 --> 00:21:57,708
terms of digging up my street

663
00:21:57,958 --> 00:22:01,041
Right you want those assets to last for

664
00:22:01,041 --> 00:22:02,208
decades and decades?

665
00:22:02,750 --> 00:22:04,458
And so it's at times it's literally

666
00:22:04,458 --> 00:22:06,583
things like the engineering decisions for

667
00:22:06,583 --> 00:22:08,000
the pipes underneath your feet

668
00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:10,041
To make sure that your street doesn't

669
00:22:10,041 --> 00:22:12,750
flood NOAA data are there and

670
00:22:12,750 --> 00:22:14,625
it's these kind of like unseen

671
00:22:15,125 --> 00:22:17,708
Unknown kind of ways that this agency,

672
00:22:17,708 --> 00:22:19,833
you know silently, you know

673
00:22:20,166 --> 00:22:22,166
Helps inform the life in our communities

674
00:22:22,166 --> 00:22:24,416
around us that I think many of us don't

675
00:22:24,416 --> 00:22:26,041
appreciate many of us take for granted

676
00:22:26,041 --> 00:22:29,000
And frankly the government should just do

677
00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:30,041
this stuff, right? We

678
00:22:30,041 --> 00:22:31,833
shouldn't have to take for granted

679
00:22:31,916 --> 00:22:33,875
You know, we should be able to take it

680
00:22:33,875 --> 00:22:35,708
for granted that the plane just works.

681
00:22:35,708 --> 00:22:37,791
Yeah communities. So yeah

682
00:22:38,458 --> 00:22:39,250
Yeah, no, absolutely

683
00:22:39,250 --> 00:22:40,666
I mean, that's you're right

684
00:22:40,666 --> 00:22:42,000
We do take it for granted because we're

685
00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:42,958
just like this is what the

686
00:22:42,958 --> 00:22:43,791
government is what we pay

687
00:22:43,833 --> 00:22:45,791
The government to do is to make sure that

688
00:22:45,791 --> 00:22:46,750
we're safe and that the

689
00:22:46,750 --> 00:22:47,833
infrastructure is there

690
00:22:47,875 --> 00:22:49,958
I think it's interesting when you know,

691
00:22:49,958 --> 00:22:52,250
you hear Noah you think atmosphere ocean

692
00:22:52,250 --> 00:22:54,250
you don't think about rain tables

693
00:22:54,250 --> 00:22:55,916
You don't you know, you don't think about

694
00:22:55,916 --> 00:22:58,666
how water flows in and around your area

695
00:22:58,666 --> 00:23:00,208
Maybe if you're along the coast, but you

696
00:23:00,208 --> 00:23:01,291
don't think about it in the interior

697
00:23:01,291 --> 00:23:02,583
And I think that is

698
00:23:02,583 --> 00:23:05,000
something that you know needs to be

699
00:23:05,666 --> 00:23:06,458
You know

700
00:23:07,083 --> 00:23:08,458
Reiterated every once in a while to

701
00:23:08,458 --> 00:23:09,916
really understand, you

702
00:23:09,916 --> 00:23:11,208
know what what they do

703
00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:13,958
So that's that's good to know. So now

704
00:23:13,958 --> 00:23:15,750
like with that said, you know, if Noah

705
00:23:15,750 --> 00:23:16,416
disappeared tomorrow

706
00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:18,958
What would be the first things that

707
00:23:18,958 --> 00:23:20,833
people would notice

708
00:23:20,833 --> 00:23:22,708
missing in their daily lives?

709
00:23:23,166 --> 00:23:24,625
I mean other than the rain tables, you

710
00:23:24,625 --> 00:23:26,375
know, it would probably be the food on

711
00:23:26,375 --> 00:23:27,125
their plate and their

712
00:23:27,125 --> 00:23:28,541
weather forecasts, right?

713
00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:30,250
Mm-hmm. And you know the weather

714
00:23:30,250 --> 00:23:31,333
forecasts in particular

715
00:23:31,375 --> 00:23:34,083
It's not just about the forecaster in the

716
00:23:34,083 --> 00:23:35,333
National Weather Service

717
00:23:35,708 --> 00:23:38,208
Office that like yes the call and issues

718
00:23:38,208 --> 00:23:39,916
the forecast. It's that entire

719
00:23:40,916 --> 00:23:43,625
Pipeline of data and information and

720
00:23:43,625 --> 00:23:44,666
information processing

721
00:23:44,666 --> 00:23:46,916
that leads to that moment

722
00:23:47,791 --> 00:23:49,541
And let me give you a great example

723
00:23:49,541 --> 00:23:51,208
because people often are like, all right

724
00:23:51,208 --> 00:23:53,958
Why should someone in Kansas care about

725
00:23:53,958 --> 00:23:55,791
ocean observing systems, right? Because

726
00:23:55,791 --> 00:23:57,208
ocean Conservancy I

727
00:23:57,208 --> 00:23:58,416
care about the ocean stuff

728
00:23:59,208 --> 00:24:01,666
well tornado outbreaks in Kansas and

729
00:24:01,666 --> 00:24:02,791
storms and droughts in

730
00:24:02,791 --> 00:24:04,750
Kansas are all driven by

731
00:24:05,541 --> 00:24:07,541
Precipitation that flows up through

732
00:24:07,541 --> 00:24:10,291
basically a you know, a small

733
00:24:10,541 --> 00:24:13,000
You know, it's like a mini jet stream

734
00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:15,416
about a mile up that carries moisture

735
00:24:15,416 --> 00:24:16,666
from the Gulf of Mexico

736
00:24:16,833 --> 00:24:18,833
To the Great Plains in Kansas

737
00:24:19,500 --> 00:24:21,500
so if you don't understand what's

738
00:24:21,500 --> 00:24:23,625
happening in the Gulf of Mexico and if

739
00:24:23,625 --> 00:24:25,250
you don't understand the temperatures and

740
00:24:25,250 --> 00:24:26,791
the moisture that flows from the

741
00:24:26,791 --> 00:24:28,625
Gulf of Mexico over to Kansas

742
00:24:28,958 --> 00:24:31,041
You can't do a good job predicting

743
00:24:31,041 --> 00:24:32,958
tornadoes so that you can

744
00:24:32,958 --> 00:24:35,458
give a family an extra 10 minutes

745
00:24:35,958 --> 00:24:38,041
To go to their basement and and get out

746
00:24:38,041 --> 00:24:39,500
of harm's way and that could be like a

747
00:24:39,500 --> 00:24:40,666
life or death situation

748
00:24:41,125 --> 00:24:43,791
Absolutely. It is day in and day out and

749
00:24:43,791 --> 00:24:45,083
it's not just tornadoes or

750
00:24:45,083 --> 00:24:46,916
storms. It's also, you know

751
00:24:47,458 --> 00:24:48,875
Drought events can be just

752
00:24:48,875 --> 00:24:51,583
as devastating as as you know

753
00:24:51,666 --> 00:24:54,041
Major storms and tornadoes and drought

754
00:24:54,041 --> 00:24:56,208
events too. It's about what happens in

755
00:24:56,208 --> 00:24:57,583
the Pacific Ocean, you know

756
00:24:57,625 --> 00:24:58,958
We hear people talking

757
00:24:58,958 --> 00:25:00,791
about the El Nino La Nina cycle

758
00:25:00,916 --> 00:25:03,041
If you don't understand what's going on

759
00:25:03,041 --> 00:25:05,541
with El Nino and La Nina in the ocean

760
00:25:05,750 --> 00:25:07,958
You can't predict what's gonna happen

761
00:25:07,958 --> 00:25:09,750
with drought and severe

762
00:25:09,750 --> 00:25:11,583
weather anywhere in the country

763
00:25:11,583 --> 00:25:13,750
Yeah, especially coastal zones, but also

764
00:25:13,750 --> 00:25:16,250
in places like Oklahoma, Kansas or

765
00:25:16,250 --> 00:25:17,375
Illinois or Wisconsin

766
00:25:17,875 --> 00:25:18,791
Yeah, and all the way

767
00:25:18,791 --> 00:25:19,625
up to Canada as well

768
00:25:19,625 --> 00:25:19,875
Yeah

769
00:25:19,875 --> 00:25:21,875
When there I think I think I heard

770
00:25:21,875 --> 00:25:23,500
something we're going into a super El

771
00:25:23,500 --> 00:25:25,500
Nino coming out of an El Nino like

772
00:25:25,750 --> 00:25:27,916
We don't know this unless we have that

773
00:25:27,916 --> 00:25:29,666
data and we have those predictive models

774
00:25:29,666 --> 00:25:32,000
that come out of of Noah

775
00:25:32,250 --> 00:25:34,208
What like, you know, there's a lot of

776
00:25:34,208 --> 00:25:36,375
stuff that that Noah does

777
00:25:36,375 --> 00:25:38,208
that we maybe take for granted

778
00:25:38,208 --> 00:25:40,000
Like, you know the weather for instance,

779
00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:40,833
you know, people will take

780
00:25:40,833 --> 00:25:42,958
for granted. Why do you think?

781
00:25:43,666 --> 00:25:45,500
when when cuts were announced

782
00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:47,458
There are a lot of people being like

783
00:25:47,458 --> 00:25:48,208
yeah, these are a lot.

784
00:25:48,208 --> 00:25:48,833
There's a lot of wasteful

785
00:25:49,500 --> 00:25:53,208
Programs at Noah like they need to be cut

786
00:25:53,208 --> 00:25:54,583
and it seemed like you know, some of

787
00:25:54,583 --> 00:25:56,208
those programs were like, oh no

788
00:25:56,208 --> 00:25:58,041
We actually really you know, we need this

789
00:25:58,291 --> 00:26:01,333
Why are people so quick to and with your

790
00:26:01,333 --> 00:26:02,875
experience, you know in

791
00:26:02,875 --> 00:26:04,083
in government affairs?

792
00:26:04,083 --> 00:26:06,708
So why are people so quick to sort of

793
00:26:06,708 --> 00:26:08,541
dismiss some of these programs right off

794
00:26:08,541 --> 00:26:09,416
the bat when that people

795
00:26:09,416 --> 00:26:10,208
are saying they're gonna get

796
00:26:10,208 --> 00:26:12,000
Cut I think it's because they've never

797
00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:13,958
heard of the programs and they don't know

798
00:26:13,958 --> 00:26:14,875
what they do, right?

799
00:26:15,375 --> 00:26:18,500
So like, you know people will rush to to

800
00:26:18,500 --> 00:26:20,541
come to the aid of the National Weather

801
00:26:20,541 --> 00:26:22,333
Service and their local, you know

802
00:26:22,333 --> 00:26:24,458
Forecast office and their local

803
00:26:24,458 --> 00:26:26,458
meteorologists in charge because they've

804
00:26:26,458 --> 00:26:28,041
heard of that and they understand that

805
00:26:28,041 --> 00:26:29,166
and they know what that is

806
00:26:29,541 --> 00:26:31,791
But other parts of Noah like a you know

807
00:26:31,791 --> 00:26:33,208
cooperative institutes and

808
00:26:33,208 --> 00:26:35,208
research labs and you know

809
00:26:35,208 --> 00:26:37,208
Severe weather storm centers all that

810
00:26:37,208 --> 00:26:39,208
sort of stuff. It's you

811
00:26:39,208 --> 00:26:40,500
know, people haven't heard of it

812
00:26:40,750 --> 00:26:42,583
They kind of assume that like oh, it can

813
00:26:42,583 --> 00:26:43,333
that really be that

814
00:26:43,333 --> 00:26:44,625
important if I've never heard of it

815
00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:47,125
And yet those very things are the things

816
00:26:47,125 --> 00:26:48,250
that provide the data

817
00:26:48,250 --> 00:26:49,458
and process the models

818
00:26:49,875 --> 00:26:51,666
Uh that there's you know

819
00:26:51,666 --> 00:26:53,750
The forecasters actually need to do their

820
00:26:53,750 --> 00:26:57,000
job or you know that all of us need to to

821
00:26:57,000 --> 00:26:59,000
understand and improve, you know

822
00:26:59,291 --> 00:27:01,250
forecasts for hurricanes a

823
00:27:01,458 --> 00:27:03,625
Perfect example is when you look at

824
00:27:03,625 --> 00:27:05,791
hurricane Katrina compared to today

825
00:27:06,083 --> 00:27:08,666
We have dramatically improved our

826
00:27:08,666 --> 00:27:10,500
forecasting ability for hurricanes

827
00:27:11,333 --> 00:27:14,750
If you look at all of the specific labs

828
00:27:14,750 --> 00:27:16,541
and institutes and parts of Noah

829
00:27:17,041 --> 00:27:19,666
That actually did the work to improve

830
00:27:19,666 --> 00:27:22,250
those forecasts chances are you haven't

831
00:27:22,250 --> 00:27:23,791
heard of most of those entities

832
00:27:24,166 --> 00:27:25,708
You've never heard of them. It doesn't

833
00:27:25,708 --> 00:27:26,916
mean that they're not important

834
00:27:27,500 --> 00:27:29,750
And so a lot of what we need to do right

835
00:27:29,750 --> 00:27:32,208
now when these kind of cuts are being

836
00:27:32,208 --> 00:27:34,375
proposed is to tell that story

837
00:27:34,750 --> 00:27:35,291
Right. We've got to

838
00:27:35,291 --> 00:27:36,458
make that stuff accessible

839
00:27:36,916 --> 00:27:38,916
So people understand what these different

840
00:27:38,916 --> 00:27:40,916
parts of Noah do why they're important

841
00:27:40,916 --> 00:27:42,375
how they're linked and interrelated

842
00:27:43,125 --> 00:27:45,333
And how if you you know chop off one part

843
00:27:45,333 --> 00:27:46,833
of Noah that damage

844
00:27:46,833 --> 00:27:48,000
just doesn't stay there

845
00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:50,458
It affects all sorts of you know ripple

846
00:27:50,458 --> 00:27:52,041
impacts across the agency

847
00:27:52,041 --> 00:27:53,916
services that people depend on

848
00:27:54,333 --> 00:27:56,708
Indeed indeed. Let's talk about the

849
00:27:56,708 --> 00:27:59,000
overall ocean conservation impact of

850
00:27:59,000 --> 00:28:00,333
Noah. How does Noah

851
00:28:00,333 --> 00:28:02,083
directly keep the ocean healthy?

852
00:28:02,750 --> 00:28:04,416
Yeah, so Noah has a whole bunch of

853
00:28:04,416 --> 00:28:06,000
management responsibilities

854
00:28:06,166 --> 00:28:08,625
So under the endangered species act it

855
00:28:08,625 --> 00:28:10,166
has all sorts of

856
00:28:10,166 --> 00:28:11,208
responsibilities to you know

857
00:28:11,333 --> 00:28:13,000
Analyze when people want to do things

858
00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:13,625
that are going to

859
00:28:13,625 --> 00:28:15,458
potentially endanger a species

860
00:28:15,958 --> 00:28:17,916
Um, they're responsible for recovery

861
00:28:17,916 --> 00:28:20,375
plans. They're responsible for protected

862
00:28:20,375 --> 00:28:21,750
areas like natural marine

863
00:28:21,750 --> 00:28:23,125
sanctuaries the management

864
00:28:23,375 --> 00:28:25,708
And stewardship of those areas one of the

865
00:28:25,708 --> 00:28:26,666
biggest impacts is

866
00:28:26,666 --> 00:28:27,541
through fisheries management

867
00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:29,625
trying to make sure that we do fisheries

868
00:28:29,625 --> 00:28:32,125
management in a way that is sustainable

869
00:28:32,125 --> 00:28:34,125
and that doesn't you know,

870
00:28:34,416 --> 00:28:36,750
You know have all sorts of the you know,

871
00:28:36,750 --> 00:28:38,833
bycatch issues and habitat destruction

872
00:28:39,375 --> 00:28:41,166
Uh, so noah plays a direct

873
00:28:41,166 --> 00:28:43,375
role in a lot of the activities

874
00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:45,916
That you know directly harm

875
00:28:46,541 --> 00:28:48,541
Ecosystems and marine environments and

876
00:28:48,541 --> 00:28:51,250
marine wildlife. Noah is the steward for

877
00:28:51,250 --> 00:28:53,041
those resources. Noah is responsible

878
00:28:53,708 --> 00:28:55,875
under the law for managing those

879
00:28:55,875 --> 00:28:57,333
resources for making those

880
00:28:57,333 --> 00:28:58,916
decisions and making those calls

881
00:28:59,125 --> 00:29:00,750
It doesn't mean that noah always does

882
00:29:00,750 --> 00:29:02,041
what I wish they would do

883
00:29:02,291 --> 00:29:03,166
But they are the agency

884
00:29:03,166 --> 00:29:04,833
that has the responsibility

885
00:29:05,291 --> 00:29:07,291
To help us make sure that we've got you

886
00:29:07,291 --> 00:29:09,333
know thriving wildlife in the ocean and

887
00:29:09,333 --> 00:29:10,708
that we're taking care of habitats

888
00:29:11,208 --> 00:29:13,208
And that we're managing our fisheries

889
00:29:13,208 --> 00:29:14,583
sustainably for the future

890
00:29:15,291 --> 00:29:17,125
Yeah, and I can just I I know I don't

891
00:29:17,125 --> 00:29:18,791
know if you know the number off hand

892
00:29:19,375 --> 00:29:21,916
How many people generally work at at noah

893
00:29:21,916 --> 00:29:23,375
with all their departments if you if you

894
00:29:23,375 --> 00:29:24,750
look at it from an overall perspective

895
00:29:24,750 --> 00:29:26,666
Oh, I should know this but I don't okay.

896
00:29:26,666 --> 00:29:28,291
It's a few thousand. Yeah, it's several

897
00:29:28,291 --> 00:29:29,791
thousand people several thousand

898
00:29:29,791 --> 00:29:31,250
Yeah, so it's not just like a small

899
00:29:31,250 --> 00:29:32,541
department that you know

900
00:29:32,541 --> 00:29:34,250
You have five or six people in each

901
00:29:34,250 --> 00:29:35,166
office as you go around

902
00:29:35,166 --> 00:29:36,541
it's spread around the country

903
00:29:37,000 --> 00:29:38,500
All around the country not just along the

904
00:29:38,500 --> 00:29:40,250
coastline especially, you know, obviously

905
00:29:40,250 --> 00:29:42,041
headquartered in washington d.c

906
00:29:42,041 --> 00:29:42,750
like this is

907
00:29:43,250 --> 00:29:45,458
It's it's got its hands in every pretty

908
00:29:45,458 --> 00:29:46,833
much everything around the

909
00:29:46,833 --> 00:29:48,916
ocean and and and atmosphere

910
00:29:49,541 --> 00:29:51,791
So I just wanted people to to know that

911
00:29:51,791 --> 00:29:53,750
there's several thousands because like we

912
00:29:53,750 --> 00:29:54,833
know so many people who

913
00:29:55,208 --> 00:29:57,208
Are in it probably between just the the

914
00:29:57,208 --> 00:29:58,833
two of us. It's it's uh,

915
00:29:58,833 --> 00:30:00,041
it's an important thing

916
00:30:00,458 --> 00:30:03,416
Um now, yeah, we so we talk about its

917
00:30:03,416 --> 00:30:05,708
involvement in in you know, endangered

918
00:30:05,708 --> 00:30:06,375
species protecting

919
00:30:06,375 --> 00:30:07,541
endangered species and so forth

920
00:30:07,791 --> 00:30:09,375
One thing he didn't mention is it's also

921
00:30:09,375 --> 00:30:11,458
involved in ocean exploration, you know,

922
00:30:11,458 --> 00:30:12,708
like the deep sea and things like that

923
00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:14,833
So why is that? Can you just I know you

924
00:30:14,833 --> 00:30:15,833
and I know why it's important

925
00:30:15,833 --> 00:30:17,166
But can you just talk a little bit about

926
00:30:17,166 --> 00:30:19,125
why it's important for noah to explore?

927
00:30:19,666 --> 00:30:21,375
Different parts of the ocean to get a

928
00:30:21,375 --> 00:30:22,208
better understanding

929
00:30:22,208 --> 00:30:25,125
of it. Yeah, I mean noah

930
00:30:25,625 --> 00:30:28,583
Is is basically the only agency that we

931
00:30:28,583 --> 00:30:30,083
have that can explore

932
00:30:31,000 --> 00:30:33,333
the vast majority of the planet that

933
00:30:33,333 --> 00:30:35,583
we've never seen or explored and have

934
00:30:35,583 --> 00:30:37,166
very little understanding of

935
00:30:37,916 --> 00:30:40,375
And so, you know, it's almost hard to put

936
00:30:40,375 --> 00:30:42,375
into words how important that is

937
00:30:43,041 --> 00:30:44,833
Um, other than that they are on the

938
00:30:44,833 --> 00:30:46,000
forefront of science

939
00:30:46,416 --> 00:30:49,041
It is not very often that you have true

940
00:30:49,041 --> 00:30:52,000
exploration on the planet right now and

941
00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:53,625
the ocean is where that exploration

942
00:30:54,250 --> 00:30:54,875
is happening

943
00:30:55,291 --> 00:30:55,833
uh

944
00:30:56,000 --> 00:30:58,416
Because without that we just we're going

945
00:30:58,416 --> 00:31:00,416
to continue to live in ignorance about

946
00:31:00,416 --> 00:31:01,541
the nature of our planet

947
00:31:01,958 --> 00:31:05,708
And you know 70 of the globe is going to

948
00:31:05,708 --> 00:31:08,250
just go unseen unknown and unexplored

949
00:31:09,041 --> 00:31:11,000
Yeah, yeah, it's it's uh

950
00:31:11,708 --> 00:31:13,416
I think one of the you know, we we just

951
00:31:13,416 --> 00:31:14,791
had artemis to go into

952
00:31:14,791 --> 00:31:16,458
space and that was wonderful

953
00:31:17,125 --> 00:31:19,291
Imagine having a live feed of people

954
00:31:19,291 --> 00:31:20,916
going out into the ocean and being able

955
00:31:20,916 --> 00:31:22,833
to see what's down the ocean and how

956
00:31:22,833 --> 00:31:23,875
similar it is to work

957
00:31:23,875 --> 00:31:26,625
In in such difficult environments, you

958
00:31:26,625 --> 00:31:28,500
know, it's not an easy thing, you know,

959
00:31:28,500 --> 00:31:30,041
and I know we don't do as many

960
00:31:30,666 --> 00:31:33,333
You know people man like people subs

961
00:31:33,333 --> 00:31:34,291
going down a lot of

962
00:31:34,291 --> 00:31:35,375
remotely operated vehicles

963
00:31:35,500 --> 00:31:37,958
But the amount of money and and the the

964
00:31:37,958 --> 00:31:39,875
challenges that we're faced to go down

965
00:31:39,875 --> 00:31:41,708
there sometimes rivals space

966
00:31:41,708 --> 00:31:42,666
So I think it's important

967
00:31:42,666 --> 00:31:44,333
that that we that we get that

968
00:31:44,833 --> 00:31:47,000
Uh involved like that that involved in

969
00:31:47,000 --> 00:31:49,375
exploration now, you know talks about

970
00:31:49,375 --> 00:31:51,625
this overall ocean conservation impact

971
00:31:51,625 --> 00:31:52,791
It's very important. You

972
00:31:52,791 --> 00:31:54,125
know, no is involved in a lot

973
00:31:54,750 --> 00:31:56,875
What happens to ocean science and

974
00:31:56,875 --> 00:31:58,791
conservation efforts from noah?

975
00:31:59,250 --> 00:32:01,041
When you know the funding that we're

976
00:32:01,041 --> 00:32:02,000
seeing or just in

977
00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:03,166
general becomes unstable

978
00:32:04,083 --> 00:32:05,000
year to year

979
00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:08,833
Yeah So I think the first impact that we saw

980
00:32:08,833 --> 00:32:10,000
right off the bat at the

981
00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:11,208
beginning of this administration

982
00:32:11,958 --> 00:32:14,291
Is the people impact in terms of the

983
00:32:14,291 --> 00:32:17,375
intellectual kind of firepower that the

984
00:32:17,375 --> 00:32:19,166
federal government has through

985
00:32:19,833 --> 00:32:20,416
incredibly

986
00:32:21,291 --> 00:32:22,583
experienced and seasoned

987
00:32:23,458 --> 00:32:25,875
Scientists and engineers and and

988
00:32:25,875 --> 00:32:27,416
world-renowned experts

989
00:32:27,958 --> 00:32:29,666
Uh when you start trying

990
00:32:29,666 --> 00:32:31,000
to undermine that workforce

991
00:32:31,875 --> 00:32:35,000
And that that brain that we have at our

992
00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:36,250
fingertips as taxpayers

993
00:32:37,000 --> 00:32:37,375
um

994
00:32:38,083 --> 00:32:39,125
That's hard to get back

995
00:32:39,791 --> 00:32:42,041
It's it's really hard to get back and

996
00:32:42,041 --> 00:32:43,333
there's a human toll

997
00:32:43,791 --> 00:32:46,125
Uh as well in terms of the you know

998
00:32:46,125 --> 00:32:47,958
taking some of our best and brightest,

999
00:32:47,958 --> 00:32:49,458
uh, you know scientists

1000
00:32:49,958 --> 00:32:50,875
on ocean and

1001
00:32:50,875 --> 00:32:52,916
atmospheric science and you know

1002
00:32:53,458 --> 00:32:56,875
Uh basically making it so they don't want

1003
00:32:56,875 --> 00:32:58,583
to work for the people anymore

1004
00:32:58,833 --> 00:32:59,250
um

1005
00:33:00,083 --> 00:33:02,500
And I think that's that's just a huge

1006
00:33:02,500 --> 00:33:04,708
loss, uh for our country and it's it's

1007
00:33:04,708 --> 00:33:06,083
hard to rebuild that and

1008
00:33:06,083 --> 00:33:07,625
it's expensive to rebuild that

1009
00:33:07,708 --> 00:33:08,583
It's extremely

1010
00:33:09,125 --> 00:33:11,500
extremely short-sighted, uh in terms of

1011
00:33:11,500 --> 00:33:13,416
the the damage that that does

1012
00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:15,125
in the long run

1013
00:33:15,458 --> 00:33:17,833
But I think what people don't realize too

1014
00:33:17,833 --> 00:33:19,125
because we like in canada

1015
00:33:19,125 --> 00:33:20,750
We saw these cuts happen during the

1016
00:33:20,750 --> 00:33:21,666
harper administration

1017
00:33:22,000 --> 00:33:24,166
Uh conservative government in the early

1018
00:33:24,166 --> 00:33:26,375
2000 or mid 2000s and

1019
00:33:26,375 --> 00:33:28,625
early 2012 no teens, I guess

1020
00:33:29,041 --> 00:33:29,333
um

1021
00:33:29,708 --> 00:33:31,708
And what was happening is is what we saw

1022
00:33:31,708 --> 00:33:33,125
and we're probably going to see the same

1023
00:33:33,125 --> 00:33:34,541
thing as these cuts happen is

1024
00:33:34,916 --> 00:33:36,958
You get a lot of people who have been at

1025
00:33:36,958 --> 00:33:39,625
the agencies for a very long time

1026
00:33:39,625 --> 00:33:40,958
They're towards the end of their careers

1027
00:33:40,958 --> 00:33:41,500
and they kind of get

1028
00:33:41,500 --> 00:33:42,791
pushed out a little early

1029
00:33:43,208 --> 00:33:44,750
Uh to allow for something yet, but the

1030
00:33:44,750 --> 00:33:46,875
problem is is that knowledge transfer

1031
00:33:46,875 --> 00:33:48,500
with the experience that they have

1032
00:33:48,750 --> 00:33:50,333
Doesn't necessarily get transferred

1033
00:33:50,333 --> 00:33:52,583
because it's such an abrupt change and

1034
00:33:52,583 --> 00:33:53,333
they're and they're

1035
00:33:53,333 --> 00:33:54,708
obvious like just gone

1036
00:33:54,750 --> 00:33:57,500
Uh, and and they've retired but then also

1037
00:33:57,500 --> 00:33:58,958
you get if there's a lot of

1038
00:33:58,958 --> 00:34:00,833
cuts you get that loss of that

1039
00:34:01,416 --> 00:34:03,875
You know sort of mid-career group of

1040
00:34:03,875 --> 00:34:05,791
people who have accrued all this

1041
00:34:05,791 --> 00:34:06,500
information have

1042
00:34:06,500 --> 00:34:07,875
learned from their mentors

1043
00:34:08,166 --> 00:34:10,458
Over those years and they lose and they

1044
00:34:10,458 --> 00:34:12,000
lose that and they get jobs other places

1045
00:34:12,000 --> 00:34:14,375
But they you lose again that that that

1046
00:34:14,375 --> 00:34:16,375
knowledge and then the passing off of

1047
00:34:16,375 --> 00:34:17,833
that knowledge for these programs that

1048
00:34:17,833 --> 00:34:18,916
have gone on for decades

1049
00:34:19,708 --> 00:34:21,833
uh, and not only are you getting gaps in

1050
00:34:21,833 --> 00:34:23,791
the in the data from those

1051
00:34:23,791 --> 00:34:26,125
years where the funding is is

1052
00:34:26,708 --> 00:34:27,000
unstable

1053
00:34:27,541 --> 00:34:29,125
But you're also losing the people who

1054
00:34:29,125 --> 00:34:31,083
worked in those and and so the efficiency

1055
00:34:31,083 --> 00:34:32,333
of that program can't

1056
00:34:32,333 --> 00:34:33,583
get better as as we go

1057
00:34:33,583 --> 00:34:35,583
Along the knowledge in there that the

1058
00:34:35,583 --> 00:34:37,541
amount of questions that are being asked

1059
00:34:37,541 --> 00:34:38,500
and being pushed so that we

1060
00:34:38,500 --> 00:34:39,833
can find out more about how

1061
00:34:39,833 --> 00:34:42,166
To stabilize fisheries and and make sure

1062
00:34:42,166 --> 00:34:43,958
things are doing are going well with with

1063
00:34:43,958 --> 00:34:45,375
endangered species and so forth

1064
00:34:45,541 --> 00:34:47,583
It just gets all disrupted and then to

1065
00:34:47,583 --> 00:34:50,000
rebuild it takes a lot longer than I

1066
00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:51,041
think people realize

1067
00:34:51,041 --> 00:34:52,583
It's not just you can lay off these

1068
00:34:52,583 --> 00:34:54,500
people you can disrupt their lives

1069
00:34:54,500 --> 00:34:56,041
They have to go get other jobs and

1070
00:34:56,041 --> 00:34:56,875
they're going to be in

1071
00:34:56,875 --> 00:34:58,083
those jobs for a long time

1072
00:34:58,083 --> 00:35:00,000
Hopefully, but they're not it's not as if

1073
00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:00,500
they're going to just

1074
00:35:00,500 --> 00:35:01,958
come back to the government

1075
00:35:02,416 --> 00:35:04,333
As quickly as as we all think and that

1076
00:35:04,333 --> 00:35:05,833
knowledge kind of it takes years and

1077
00:35:05,833 --> 00:35:07,541
years to put that into place

1078
00:35:08,000 --> 00:35:10,250
Am I off on that or or is that no, you

1079
00:35:10,250 --> 00:35:11,666
know, that's what's the concern as well?

1080
00:35:11,958 --> 00:35:13,416
Yeah, you're totally right. I think part

1081
00:35:13,416 --> 00:35:14,875
of what you're getting at is that it's

1082
00:35:14,875 --> 00:35:16,750
not just personnel. It's

1083
00:35:17,041 --> 00:35:19,375
institutional capacity, right? Yeah

1084
00:35:19,375 --> 00:35:21,125
Yeah, you know even the people who are

1085
00:35:21,125 --> 00:35:24,000
still there who are you know within noah?

1086
00:35:24,458 --> 00:35:25,833
They're having to deal with these, you

1087
00:35:25,833 --> 00:35:26,708
know potential budget

1088
00:35:26,708 --> 00:35:28,208
cuts and what does that mean?

1089
00:35:28,208 --> 00:35:30,500
And you know the people that so great

1090
00:35:30,500 --> 00:35:32,250
example the office of oceanic and

1091
00:35:32,250 --> 00:35:33,625
atmospheric research

1092
00:35:33,708 --> 00:35:35,666
Which is the line office that does all of

1093
00:35:35,666 --> 00:35:38,250
the research for ocean stuff for

1094
00:35:38,250 --> 00:35:40,166
atmospheric stuff for climate stuff

1095
00:35:40,750 --> 00:35:41,166
everything

1096
00:35:42,208 --> 00:35:44,291
That line office the administration is

1097
00:35:44,291 --> 00:35:47,375
proposed zeroing the whole thing out just

1098
00:35:47,375 --> 00:35:48,791
completely getting rid of it

1099
00:35:49,208 --> 00:35:50,916
So if you are a scientist

1100
00:35:51,541 --> 00:35:54,208
At oar and you have managerial

1101
00:35:54,208 --> 00:35:56,083
responsibility. Are you planning on

1102
00:35:56,083 --> 00:35:57,833
closing up shop or do you

1103
00:35:57,833 --> 00:35:59,708
wait and see what congress does?

1104
00:36:00,166 --> 00:36:01,416
I mean, there's a huge amount of over,

1105
00:36:01,416 --> 00:36:04,083
you know uncertainty that overhangs all

1106
00:36:04,083 --> 00:36:06,375
of these programs and all of these kind

1107
00:36:06,375 --> 00:36:07,541
of capacities within

1108
00:36:07,625 --> 00:36:09,958
uh within noah that are critically

1109
00:36:09,958 --> 00:36:12,375
important right? I mean these these

1110
00:36:12,375 --> 00:36:14,458
climate labs are are essential for doing

1111
00:36:14,458 --> 00:36:15,833
things like getting precipitation

1112
00:36:16,500 --> 00:36:17,458
uh, you know

1113
00:36:18,541 --> 00:36:20,625
Predictions so that we all know how to

1114
00:36:20,625 --> 00:36:22,541
you know build our pipes in our streets

1115
00:36:23,208 --> 00:36:24,500
And the question is

1116
00:36:24,500 --> 00:36:26,041
where do you go from there?

1117
00:36:26,250 --> 00:36:28,750
And I think a lot of people are trying to

1118
00:36:28,750 --> 00:36:29,916
kind of just get

1119
00:36:29,916 --> 00:36:31,583
through it and and figure out

1120
00:36:31,625 --> 00:36:34,500
Um, you know how to provide services the

1121
00:36:34,500 --> 00:36:36,166
best they can and the best they know how

1122
00:36:36,166 --> 00:36:38,000
but it's a volatile time

1123
00:36:38,208 --> 00:36:40,708
And I think it's it's a shame when when

1124
00:36:40,708 --> 00:36:42,666
some of our best and brightest people

1125
00:36:43,125 --> 00:36:44,375
Are having to spend

1126
00:36:44,375 --> 00:36:46,333
their energy and their time?

1127
00:36:47,083 --> 00:36:48,208
figuring out how to deal

1128
00:36:48,208 --> 00:36:50,333
with the political kind of

1129
00:36:50,625 --> 00:36:53,583
chaotic system that they're living in um

1130
00:36:53,583 --> 00:36:55,833
as opposed to focusing on uh,

1131
00:36:56,250 --> 00:36:58,583
their their you know, their brain power

1132
00:36:58,583 --> 00:37:01,750
and focusing that on on solving kind of

1133
00:37:01,750 --> 00:37:03,750
the the biggest mysteries and and

1134
00:37:03,916 --> 00:37:04,541
You know coming up

1135
00:37:04,541 --> 00:37:05,458
with solutions for society

1136
00:37:06,750 --> 00:37:07,125
Absolutely

1137
00:37:08,000 --> 00:37:10,250
I want to kind of switch a little bit, uh

1138
00:37:10,250 --> 00:37:11,500
to highlight some another important

1139
00:37:11,500 --> 00:37:14,458
aspect of of noah and that is seafood

1140
00:37:14,666 --> 00:37:15,458
Like just fisheries

1141
00:37:15,458 --> 00:37:17,166
food and jobs in general

1142
00:37:17,666 --> 00:37:19,916
Um, a lot of people don't connect noah

1143
00:37:19,916 --> 00:37:22,125
with seafood prices, which I didn't

1144
00:37:22,125 --> 00:37:24,333
initially went until until I found out

1145
00:37:24,666 --> 00:37:27,083
So how does noah funding affect what

1146
00:37:27,083 --> 00:37:28,166
people pay at the

1147
00:37:28,166 --> 00:37:29,541
grocery store at a restaurant?

1148
00:37:30,291 --> 00:37:31,000
Yeah, so

1149
00:37:31,458 --> 00:37:33,541
Noah's responsibility is to try to make

1150
00:37:33,541 --> 00:37:35,750
sure that in the long run we have

1151
00:37:35,750 --> 00:37:37,583
fisheries that are sustainable that can

1152
00:37:37,583 --> 00:37:38,875
be sustainably harvested

1153
00:37:39,541 --> 00:37:42,333
For everyone and so what that means is

1154
00:37:42,333 --> 00:37:43,958
that they're ideally under

1155
00:37:43,958 --> 00:37:45,208
the magnus and stevens act

1156
00:37:45,541 --> 00:37:47,916
Ideally, there is a kind of a steadiness

1157
00:37:47,916 --> 00:37:49,958
and a stability to our seafood economy

1158
00:37:50,750 --> 00:37:52,416
Where you know, you don't have these

1159
00:37:52,416 --> 00:37:55,000
huge, you know gluts where fisheries, you

1160
00:37:55,000 --> 00:37:56,666
know fleets go out and

1161
00:37:56,666 --> 00:37:58,583
kind of devastate the fishery

1162
00:37:58,583 --> 00:37:59,708
And then it's gone

1163
00:38:00,250 --> 00:38:02,500
Yeah, instead you it's about sustainable

1164
00:38:02,500 --> 00:38:04,041
yield. It's about trying to make sure

1165
00:38:04,041 --> 00:38:05,000
that our sustainable

1166
00:38:05,541 --> 00:38:08,208
uh, you know our seafood economy is

1167
00:38:08,208 --> 00:38:10,250
sustainable and predictable and so that

1168
00:38:10,250 --> 00:38:12,500
that results in you know

1169
00:38:12,500 --> 00:38:14,083
seafood supplies that are

1170
00:38:14,500 --> 00:38:17,333
you know fairly steady but always with an

1171
00:38:17,333 --> 00:38:18,583
eye towards conservation

1172
00:38:18,583 --> 00:38:20,250
and always with an eye towards

1173
00:38:20,500 --> 00:38:21,541
Making sure that the

1174
00:38:21,541 --> 00:38:22,791
stocks are there in the future

1175
00:38:23,041 --> 00:38:25,625
Now that's a tough job, right? It's it's

1176
00:38:25,625 --> 00:38:27,708
not easy to do that and do it well

1177
00:38:28,166 --> 00:38:30,416
And you know the agency makes mistakes at

1178
00:38:30,416 --> 00:38:32,916
times and fisheries sometimes, you know

1179
00:38:32,916 --> 00:38:34,291
overshoot and overfish

1180
00:38:34,833 --> 00:38:36,000
stocks that they're fishing

1181
00:38:36,833 --> 00:38:39,291
But at least overall in the in the system

1182
00:38:39,291 --> 00:38:41,541
as a whole the idea is that we need

1183
00:38:41,541 --> 00:38:43,750
sustainable wild caught fisheries

1184
00:38:44,291 --> 00:38:46,208
That we can all access because when I go

1185
00:38:46,208 --> 00:38:47,416
to the grocery store and

1186
00:38:47,416 --> 00:38:48,916
when I look in the seafood case

1187
00:38:49,375 --> 00:38:51,166
If it's caught in the united

1188
00:38:51,166 --> 00:38:53,250
states as a wild caught fishery

1189
00:38:53,500 --> 00:38:56,375
I want to have a confidence that the us

1190
00:38:56,375 --> 00:38:58,666
government is making sure that that is

1191
00:38:58,666 --> 00:39:00,625
happening sustainably, right?

1192
00:39:00,875 --> 00:39:01,875
I don't want to have to

1193
00:39:02,125 --> 00:39:05,000
uh go and and you know have a phd and

1194
00:39:05,000 --> 00:39:06,875
fishery science to understand which fish

1195
00:39:06,875 --> 00:39:08,666
are sustainable and which are not

1196
00:39:08,833 --> 00:39:10,708
We should have an expectation to be able

1197
00:39:10,708 --> 00:39:12,291
to know that what we're eating

1198
00:39:13,000 --> 00:39:13,708
we can eat

1199
00:39:14,666 --> 00:39:17,916
safely and that it is not going to be at

1200
00:39:17,916 --> 00:39:20,166
the detriment of future generations

1201
00:39:21,125 --> 00:39:24,500
Now if cuts happen, yeah to noah and in

1202
00:39:24,500 --> 00:39:27,625
this and their seafood, you know programs

1203
00:39:28,291 --> 00:39:30,666
Uh, that stock assessment and and you

1204
00:39:30,666 --> 00:39:31,666
know the economy the

1205
00:39:31,666 --> 00:39:33,166
economics around it as well

1206
00:39:33,625 --> 00:39:35,833
Uh, how could coastal communities and

1207
00:39:35,833 --> 00:39:37,750
fishing jobs be affected? Yeah

1208
00:39:38,750 --> 00:39:40,250
it's a great question and the

1209
00:39:40,500 --> 00:39:40,875
the

1210
00:39:41,541 --> 00:39:42,625
one of the things that

1211
00:39:43,125 --> 00:39:45,541
The agency is already toying with as an

1212
00:39:45,541 --> 00:39:47,416
idea is that we're just going to take

1213
00:39:47,416 --> 00:39:48,583
some stocks out of management

1214
00:39:49,000 --> 00:39:50,208
We're just we're just going to stop

1215
00:39:50,208 --> 00:39:52,333
managing them at least some of them

1216
00:39:53,125 --> 00:39:53,416
and

1217
00:39:54,500 --> 00:39:56,458
What does that mean? Okay what that

1218
00:39:56,458 --> 00:39:58,500
means? It's almost as if you're driving a

1219
00:39:58,500 --> 00:39:59,500
car down the highway

1220
00:39:59,875 --> 00:40:02,333
Yeah, and you're like, all right. This

1221
00:40:02,333 --> 00:40:03,500
highway is kind of straight

1222
00:40:03,500 --> 00:40:06,000
I feel kind of confident but like it

1223
00:40:06,000 --> 00:40:06,916
takes a lot of energy

1224
00:40:06,916 --> 00:40:07,958
to keep my eyes open

1225
00:40:08,166 --> 00:40:10,375
So i'm just going to put a blindfold on

1226
00:40:10,375 --> 00:40:12,458
and we'll hope for the best right?

1227
00:40:13,333 --> 00:40:14,250
And so hopefully we're

1228
00:40:14,250 --> 00:40:15,541
still going straight. Yes

1229
00:40:16,333 --> 00:40:17,166
So you may not

1230
00:40:17,166 --> 00:40:19,083
experience tragedy right away

1231
00:40:19,541 --> 00:40:21,500
But sooner or later you're

1232
00:40:21,500 --> 00:40:22,666
going to end up in a car wreck

1233
00:40:23,166 --> 00:40:25,041
And your chances of being in a car wreck

1234
00:40:25,041 --> 00:40:26,708
have gone way up by

1235
00:40:26,708 --> 00:40:27,875
putting on a blindfold

1236
00:40:28,416 --> 00:40:29,833
And that's basically what we're saying

1237
00:40:29,833 --> 00:40:32,000
we're we're going to choose to do is, you

1238
00:40:32,000 --> 00:40:33,291
know, if we say, uh, it's a

1239
00:40:33,291 --> 00:40:34,541
self-fulfilling prophecy, right?

1240
00:40:34,583 --> 00:40:37,000
Uh, we can't afford because we have

1241
00:40:37,000 --> 00:40:38,375
budget cuts. We can't

1242
00:40:38,375 --> 00:40:39,541
afford to manage these stocks

1243
00:40:39,791 --> 00:40:42,125
So we're just gonna stop managing a bunch

1244
00:40:42,125 --> 00:40:43,875
of them, right? That's just saying we're

1245
00:40:43,875 --> 00:40:45,041
not going to be the eyes and ears

1246
00:40:45,041 --> 00:40:46,583
We're not going to look at it. We're not

1247
00:40:46,583 --> 00:40:47,375
going to try to manage

1248
00:40:47,375 --> 00:40:48,500
it. We're going to give up

1249
00:40:48,500 --> 00:40:50,250
We're going to put on the blindfold and

1250
00:40:50,250 --> 00:40:52,375
then we'll wait for disaster to strike

1251
00:40:52,375 --> 00:40:54,041
and mark you it will

1252
00:40:54,041 --> 00:40:55,750
happen. Yeah sooner or later

1253
00:40:56,416 --> 00:40:58,458
Yeah, and we talk a lot about you know

1254
00:40:58,458 --> 00:41:00,500
with weather and safety and communities

1255
00:41:00,500 --> 00:41:01,416
and so forth already

1256
00:41:02,083 --> 00:41:03,625
um, you know, but some people are like

1257
00:41:03,625 --> 00:41:05,166
with these cuts a lot of people are like

1258
00:41:05,166 --> 00:41:06,500
and I guess this is a very

1259
00:41:07,208 --> 00:41:08,666
I'm gonna say like conservative way of

1260
00:41:08,666 --> 00:41:09,583
thinking like in terms

1261
00:41:09,583 --> 00:41:10,583
of conservative politics

1262
00:41:10,583 --> 00:41:12,208
But some argue that you know private

1263
00:41:12,208 --> 00:41:14,458
companies could replace, you know

1264
00:41:14,458 --> 00:41:16,291
government services, right? Especially

1265
00:41:16,291 --> 00:41:17,833
like science services

1266
00:41:18,333 --> 00:41:18,833
um

1267
00:41:19,458 --> 00:41:21,791
Potentially like weather stations and and

1268
00:41:21,791 --> 00:41:23,083
so forth. Where does

1269
00:41:23,083 --> 00:41:24,333
that argument fall short?

1270
00:41:24,958 --> 00:41:26,208
Yeah, because it because it like it

1271
00:41:26,208 --> 00:41:28,000
doesn't that doesn't seem like that's a

1272
00:41:28,000 --> 00:41:29,625
good idea in the long run

1273
00:41:30,166 --> 00:41:31,875
So where does that argument fall short?

1274
00:41:32,583 --> 00:41:33,458
Yeah, so I think

1275
00:41:34,000 --> 00:41:35,625
The the weather service is actually a

1276
00:41:35,625 --> 00:41:37,708
great example of this and it's a great

1277
00:41:37,708 --> 00:41:39,416
example because much of

1278
00:41:39,416 --> 00:41:40,750
what the weather service does

1279
00:41:41,000 --> 00:41:43,041
Is already a public private partnership

1280
00:41:43,666 --> 00:41:45,083
Right in the sense that a lot of the

1281
00:41:45,083 --> 00:41:47,250
weather that you get the delivery of it

1282
00:41:47,250 --> 00:41:49,708
is often from the private sector

1283
00:41:49,708 --> 00:41:51,375
It's from businesses. It's from the

1284
00:41:51,375 --> 00:41:52,791
weather channel. It's from your local

1285
00:41:53,291 --> 00:41:55,500
Weather station it's from your you know,

1286
00:41:55,500 --> 00:41:57,833
whatever app you use on your phone

1287
00:41:58,166 --> 00:41:58,625
um

1288
00:41:59,083 --> 00:42:01,250
But in order for you to get that forecast

1289
00:42:01,541 --> 00:42:03,250
It's kind of like we need to treat

1290
00:42:03,250 --> 00:42:05,166
weather or think about weather the way we

1291
00:42:05,166 --> 00:42:06,416
think about the post office

1292
00:42:07,208 --> 00:42:09,750
Right the post office basically

1293
00:42:09,750 --> 00:42:11,291
guarantees that anyone

1294
00:42:11,291 --> 00:42:12,458
anywhere in the country

1295
00:42:13,041 --> 00:42:14,750
can send and get mail

1296
00:42:15,541 --> 00:42:17,875
That is incredibly empowering for

1297
00:42:17,875 --> 00:42:19,875
everyone universally across the country

1298
00:42:20,666 --> 00:42:23,375
And if you take that universality away if

1299
00:42:23,375 --> 00:42:24,208
you say, you know what?

1300
00:42:24,208 --> 00:42:26,000
We're just gonna you know, we'll collect

1301
00:42:26,000 --> 00:42:27,125
have you we'll let

1302
00:42:27,125 --> 00:42:28,208
the private sector do it

1303
00:42:28,208 --> 00:42:30,250
We'll let the private sector decide when

1304
00:42:30,250 --> 00:42:32,583
and where to collect weather data

1305
00:42:33,041 --> 00:42:35,416
Do you think remote areas and rural areas

1306
00:42:35,416 --> 00:42:37,375
are going to get good service in the way

1307
00:42:37,375 --> 00:42:38,916
that they do if they do?

1308
00:42:38,916 --> 00:42:40,708
They'd have to pay a lot of money

1309
00:42:40,750 --> 00:42:43,500
Exactly people can't afford and now we're

1310
00:42:43,500 --> 00:42:44,833
playing with people's lives here.

1311
00:42:44,833 --> 00:42:46,416
Exactly. I think that's the problem

1312
00:42:46,458 --> 00:42:48,875
Yeah, so I very much think of it in in

1313
00:42:48,875 --> 00:42:50,666
those terms where it's like it doesn't

1314
00:42:50,666 --> 00:42:51,875
matter whether you live

1315
00:42:51,875 --> 00:42:53,750
in some remote area in

1316
00:42:53,833 --> 00:42:55,958
Alaska or new york city

1317
00:42:56,583 --> 00:42:59,291
Or rock island, Illinois where I grew up

1318
00:42:59,625 --> 00:43:01,041
You deserve to have a decent weather

1319
00:43:01,041 --> 00:43:02,791
forecast and it's the government's

1320
00:43:02,791 --> 00:43:04,000
responsibility to make sure

1321
00:43:04,333 --> 00:43:06,541
We have the data and the information to

1322
00:43:06,541 --> 00:43:08,333
keep you protected and keep you informed

1323
00:43:09,041 --> 00:43:09,291
Yeah

1324
00:43:09,708 --> 00:43:11,375
Now I guess, you know a lot

1325
00:43:11,375 --> 00:43:12,333
of the stuff that came out

1326
00:43:12,833 --> 00:43:14,500
especially since the trump administration

1327
00:43:14,500 --> 00:43:16,750
they're attributing it towards politics

1328
00:43:16,750 --> 00:43:18,583
like this is a political thing that

1329
00:43:18,583 --> 00:43:20,375
happened and we need to

1330
00:43:20,375 --> 00:43:20,666
uh

1331
00:43:20,916 --> 00:43:22,791
Understand that if the politics change

1332
00:43:23,125 --> 00:43:25,041
Maybe things will change and that's I

1333
00:43:25,041 --> 00:43:26,666
think that's the general hope for these

1334
00:43:26,666 --> 00:43:28,583
midterm elections that if you know

1335
00:43:28,583 --> 00:43:30,583
If things flip or things change then

1336
00:43:30,583 --> 00:43:32,375
hopefully things will change, you know in

1337
00:43:32,375 --> 00:43:34,166
especially in this in this situation

1338
00:43:34,583 --> 00:43:37,666
But is it could it be more about whether

1339
00:43:37,666 --> 00:43:39,916
like society values public service

1340
00:43:39,916 --> 00:43:40,791
infrastructure like

1341
00:43:40,791 --> 00:43:41,791
especially for science?

1342
00:43:42,375 --> 00:43:44,333
Like is this is this a sign where like

1343
00:43:44,333 --> 00:43:46,333
the you know, somebody just uses, you

1344
00:43:46,333 --> 00:43:47,291
know, a party comes in it

1345
00:43:47,291 --> 00:43:48,625
could have been democrats

1346
00:43:48,625 --> 00:43:49,916
It could have been republicans. It just

1347
00:43:49,916 --> 00:43:51,500
happened to be republicans this time and

1348
00:43:51,500 --> 00:43:52,791
said, hey, you know what?

1349
00:43:53,250 --> 00:43:54,291
We know we can find

1350
00:43:54,291 --> 00:43:56,291
room for for cost savings

1351
00:43:56,666 --> 00:43:59,000
And we're going to go into noah and we're

1352
00:43:59,000 --> 00:43:59,791
going to go into science

1353
00:43:59,791 --> 00:44:01,458
We're going to cut a bunch because it's a

1354
00:44:01,458 --> 00:44:03,541
big department. It's easy to cut

1355
00:44:04,000 --> 00:44:06,041
You know and we'll probably get a lot of

1356
00:44:06,041 --> 00:44:07,458
backing from the public on this

1357
00:44:07,625 --> 00:44:09,541
So is it more of like a political shift

1358
00:44:09,541 --> 00:44:11,583
or is it more of just society just

1359
00:44:11,583 --> 00:44:13,291
doesn't understand how important?

1360
00:44:13,833 --> 00:44:15,333
A service like noah is

1361
00:44:15,333 --> 00:44:17,125
I think it's a mix

1362
00:44:17,125 --> 00:44:20,000
I try to when it comes to noah in

1363
00:44:20,000 --> 00:44:21,958
particular. I try to not think of it in

1364
00:44:21,958 --> 00:44:23,625
partisan terms at all

1365
00:44:24,291 --> 00:44:25,958
And you know, frankly when

1366
00:44:25,958 --> 00:44:27,875
you see what congress has done

1367
00:44:28,333 --> 00:44:30,416
So the bush the trump administration

1368
00:44:30,416 --> 00:44:33,041
proposed their initial budget to really

1369
00:44:33,041 --> 00:44:34,416
just eviscerate noah

1370
00:44:35,000 --> 00:44:36,791
And then congress in the most recent

1371
00:44:36,791 --> 00:44:37,666
appropriations funds

1372
00:44:37,666 --> 00:44:38,791
that we worked very hard

1373
00:44:39,041 --> 00:44:41,500
To push against that and to advocate for

1374
00:44:41,500 --> 00:44:43,333
congress to fully fund noah

1375
00:44:43,333 --> 00:44:45,375
And that's basically what congress did

1376
00:44:45,375 --> 00:44:47,750
and that was republicans and democrats

1377
00:44:48,166 --> 00:44:51,083
Okay, so it wasn't a partisan issue and

1378
00:44:51,083 --> 00:44:53,416
you can't argue it as a partisan issue

1379
00:44:53,708 --> 00:44:55,500
At the end of the day, this is about

1380
00:44:55,500 --> 00:44:57,291
services that everybody needs

1381
00:44:57,625 --> 00:45:00,000
Everyone relies on everyone depends on

1382
00:45:00,000 --> 00:45:01,833
and so it doesn't actually help

1383
00:45:02,416 --> 00:45:04,125
To tell in telling that

1384
00:45:04,125 --> 00:45:06,666
story to make it a partisan thing

1385
00:45:07,208 --> 00:45:08,916
Uh, so, you know

1386
00:45:09,291 --> 00:45:11,041
We're seeing the trump administration go

1387
00:45:11,041 --> 00:45:12,500
through the process again where they

1388
00:45:12,500 --> 00:45:13,708
proposed another budget

1389
00:45:13,875 --> 00:45:15,583
They're cutting the you know operational

1390
00:45:15,583 --> 00:45:18,166
funding for noah by about a third

1391
00:45:18,333 --> 00:45:20,333
I mean it would just completely devastate

1392
00:45:20,333 --> 00:45:21,916
services that people depend on

1393
00:45:22,375 --> 00:45:23,791
And I think it's the sort of thing that

1394
00:45:23,791 --> 00:45:26,541
it may sound good politically in theory

1395
00:45:27,041 --> 00:45:29,375
But once you actually look at the details

1396
00:45:29,375 --> 00:45:32,166
and once you talk about the realities of

1397
00:45:32,166 --> 00:45:33,000
what that would mean

1398
00:45:33,375 --> 00:45:35,458
And what that would take off the table

1399
00:45:35,458 --> 00:45:38,000
for people's constituents in

1400
00:45:38,000 --> 00:45:39,833
congress and for businesses

1401
00:45:40,666 --> 00:45:43,625
Uh, then like all of a sudden you see

1402
00:45:43,625 --> 00:45:45,291
people getting really practical really

1403
00:45:45,291 --> 00:45:47,708
fast in terms of like, okay

1404
00:45:47,791 --> 00:45:49,750
We can't we can't cut that funding

1405
00:45:49,750 --> 00:45:50,791
because it's more

1406
00:45:50,791 --> 00:45:52,791
important than than we realized

1407
00:45:53,625 --> 00:45:55,000
And to get that

1408
00:45:55,416 --> 00:45:58,166
Across that message across like not only

1409
00:45:58,166 --> 00:46:01,000
do does ocean conservancy work within the

1410
00:46:01,000 --> 00:46:03,375
walls of government and to

1411
00:46:03,791 --> 00:46:05,250
Build those relationships, but you also

1412
00:46:05,250 --> 00:46:06,500
have relationships with your

1413
00:46:06,500 --> 00:46:07,625
constituents, right?

1414
00:46:07,625 --> 00:46:09,958
The people who who support you the people

1415
00:46:09,958 --> 00:46:11,791
who follow ocean conservancy

1416
00:46:12,250 --> 00:46:14,208
um and some people who may be affiliates

1417
00:46:14,208 --> 00:46:16,458
of those of those people family members

1418
00:46:16,458 --> 00:46:17,375
and so forth who may

1419
00:46:17,375 --> 00:46:18,625
not follow directly but

1420
00:46:19,041 --> 00:46:19,500
You know

1421
00:46:20,083 --> 00:46:21,833
Maybe need to be convinced that hey noah

1422
00:46:21,833 --> 00:46:23,958
is really crucial and especially in

1423
00:46:23,958 --> 00:46:25,291
certain certain situations

1424
00:46:25,291 --> 00:46:26,500
like we've discussed today

1425
00:46:27,208 --> 00:46:27,541
um

1426
00:46:27,958 --> 00:46:29,166
Has the has the ocean

1427
00:46:29,166 --> 00:46:30,250
conservancy had success?

1428
00:46:31,500 --> 00:46:34,083
in changing people's minds about

1429
00:46:34,500 --> 00:46:36,666
The importance of noah who may like to

1430
00:46:36,666 --> 00:46:38,541
for people who may not have thought

1431
00:46:39,208 --> 00:46:40,166
That noah was important

1432
00:46:40,166 --> 00:46:41,125
and agreed with the cuts

1433
00:46:41,125 --> 00:46:43,083
But now we're like, oh wait, we either we

1434
00:46:43,083 --> 00:46:44,958
either realize we're missing this service

1435
00:46:44,958 --> 00:46:46,708
that noah provided because of the cuts

1436
00:46:47,125 --> 00:46:50,333
Or we understand now better because of

1437
00:46:50,333 --> 00:46:51,250
the messaging from

1438
00:46:51,250 --> 00:46:53,041
ocean conservancy and other

1439
00:46:53,583 --> 00:46:54,916
Nonprofits and other people who are

1440
00:46:54,916 --> 00:46:55,750
trying to fight these cuts

1441
00:46:55,750 --> 00:46:58,375
Yeah, I mean when we go to capital hill

1442
00:46:58,375 --> 00:47:00,250
when our teams and we have a fantastic

1443
00:47:00,750 --> 00:47:02,583
Team of people here at ocean conservancy

1444
00:47:02,583 --> 00:47:04,333
when we go to capital hill

1445
00:47:04,833 --> 00:47:06,541
um, we are very

1446
00:47:07,125 --> 00:47:09,500
Methodical about making sure that we're

1447
00:47:09,500 --> 00:47:11,500
not just going into offices where we know

1448
00:47:11,500 --> 00:47:13,125
people are going to agree with us

1449
00:47:13,625 --> 00:47:15,416
Yeah, we go into offices, you know

1450
00:47:15,416 --> 00:47:17,166
The leading edge offices where we think

1451
00:47:17,166 --> 00:47:18,500
they're probably going to disagree with

1452
00:47:18,500 --> 00:47:19,791
us, but we've got to tell

1453
00:47:19,791 --> 00:47:21,166
the story anyway, right?

1454
00:47:21,166 --> 00:47:24,416
We've got right and I I tell you what as

1455
00:47:24,416 --> 00:47:25,625
long as we're going in

1456
00:47:26,250 --> 00:47:28,083
with a a practical

1457
00:47:28,833 --> 00:47:31,791
Story based like let's talk about your

1458
00:47:31,791 --> 00:47:33,750
district and your constituents and why

1459
00:47:33,750 --> 00:47:35,458
this matters for your people

1460
00:47:36,083 --> 00:47:37,208
As long as we're going

1461
00:47:37,208 --> 00:47:38,125
in with that attitude

1462
00:47:38,333 --> 00:47:40,375
It's amazing how often we get surprised

1463
00:47:40,375 --> 00:47:41,833
by people who you know

1464
00:47:42,500 --> 00:47:44,250
Theoretically are not people who are

1465
00:47:44,250 --> 00:47:45,625
likely to agree with us

1466
00:47:46,333 --> 00:47:47,500
And so it's it's

1467
00:47:47,500 --> 00:47:49,333
about doing that hard work

1468
00:47:49,833 --> 00:47:51,958
Of you know, like I said before a

1469
00:47:51,958 --> 00:47:53,166
thousand small conversations.

1470
00:47:53,166 --> 00:47:55,416
It's about telling the story

1471
00:47:55,791 --> 00:47:57,500
It's about you know, we will always start

1472
00:47:57,500 --> 00:47:58,708
from the place of the ocean,

1473
00:47:58,708 --> 00:48:00,375
right when I talk about kansas

1474
00:48:00,500 --> 00:48:03,166
It's about how important ocean sensors in

1475
00:48:03,166 --> 00:48:05,000
the gulf of mexico are to kansas

1476
00:48:05,375 --> 00:48:07,000
Because that you know, there there is a

1477
00:48:07,000 --> 00:48:09,166
nexus though, but it's actually really

1478
00:48:09,166 --> 00:48:11,125
cool that those stories

1479
00:48:11,708 --> 00:48:13,791
happen to align with the

1480
00:48:13,791 --> 00:48:15,041
intersectionality within

1481
00:48:15,041 --> 00:48:16,875
noah, right the fact that

1482
00:48:17,291 --> 00:48:19,541
You know, let's talk about the importance

1483
00:48:19,541 --> 00:48:22,458
of the ocean to kansas and that literally

1484
00:48:22,458 --> 00:48:24,833
demonstrates how you cannot cut

1485
00:48:25,291 --> 00:48:27,000
Any of that that chain

1486
00:48:27,000 --> 00:48:29,166
that ends up with a tornado

1487
00:48:30,166 --> 00:48:30,666
forecast

1488
00:48:31,625 --> 00:48:33,791
In in the heart of the midwest or the

1489
00:48:33,791 --> 00:48:34,791
heart of the great plains

1490
00:48:35,458 --> 00:48:37,416
Because if you ignore the ocean

1491
00:48:38,083 --> 00:48:40,250
You don't have a chance in doing what

1492
00:48:40,250 --> 00:48:42,208
you're trying to do, uh in in the middle

1493
00:48:42,208 --> 00:48:43,416
of kansas or oklahoma

1494
00:48:43,416 --> 00:48:45,333
or illinois or wisconsin

1495
00:48:46,291 --> 00:48:48,541
gotcha now, um

1496
00:48:48,708 --> 00:48:50,208
there's a lot of

1497
00:48:50,833 --> 00:48:51,166
fight

1498
00:48:51,958 --> 00:48:53,375
from conservationists

1499
00:48:53,958 --> 00:48:55,333
ocean advocates people

1500
00:48:55,333 --> 00:48:57,375
around the us and around the world

1501
00:48:57,791 --> 00:48:59,625
To bring like, you know to make sure no

1502
00:48:59,625 --> 00:49:00,875
doesn't get cut and also to

1503
00:49:00,875 --> 00:49:01,916
fight a lot of other policy

1504
00:49:01,916 --> 00:49:03,708
There's deep sea mining policy. There's

1505
00:49:04,333 --> 00:49:06,416
Oil and gas exploration policy that a lot

1506
00:49:06,416 --> 00:49:07,250
of people are fighting

1507
00:49:08,333 --> 00:49:09,375
and it can get

1508
00:49:10,166 --> 00:49:10,833
a little

1509
00:49:11,375 --> 00:49:12,000
you know

1510
00:49:12,250 --> 00:49:14,250
uh depressing at times

1511
00:49:14,250 --> 00:49:15,500
because once you know

1512
00:49:15,500 --> 00:49:16,958
You think you fight one thing then

1513
00:49:16,958 --> 00:49:19,166
another thing comes out and all these,

1514
00:49:19,166 --> 00:49:21,250
you know rfi's like request for

1515
00:49:21,250 --> 00:49:22,916
information are coming out for

1516
00:49:23,208 --> 00:49:25,500
all these different policies, um

1517
00:49:25,708 --> 00:49:28,708
And you know it it can it can kind of you

1518
00:49:28,708 --> 00:49:30,500
kind of lose the hope at some point

1519
00:49:31,125 --> 00:49:31,416
what

1520
00:49:32,500 --> 00:49:34,666
You know, what gives you hope right now?

1521
00:49:35,083 --> 00:49:37,208
Uh, you know about the

1522
00:49:37,208 --> 00:49:39,041
future of ocean policy?

1523
00:49:40,041 --> 00:49:40,083
Oh

1524
00:49:40,916 --> 00:49:42,166
It's such an important question

1525
00:49:42,833 --> 00:49:44,958
And I think that the the thing that

1526
00:49:45,541 --> 00:49:48,916
Is easy to forget is the perspective if

1527
00:49:48,916 --> 00:49:50,958
you only look at a short time period

1528
00:49:51,791 --> 00:49:53,750
But when you look at a broader time

1529
00:49:53,750 --> 00:49:55,958
horizon and you look at multiple decades

1530
00:49:56,416 --> 00:49:56,666
Yeah

1531
00:49:57,208 --> 00:50:00,416
Climate change is is getting worse and

1532
00:50:00,416 --> 00:50:01,333
that's a big challenge.

1533
00:50:01,333 --> 00:50:02,708
That's like on the upswing

1534
00:50:03,291 --> 00:50:04,708
You've got you know

1535
00:50:05,291 --> 00:50:06,208
Plastic pollution in

1536
00:50:06,208 --> 00:50:07,958
the ocean is a big problem

1537
00:50:07,958 --> 00:50:09,708
That's a big thing that we need to fight

1538
00:50:09,708 --> 00:50:12,083
and battle and tackle for the future

1539
00:50:12,416 --> 00:50:14,416
But there are also a lot of challenges

1540
00:50:14,416 --> 00:50:16,500
that we've actually gotten our hands

1541
00:50:16,500 --> 00:50:18,125
around pretty well, right?

1542
00:50:18,833 --> 00:50:20,666
The sustainability of our fisheries in

1543
00:50:20,666 --> 00:50:21,583
the united states is

1544
00:50:21,583 --> 00:50:23,291
vastly better than it was

1545
00:50:23,875 --> 00:50:25,666
Back in the 70s when the maggots and

1546
00:50:25,666 --> 00:50:27,250
stevens act was originally passed

1547
00:50:27,708 --> 00:50:29,666
You know the state of endangered species

1548
00:50:29,666 --> 00:50:31,083
while there's a lot of species

1549
00:50:31,083 --> 00:50:32,625
recoveries that need to happen

1550
00:50:33,208 --> 00:50:35,166
We have stopped seeing the rate of

1551
00:50:35,166 --> 00:50:37,291
extinction that you know originally was

1552
00:50:37,291 --> 00:50:38,916
happening or and was

1553
00:50:38,916 --> 00:50:40,916
anticipated to happen

1554
00:50:41,458 --> 00:50:43,125
You know back in the 70s and so

1555
00:50:43,625 --> 00:50:45,916
Much less talk about water quality and

1556
00:50:45,916 --> 00:50:47,750
air pollution and those sorts of things

1557
00:50:47,750 --> 00:50:49,000
again. There are way

1558
00:50:49,000 --> 00:50:50,000
more challenges. I mean

1559
00:50:50,750 --> 00:50:52,583
Water pollution is fascinating that we've

1560
00:50:52,583 --> 00:50:53,666
come so far and yet we

1561
00:50:53,666 --> 00:50:55,333
still have so much further to go

1562
00:50:55,875 --> 00:50:56,083
right

1563
00:50:57,208 --> 00:50:59,708
But I think the the thing that gives me

1564
00:50:59,708 --> 00:51:01,333
hope is the fact that we have made

1565
00:51:01,333 --> 00:51:03,500
progress in so many areas

1566
00:51:03,958 --> 00:51:06,000
Yeah, the areas where I think

1567
00:51:06,000 --> 00:51:07,791
we have a lot more work to do

1568
00:51:08,166 --> 00:51:10,166
You know, it can feel daunting, but

1569
00:51:10,166 --> 00:51:12,625
that's where innovation happens, right?

1570
00:51:12,625 --> 00:51:14,041
Yeah, and that's where you roll up your

1571
00:51:14,041 --> 00:51:16,416
sleeves and you do your work and you call

1572
00:51:16,416 --> 00:51:17,708
your member of congress because that's

1573
00:51:17,708 --> 00:51:18,541
what we all need to do

1574
00:51:18,583 --> 00:51:19,333
Yeah

1575
00:51:20,166 --> 00:51:21,833
But at the end of the day, we can't do

1576
00:51:21,833 --> 00:51:24,583
any of this if we don't have the basic

1577
00:51:24,583 --> 00:51:26,583
federal infrastructure in place

1578
00:51:27,000 --> 00:51:30,416
And the the primary ocean agency that is

1579
00:51:30,416 --> 00:51:32,708
intact that has the best scientists in

1580
00:51:32,708 --> 00:51:33,375
the world and the

1581
00:51:33,375 --> 00:51:34,541
best experts in the world

1582
00:51:35,000 --> 00:51:35,958
If we don't have that

1583
00:51:36,500 --> 00:51:39,458
It's a much harder place to start from so

1584
00:51:39,458 --> 00:51:41,541
we've got to keep our basically our core

1585
00:51:41,541 --> 00:51:42,833
infrastructure in place

1586
00:51:43,291 --> 00:51:45,125
Yeah, and we can tackle these problems.

1587
00:51:45,125 --> 00:51:46,041
I'm not saying we're

1588
00:51:46,041 --> 00:51:46,708
going to win everything

1589
00:51:47,375 --> 00:51:50,416
Right in the next 10 years, but but you

1590
00:51:50,416 --> 00:51:51,916
know, we've demonstrated time and time

1591
00:51:51,916 --> 00:51:52,750
again that we can find

1592
00:51:52,750 --> 00:51:54,916
solutions and we can make progress

1593
00:51:55,875 --> 00:51:57,041
You you hit on a really

1594
00:51:57,041 --> 00:51:59,125
interesting point we've come so far

1595
00:52:00,125 --> 00:52:02,125
Right in terms of like I mean at one

1596
00:52:02,125 --> 00:52:03,750
point lake gary set itself

1597
00:52:03,750 --> 00:52:05,958
on fire. It was so polluted

1598
00:52:06,250 --> 00:52:08,708
You know having the the clean water act

1599
00:52:08,708 --> 00:52:10,375
the clean air act on the

1600
00:52:10,375 --> 00:52:12,041
canning inside having similar acts

1601
00:52:12,416 --> 00:52:14,125
That allowed us to have safe drinking

1602
00:52:14,125 --> 00:52:15,750
water that allowed us to have all these

1603
00:52:16,500 --> 00:52:17,541
Different things that we

1604
00:52:17,541 --> 00:52:19,791
don't even know about most of us

1605
00:52:20,000 --> 00:52:22,291
That are already enacted and have helped

1606
00:52:22,291 --> 00:52:24,083
us serve for a better environment

1607
00:52:24,333 --> 00:52:25,750
And I think it's interesting we hear

1608
00:52:25,750 --> 00:52:26,500
about a lot of stuff

1609
00:52:26,500 --> 00:52:27,416
that we still need to do

1610
00:52:27,541 --> 00:52:28,708
You know, we hear a lot of endangered

1611
00:52:28,708 --> 00:52:30,541
species still need help and this and that

1612
00:52:30,916 --> 00:52:33,416
But like you said because these acts have

1613
00:52:33,416 --> 00:52:35,083
been passed we're seeing

1614
00:52:35,083 --> 00:52:36,500
less of extinction, right?

1615
00:52:37,000 --> 00:52:38,833
Do you think that like as you know ocean

1616
00:52:38,833 --> 00:52:40,375
advocates ourselves like whether it's

1617
00:52:40,375 --> 00:52:41,250
ocean conservancy

1618
00:52:41,250 --> 00:52:42,666
whether it's us as individuals

1619
00:52:43,333 --> 00:52:43,833
We have the

1620
00:52:43,833 --> 00:52:46,041
responsibility to kind of remind people

1621
00:52:46,500 --> 00:52:48,583
Of how good some of these acts do and do

1622
00:52:48,583 --> 00:52:50,541
you think like we may have?

1623
00:52:51,541 --> 00:52:52,750
I don't want to use the word failed

1624
00:52:53,250 --> 00:52:54,333
But maybe miss the

1625
00:52:54,333 --> 00:52:55,833
mark in reminding people

1626
00:52:56,375 --> 00:52:58,333
That these are things that I got on a

1627
00:52:58,333 --> 00:53:00,250
regular basis that these are things that

1628
00:53:00,916 --> 00:53:03,458
Have helped and these and and and having

1629
00:53:03,458 --> 00:53:06,041
things like specific departments

1630
00:53:06,583 --> 00:53:09,000
Within noah have helped us maintain

1631
00:53:10,041 --> 00:53:12,000
The level that we have now even though

1632
00:53:12,000 --> 00:53:13,458
there's improvements to be made

1633
00:53:14,041 --> 00:53:15,375
Yeah, I mean, I think we need to

1634
00:53:15,375 --> 00:53:17,208
constantly be telling those stories

1635
00:53:17,750 --> 00:53:19,083
and in in some respects

1636
00:53:19,625 --> 00:53:21,000
moments like right now

1637
00:53:21,625 --> 00:53:23,166
When things seem to be

1638
00:53:23,166 --> 00:53:24,875
under fire and under threat

1639
00:53:26,291 --> 00:53:28,083
People are more open to hearing those

1640
00:53:28,083 --> 00:53:30,625
stories now than they are when everything

1641
00:53:30,625 --> 00:53:32,958
is just fine and not really under

1642
00:53:33,500 --> 00:53:34,333
kind of the

1643
00:53:34,541 --> 00:53:35,458
You know the political

1644
00:53:35,458 --> 00:53:37,500
threat that uh that it is today

1645
00:53:38,041 --> 00:53:39,791
and so in some ways, you know

1646
00:53:40,875 --> 00:53:43,333
Like right now is a wonderful moment to

1647
00:53:43,333 --> 00:53:45,666
be able to tell the story of noah and how

1648
00:53:45,666 --> 00:53:47,500
important noah is in your life

1649
00:53:48,541 --> 00:53:50,541
Yeah, because it is under threat and we

1650
00:53:50,541 --> 00:53:52,125
are at risk of losing things

1651
00:53:52,500 --> 00:53:53,666
And my goodness

1652
00:53:53,666 --> 00:53:55,291
You need to call your member of congress

1653
00:53:55,291 --> 00:53:57,041
and let your member of congress know

1654
00:53:57,500 --> 00:53:59,666
That you don't want noah to go away and

1655
00:53:59,666 --> 00:54:01,375
that noah needs to be fully funded

1656
00:54:02,125 --> 00:54:03,458
but the um

1657
00:54:04,000 --> 00:54:07,208
The storytelling is a constant exercise.

1658
00:54:07,208 --> 00:54:07,833
It will never be

1659
00:54:07,833 --> 00:54:09,291
done. We'll never be done

1660
00:54:09,833 --> 00:54:11,958
For sure. Um, but I think as long as

1661
00:54:11,958 --> 00:54:14,125
we're driven by curiosity

1662
00:54:14,916 --> 00:54:17,666
In that storytelling, I mean there's

1663
00:54:17,666 --> 00:54:19,416
nothing better than being curious and

1664
00:54:19,416 --> 00:54:21,083
there's nothing better be to be curious

1665
00:54:21,083 --> 00:54:22,583
about than the ocean

1666
00:54:23,625 --> 00:54:25,500
Absolutely. I was gonna ask you if you

1667
00:54:25,500 --> 00:54:26,083
could leave our

1668
00:54:26,083 --> 00:54:27,291
listeners with one message

1669
00:54:27,791 --> 00:54:29,958
About no, I feel like that's that's it

1670
00:54:30,125 --> 00:54:33,000
I mean, you know, I we you and I know a

1671
00:54:33,000 --> 00:54:34,625
number of people who work for noah

1672
00:54:35,333 --> 00:54:36,166
They're driven by

1673
00:54:36,166 --> 00:54:37,875
curiosity. They're driven by

1674
00:54:38,375 --> 00:54:40,583
This this mission to help

1675
00:54:41,083 --> 00:54:42,833
Uh the agencies that they work for

1676
00:54:42,833 --> 00:54:44,875
protect the ocean protect the people

1677
00:54:45,541 --> 00:54:47,875
In the us and around the world

1678
00:54:48,125 --> 00:54:50,416
Uh, because we they do have programs that

1679
00:54:50,416 --> 00:54:51,791
help us around the world

1680
00:54:51,791 --> 00:54:53,625
You know not only from like looking at

1681
00:54:53,625 --> 00:54:55,750
sharks and and looking at different fish

1682
00:54:55,750 --> 00:54:56,833
species to making sure

1683
00:54:56,833 --> 00:54:58,041
that people have seafood

1684
00:54:58,750 --> 00:55:00,708
Uh, not only in the us but also around

1685
00:55:00,708 --> 00:55:02,708
the world, you know, but also look the

1686
00:55:02,708 --> 00:55:04,208
the the meteorological

1687
00:55:04,208 --> 00:55:05,708
services that they provide

1688
00:55:06,125 --> 00:55:07,333
tsunami warning

1689
00:55:08,250 --> 00:55:09,375
Technology and and and

1690
00:55:09,375 --> 00:55:11,125
services is just huge

1691
00:55:11,416 --> 00:55:13,416
Uh, no, those are just a couple of like

1692
00:55:13,416 --> 00:55:14,458
less than a handful of

1693
00:55:14,458 --> 00:55:15,583
the things that they can do

1694
00:55:16,041 --> 00:55:16,916
So I think it's really

1695
00:55:16,916 --> 00:55:18,083
important now, you know

1696
00:55:18,083 --> 00:55:19,916
One thing that I always say too is as you

1697
00:55:19,916 --> 00:55:21,083
as you mentioned calling your

1698
00:55:21,083 --> 00:55:23,208
congressperson to say hey, you know

1699
00:55:23,250 --> 00:55:25,208
We need to you know, remind them of their

1700
00:55:25,208 --> 00:55:27,541
duties to protect the citizens and and

1701
00:55:27,541 --> 00:55:28,875
and protect the ocean

1702
00:55:29,416 --> 00:55:30,458
and if they don't listen

1703
00:55:30,916 --> 00:55:33,416
there's some midterms coming up and

1704
00:55:33,416 --> 00:55:34,875
You know if if somebody's

1705
00:55:34,875 --> 00:55:36,083
not listening to what you want

1706
00:55:36,458 --> 00:55:38,000
You have the right to to vote for

1707
00:55:38,000 --> 00:55:39,000
somebody who will listen

1708
00:55:39,000 --> 00:55:41,333
to to what you want. So

1709
00:55:41,958 --> 00:55:43,875
You know feel free to to exercise your

1710
00:55:43,875 --> 00:55:45,500
right to do that, you know, and I think

1711
00:55:45,500 --> 00:55:47,375
that's that's a an important message

1712
00:55:47,375 --> 00:55:48,291
especially coming up

1713
00:55:49,166 --> 00:55:50,833
And and the way the things have gone and

1714
00:55:50,833 --> 00:55:52,083
it hasn't gone in the

1715
00:55:52,083 --> 00:55:52,875
way of the environment

1716
00:55:52,916 --> 00:55:53,875
So if you want things to

1717
00:55:53,875 --> 00:55:55,875
change this is your time to change

1718
00:55:55,875 --> 00:55:57,250
It's not sitting on the couch and be like

1719
00:55:57,250 --> 00:55:58,708
no my my vote doesn't

1720
00:55:58,708 --> 00:55:59,833
matter. It does matter

1721
00:56:00,375 --> 00:56:01,916
And I think it's really important to to

1722
00:56:01,916 --> 00:56:03,458
get out and vote so that people

1723
00:56:03,958 --> 00:56:04,916
listen because you know,

1724
00:56:04,916 --> 00:56:06,916
one thing i've seen is uh,

1725
00:56:07,041 --> 00:56:10,041
Is work that people put in to make sure

1726
00:56:10,041 --> 00:56:12,250
that people comment, you know against

1727
00:56:12,250 --> 00:56:14,916
these these deep sea mining rfi's and

1728
00:56:14,916 --> 00:56:17,041
uh during the public comment period as

1729
00:56:17,041 --> 00:56:19,833
well as the oil and gas exploration and

1730
00:56:19,833 --> 00:56:21,916
although some many of them have been

1731
00:56:21,916 --> 00:56:23,625
ignored or will be ignored by this

1732
00:56:23,625 --> 00:56:24,458
current administration

1733
00:56:25,083 --> 00:56:27,250
If you vote for the right people

1734
00:56:27,250 --> 00:56:29,791
Afterwards that that could switch in the

1735
00:56:29,791 --> 00:56:31,041
midterms, right and

1736
00:56:31,041 --> 00:56:31,958
they could look at that

1737
00:56:32,041 --> 00:56:33,833
Like you're the new congresspeople can

1738
00:56:33,833 --> 00:56:35,041
come in and look at that and be like

1739
00:56:35,041 --> 00:56:36,041
well, hold on a second

1740
00:56:36,583 --> 00:56:38,083
People don't want this and we work for

1741
00:56:38,083 --> 00:56:38,958
the people. So hopefully

1742
00:56:38,958 --> 00:56:40,250
that that can get changed. So

1743
00:56:40,833 --> 00:56:42,500
um, that's what i'll leave but if you

1744
00:56:42,500 --> 00:56:44,291
want to leave any last words that you

1745
00:56:44,291 --> 00:56:46,416
want to give give my audience this but

1746
00:56:46,416 --> 00:56:47,000
We have a lot of

1747
00:56:47,000 --> 00:56:48,166
americans in the audience

1748
00:56:48,750 --> 00:56:51,375
And people who love noah in this audience

1749
00:56:51,375 --> 00:56:54,083
who are americans and and beyond so what

1750
00:56:54,083 --> 00:56:54,791
would be the last

1751
00:56:54,791 --> 00:56:55,791
thing you'd like to say?

1752
00:56:56,041 --> 00:56:57,291
Uh for for this time because

1753
00:56:57,291 --> 00:56:58,541
we'd love to have you back on

1754
00:56:58,791 --> 00:57:00,541
No, just plus one to everything that you

1755
00:57:00,541 --> 00:57:03,416
just said and it's it's why calling

1756
00:57:03,416 --> 00:57:05,333
members of congress is so important

1757
00:57:05,500 --> 00:57:07,000
I think a lot of people think that it

1758
00:57:07,000 --> 00:57:09,333
doesn't matter. It really does as someone

1759
00:57:09,333 --> 00:57:10,916
who's worked in a congressional office

1760
00:57:11,416 --> 00:57:13,583
You've got a call members of congress

1761
00:57:13,583 --> 00:57:15,291
want to know where their constituents are

1762
00:57:15,291 --> 00:57:17,041
at and if there's something burning

1763
00:57:17,541 --> 00:57:19,541
That you care deeply about that. You

1764
00:57:19,541 --> 00:57:21,000
don't like the way things are going

1765
00:57:21,625 --> 00:57:23,541
Give them an earful. That's what they're

1766
00:57:23,541 --> 00:57:25,708
there for and yeah, um, you

1767
00:57:25,708 --> 00:57:27,208
know, then they can go into

1768
00:57:27,625 --> 00:57:30,458
Uh any election season at least they know

1769
00:57:30,458 --> 00:57:32,833
what uh, what what matters to you?

1770
00:57:33,625 --> 00:57:36,666
Yeah, absolutely. Jeff. This has been uh,

1771
00:57:36,666 --> 00:57:37,625
so much fun to have you on

1772
00:57:37,625 --> 00:57:39,000
I thank you for the work that you and

1773
00:57:39,000 --> 00:57:39,875
your colleagues have done

1774
00:57:39,875 --> 00:57:41,333
over at ocean conservancy

1775
00:57:41,875 --> 00:57:43,125
We're a big fan of you here at the

1776
00:57:43,125 --> 00:57:45,416
podcast of of of of the

1777
00:57:45,416 --> 00:57:46,833
organization of the work

1778
00:57:46,833 --> 00:57:50,500
And and coming on and sharing why we we

1779
00:57:50,500 --> 00:57:53,000
need noah why we should care about noah

1780
00:57:53,333 --> 00:57:54,958
So we thank you so much. We'll get this

1781
00:57:54,958 --> 00:57:56,541
message out as much as possible

1782
00:57:57,000 --> 00:57:58,708
We'd love to have you back on talk more

1783
00:57:58,708 --> 00:58:00,708
about your work at ocean conservancy and

1784
00:58:00,708 --> 00:58:02,416
hopefully next time you're back on

1785
00:58:02,458 --> 00:58:04,583
We'll see a bit of a change and and um

1786
00:58:04,583 --> 00:58:05,541
and some changes and some

1787
00:58:05,541 --> 00:58:07,000
policies. Yeah, that's great

1788
00:58:07,625 --> 00:58:09,791
Yeah, thank thank you so much. Appreciate

1789
00:58:09,791 --> 00:58:11,375
it. Thank you. Thank you. Jeff for

1790
00:58:11,375 --> 00:58:13,000
joining us on today's episode of the how

1791
00:58:13,000 --> 00:58:13,541
to protect the ocean

1792
00:58:13,541 --> 00:58:15,208
Podcast it was great to have this

1793
00:58:15,208 --> 00:58:16,958
conversation. Look noah is

1794
00:58:16,958 --> 00:58:18,166
one of those institutions

1795
00:58:18,458 --> 00:58:20,458
Many people never even think about until

1796
00:58:20,458 --> 00:58:21,458
something goes wrong

1797
00:58:21,875 --> 00:58:23,750
But as you heard today from jeff it

1798
00:58:23,750 --> 00:58:25,000
touches your daily life in

1799
00:58:25,000 --> 00:58:27,000
more ways than most of us realize

1800
00:58:27,500 --> 00:58:29,708
From storm warnings and safer seafood to

1801
00:58:29,708 --> 00:58:32,166
wildlife protection and ocean discovery

1802
00:58:32,458 --> 00:58:34,416
So I want to say a big thank you to jeff

1803
00:58:34,416 --> 00:58:36,500
waters for joining us on today and

1804
00:58:36,500 --> 00:58:37,750
helping us make sense

1805
00:58:37,958 --> 00:58:39,875
Of what is at stake with these funding

1806
00:58:39,875 --> 00:58:42,125
cuts and if this episode helped you

1807
00:58:42,125 --> 00:58:44,083
better understand why noah matters

1808
00:58:44,291 --> 00:58:46,208
Share it with someone who should hear it

1809
00:58:46,208 --> 00:58:47,583
Just all you have to do is just share the

1810
00:58:47,583 --> 00:58:48,333
link with whatever

1811
00:58:48,333 --> 00:58:49,625
podcast app you're listening to

1812
00:58:49,708 --> 00:58:50,791
It's easy for them to

1813
00:58:50,791 --> 00:58:52,875
pick it up and listen to it

1814
00:58:52,875 --> 00:58:54,583
And of course if you are new to the

1815
00:58:54,583 --> 00:58:55,916
podcast or if you haven't

1816
00:58:55,916 --> 00:58:56,916
followed the show before

1817
00:58:57,166 --> 00:58:58,791
Click that follow button right now in

1818
00:58:58,791 --> 00:59:00,166
your favorite podcast app, whether it's

1819
00:59:00,166 --> 00:59:01,708
apple podcast spotify

1820
00:59:02,041 --> 00:59:04,375
Amazon music whatever that might be to

1821
00:59:04,375 --> 00:59:05,500
follow the how to protect the ocean

1822
00:59:05,500 --> 00:59:07,333
podcast for next week's ocean

1823
00:59:07,625 --> 00:59:09,250
Update. I want to thank you so much for

1824
00:59:09,250 --> 00:59:10,958
joining me on today's episode of the how

1825
00:59:10,958 --> 00:59:12,041
to protect the ocean podcast

1826
00:59:12,458 --> 00:59:14,000
I'm your host. Andrew and have a great

1827
00:59:14,000 --> 00:59:14,750
day. We'll talk to you next

1828
00:59:14,750 --> 00:59:15,916
time and happy conservation