. | . |
International Beach Preservation Trust Locates At WCU
Cullowhee NC (SPX) Aug 27, 2008 Western Carolina University is the new home to the offices of the Santa Aguila Charitable Trust, an international organization devoted to the protection and preservation of beaches around the world, and recent WCU graduate Adam Griffith has been hired as director of the trust's Beachcare program. Griffith, who earned his master's degree in biology from Western in May, is working out of space in WCU's Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines, known worldwide for its use of science to influence public policy affecting management of U.S. shorelines. "Our immediate goal is to launch the official Beachcare Web site, www.beachcare.org, to inform, educate, protect and celebrate the world's beaches," Griffith said. Other priorities of the trust include identifying beaches in trouble around the world, and providing the scientific basis for improving their management, he said. "I love the beach and am thrilled to work in the nonprofit and environmental fields," Griffith said. Established by Olaf Guerrand-Hermes, a member of the family that founded the Paris-based Hermes fashion house, and wife Eva after the death of 2-year-old-daughter Aguila in a car accident in 2005, the Santa Aguila Charitable Trust strives to educate the general public regarding issues that threaten the world's beaches and coasts. The trust is especially interested in illustrating the negative impacts of sand mining, where sand is removed from beaches, often for construction purposes elsewhere; and shoreline armoring, where hard structures such as seawalls, jetties or groins are used to try to halt the naturally occurring movement of beaches, said Griffith. The relocation of the trust to WCU comes through the efforts of Rob Young, director of Western's Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines and a member of the advisory board of the trust. The advisory board oversees the trust's strategy and works to ensure its mission of global mobilization to stop the decimation of beaches worldwide. Other members are architect David Adjaye; Prince Pierre d'Aremberg; Yasmina Filali of the Orient-Occident Foundation; musician Aretha Franklin; Philippe d'Ornano, president of the Sisley corporation; Orrin Pilkey, founder of PSDS; and Glenna Patton of Viacom International. "This effort will unite PSDS and Western with a very influential group of global movers and shakers in the name of environmental education and responsible coastal management," Young said. "It is all very exciting." As part of the collaborative effort, over the summer Young and Griffith assisted in the creation of a documentary film funded by the trust. The production team is led by actor Jean-Marc Barr and director Pascal Arnold, well-know figures in international cinema. Locations for the documentary include North Carolina, Florida, California, France and Morocco. Small portions of the film will be released on the Beachcare Web site as the production moves forward and in theaters upon completion. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines Western Carolina University Water News - Science, Technology and Politics
A Recipe For Saving The World's Oceans From An Extinction Crisis San Diego CA (SPX) Aug 20, 2008 Jeremy Jackson, senior scientist emeritus of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, asserts in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, that the following steps, if taken immediately, could reverse the demise of the oceans: Establish marine reserves, enforce fishing regulations, implement aquaculture, remove subsidies on fertilizer use, muster human ingenuity to limit fossil fuel consumption, buy time by establishing local conservation measures. |
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2007 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |