Emily Penn, Program Director for Pangaea Explorations, will be speaking and leading a discussion about the state of Ocean conservation and the dynamics of cooperation with other organizations as they try to educate local populations and organize efforts to preserve resources and retard pollution.
The evening is sponsored jointly by New England Science & Sailing and Common Tides, and is open to the public free of charge.
Our oceans, which account for 71% of the earth's surface, are home to critical resources, from basic food to the building blocks of future life-saving medicines. From Valparaiso to Vanuatu, Stonington to Surat Thani, Thailand, millions of global jobs depend on a healthy marine environment. Scientists agree that governments devote precious little to sustain that precarious environment. Instead, the bulk of conservation work falls to non-profit organizations like Pangaea and Common Tides, and other hard working grassroots educational groups. Year in and year out, Emily Penn and her colleagues at Pangaea circumnavigate the earth aboard their 72 foot floating laboratory, Sea Dragon, exploring, taking biological samples and educating local populations on what more can be done to preserve this remarkable ecosystem.
"There are endless articles and statistics on the degrading state of the world's oceans but rarely is communication effective enough to compel people into action," says Penn, a British citizen who, while living on Tonga, organized one of the largest clean-up operations in the Pacific. "Pangaea's mission is to take people -- scientists, journalists, artists,
youth, everyday individuals - to see for themselves, engage with the ocean and sustain the connections for us all."
Emily Penn has sailed around the world in several different guises. On the world record-breaking biofuelled powerboat, Earthrace, she co-ordinated events promoting alternative fuels in 120 international cities. Then, living on
a remote island in Tonga, Penn organised one of the largest clean-up operations in the Pacific. Awarded Yachtsmaster of the year by HRH Princess Anne, Emily is now Program Director for Pangaea Explorations, leading
sailing expeditions around the world studying plastic pollution and coral reef biodiversity.
When: Wednesday evening at
7:00 pm, May 23, 2012
Where: New England Science & Sailing, 70 Water Street, Stonington, CT
Open to the public and free of charge.
