Press Releases

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2004-12-01 PRESS RELEASE: Underwater World Event - Philadelphia103.4 KiB957
2009-01-05 PRESS RELEASE: Ocean Explorer/Submarine Pilot Embarks on Special Solo “Expedition” to All 50 U.S. States, Territories247.8 KiB930
2014-04-18 PRESS RELEASE: Great Whale Conservancy: Earth Day - Whales at the Whitehouse561.4 KiB1080
2015-03-09 PRESS RELEASE: Grading Cuba on the Environment @ National Press Club689.6 KiB672
2018-05-31 PRESS RELEASE: Cuba-U.S. Collaboration in a New Era of Change: Successes and Challenges for Environmental and Historic Preservation Initiatives177.2 KiB325

Track Ocean Doctor's 50 States Expedition 2009

Ocean Doctor’s 50 States Expedition

Ocean Doctor’s “50 StatesExpedition” is a journey of outreach, education, and discovery announced by Dr. David E. Guggenheim on his 50th birthday to bring at no charge speeches and multimedia education programs about the oceans to schools in all 50 U.S. states and 5 inhabited U.S. territories. By its culmination, the expedition will reach more than 100 schools and tens of thousands of students, with whom the “Ocean Doctor” is sharing firsthand accounts and important lessons about the oceans and their conservation. The expedition is also promoting renewed interest in science and science careers among the students visited. Finally, the expedition is collecting thousands of messages from the students to be delivered to leaders in Washington, DC at the conclusion of the journey.

Wishing You a Year of Unscripted Happiness and Discovery

Sometimes planning is overrated. Sometimes thinking is overrated. Sometimes the best things happen when you just act. That’s what happened on my 50th birthday. Though it’s a concept I had thought about before, what’s become the “50 Years – 50 States – 50 Speeches Expedition” was an idea that literally popped into my head on the morning of my birthday. I knew if I thought about it too much — with all the challenges,
logistics, and complications — I’d talk myself out of it. So I announced the ambitious project to give speeches at no charge to schools in all 50 U.S. states (plus territories), and in so doing, dove into the deep end of a new endeavor that is rapidly taking on a life of its own. And that’s the best part of it.

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Ocean Doctor's "50 Years – 50 States – 50 Speeches Expedition" To Launch in California

A new expedition launches January 7, 2009 in California! The Ocean Doctor’s “50 Years – 50 States – 50 Speeches Expedition is a one-year journey of outreach, education, and discovery, announced by Dr. David E. Guggenheim on his 50th birthday (October 6, 2008) to bring, at no charge, speeches about the oceans to schools in all 50 U.S. states plus territories. By its culmination at the end of 2009, the “expedition” will have reached well over 100 schools — from Barrow, Alaska to Rapid City, South Dakota to the Florida Keys — to share firsthand accounts, stories, humor, passion, and important lessons about the oceans and their conservation. Through additional outreach in the visited communities, engagement of the media, and encouraging the visited schools to connect with each other and share their perspectives on the oceans through a new online social network, it is hoped that this project can help encourage an enduring wave of renewed interest in the oceans by its next generation of explorers, scientists and stewards.

The expedition is a joint project of The Ocean Foundation, the project’s fiscal sponsor, along with 1planet1ocean, and is supported by your tax-deductible donations to the “Ocean Doctor’s 50 Years – 50 States – 50 Speeches Expedition Fund” at The Ocean Foundation. Become a supporter!

50 States Expedition

What is it?

The Ocean Doctor’s “50 Years – 50 States – 50 Speeches Expedition” is a one-year journey of outreach, education, and discovery announced on my 50th birthday (October 6, 2008) to bring at no charge a speech about the oceans to schools in all 50 U.S. states plus territories. By its culmination at the end of 2009, I hope to reach more than 100 schools to share firsthand accounts, stories, humor, passion, and important lessons about the oceans and their conservation. But the impact of this expedition goes beyond the schools and students one person can reach personally in one year. Through outreach in the visited communties, engagement of the media, and encouraging the visited schools to connect with each other, I hope that this project can create an enduring wave of renewed interest in the oceans by its next generation of explorers, scientists and stewards. The expedition is a joint project of The Ocean Foundation, the fiscal sponsor, along with 1planet1ocean, and is supported by tax-deductible donations to the “Ocean Doctor’s 50 Years – 50 States – 50 Speeches Expedition Fund” at The Ocean Foundation.

My approach to this project is personal and heartfelt. Recalling my own youth and the powerful impact of the Gemini and Apollo program on myself and fellow students — an age when so many of us wanted to be scientists when we grew up — I hope to stimulate the same sort of awe and wonder, drawing students into ocean issues by inspiring their imagination through the sense of adventure and excitement of manned submarine exploration and research, sharing my firsthand “adventures” as a sub pilot, accompanied by video and still imagery. I will take the students with me on a modern-day journey of discovery, allowing them to relive my own discoveries and learn from my own changes in perspective about what’s ?down there? and what’s at stake, whether it be landing my sub in the middle of the enormous destruction left by a trawler at the bottom of the Bering Sea or finding the most unlikely inhabitants living in the dark and cold depths at 2,000 below and understanding why they?re there.

The presentations will cover the seven essential principles of ocean literacy as defined by the Ocean Literacy Network, including especially the facts that the ocean and humans are inextricably linked and that the ocean is largely unexplored. Each presentation will also include specific advice and contact information for students interested in pursuing marine science careers, and literature and resource materials will be provided to teachers and students.

Messages in a bottle from students all over the nation will be delivered to the Obama Administration

More than a series of disconnected lectures, we are working to connect the schools I visit through building an online community through existing social media sites, including Facebook, as well as the use of new tools, including ExploreOurOceans.org (currently in beta). Through these sites, students can share their thoughts and perspectives on the oceans, which are bound to be very different from Barrow, Alaska to Meridian, Idaho to Rapid City, South Dakota to the Florida Keys. These sites will also serve as a forum for teachers to connect to share teaching ideas and perspectives. I am recruiting colleagues to volunteer their time to participate in this community for an ?Ask a Marine Biologist? feature where students can get valuable access to ocean experts, including advice about careers. Other planned activities include ocean-related contests (photo/video contests, essay contests, etc.), student-authored articles for the public, etc. Messages in a bottle: I am collecting handwritten notes from students I visit to be put into 50 bottles, one representing each state. These bottles will be presented to the Obama Administration and Members of Congress at the conclusion of the expedition so they can better understand students’ perspectives, interests, concerns and hopes about the oceans.

We are offering each school I visit the opportunity for one or more side events in their community, including small fundraising events. The project is also an opportunity to share information about the oceans well beyond the schools visited. I will be using a variety of social media (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) along with the OceanDoctor.org blog and 1planet1ocean.org web site and ExpeditionDispatch newsletter to allow visitors to follow the expedition in near-real time. I will be carrying both audio and video recording equipment to interview teachers and students during my journey, which will be incorporated into regular updates from the field via ExpeditionCasts Podcast Series. We may also ?livecast? some of the talks.

The expedition is already attracting media attention with radio/TV appearances made in California and Wisconsin. Following the end of the journey, I will continue to share the experience, includuing what will no doubt be fascinating insights from the thousands of students visited, through speaking engagements, web sites, and possibly a video documentary and book project.


When and Where?

The Expedition So Far : The expedition launched in Sonoma, California on January 7th, 2009 and has made the following stops:

The Expedition So Far
Leg 1: California
Read the Blog Post

Stop 1: Sassarini Elementary School/Sonoma Ecology Center, Sonoma, California (1/7/09)

Stop 2: Ventura High School, Ventura, California (1/9/09)

Stop 3: Ojai Rotary Club, Ojai, California (1/9/09)

Leg 2: Florida
Read the Blog Post
New College of Florida, Sarasota, Florida (1/16/09)
Leg 3: Kansas
Read the Blog Post
Macksville High School, Macksville, Kansas (1/23/09)
Leg 4: South Dakota, Missouri, Nebraska

Stop 1: Central High School, Rapid City, South Dakota (1/27/09)
Read the Blog Post

Stop 2: The Principia School, St. Louis, Missouri (1/28/09)
Blog Post Coming Soon!

Stop 3: Wegner Middle School, Boys Town, Nebraska (1/29/09)
Blog Post Coming Soon!

Stop 4: Bellevue West High School, Bellevue, Nebraska (1/30/09)
Blog Post Coming Soon!

Upcoming: Confirmed upcoming engagements appear in the sidebar to the right, or you can view them on the calendar below. You can see all schools to be visited (confirmed and pending confirmation) on a map here.


Join the Expedition!

The first school to respond in each state or territory will receive a free speech. Several states/territories are still available (see table below). To reserve your school’s spot, use the online speaker booking form and indicate “free speech” in the comments. We can’t guarantee a speech to runners up, but we’re trying to say “yes” to as many schools as possible!.

Still Available!
Alabama
American Samoa
Delaware
District of Columbia
Federated States of Micronesia
Guam
Iowa
Louisiana
Marshall Islands
New Mexico
Northern Mariana Islands
Oklahoma
Palau
Utah
Vermont
Virgin Islands
West Virginia
Wyoming

Support the Expedition!

Make a Donation

Become an expedition supporter and receive special VIP updates from me along this journey. Just a few dollars will go a long way to covering travel costs. Your contribution is 100% tax-deductible and you’ll help to make this effort possible. We’ll also recognize you (optional) by displaying your name here on the OceanDoctor.org site and printed materials.

The link above will take you to The Ocean Foundation’s secure donation page at GroundSpring.org.

Important: Under Gift Information, please select “I’d like to make this donation on behalf of” and fill in “Ocean Doctor 50” which ensures your donation goes directly to the fund for this project.

Become a Corporate Sponsor

Join us as a corporate sponsor, partner or affiliate and receive lasting recognition before a national audience, including prominant display of logos and links on all web sites and printed materials, and optional distribution of your materials in visited schools. For more information on corporate sponsorship opportunities, please contact us.

Buy Expedition Gear!

Every purchase of our specially-branded, high-quality “Expedition Gear” helps defray the costs of bringing this program to schools across the U.S. and its territories. Choose from hats, buttons, hoodies, t-shirts, and the ever-popular coffee mugs. Show you’re part of the expedition!

Support Our Sponsors & Affiliates!

Show your support by visiting our sponsors and affiliates.


Track the Expedition!

You’re already in the best place for updates from the expedition. Check back regularly at OceanDoctor.org, subscribe to our feed or to the 1planet1ocean ExpeditionDispatch newsletter (see below). More frequent updates are available on my Twitter and Facebook feeds.

Using my cell phone, Internet, or a satellite uplink, I’ll be reporting my location from the field regularly, which will be updated on the map below (and in the sidebar) and will also update my Twitter and Facebook feeds.

The Ocean Doctor’s Recent Location

For updates, including photos, from specific schools, check out the special page set up for each school. You can find these pages by selecting “Events” or by doing a text search (upper right hand part of the page). Here’s a sample page for Bellevue Public Schools, Nebraska.


What’s Happening Now?

Subscribe to ExpeditionDispatch

Subscribe to the 1planet1ocean newsletter!


This page is made possible by Audible


Free Speech(es): 50 Years, 50 States, 50 Speeches

Fresh from the Eisenhower Administration era, your friendly neighborhood Ocean Doctor turned 50 today. In doing so, I outlived my father, William L. Guggenheim, who tragically died at 49 when he was lost at sea. It was my days as a boy, fishing with my dad off of Cape May, New Jersey, that I truly inherited his passion for the sea, and I feel lucky to have been able to spend much of my life near, in, or best of all, under the water.

To celebrate my 50th, I’d like you to send me on a journey this year, a journey to visit our next generation, in their schools, and share with them some of the awe and wonder of my experiences in the sea, including the important lessons that go along with them. So I’ll be donating one speech to one school in every state and U.S. territory (accredited schools, public or private, K through college level). I’m waving my speaking fee and travel expenses. I don’t require anything except an enthusiastic audience and maybe a glass of water. (I would encourage a class project to find creative ways to offset my travel’s carbon footprint to your school.) I’ll show my videos, share my adventures, and my enthusiasm for the wonder of the deep blue part of the planet.

I’ll honor the first request I receive from each state and U.S. territory (Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa) and, of course, the District of Columbia. If you or someone you know would like to take me up on this offer, just fill out the Book a Speaker Form on the 1planet1ocean web site and indicate that you’re submitting the request for the “Free Speech” project.

I look forward to this adventure and wish all of you a happy 50th, whenever it arrives, or whenever it was.

Book a Speaker

Expedition to Cuba’s Gulf of Mexico: Preparations Underway

Exploring Cuba's Gulf of MexicoHAVANA, CUBA – Final preparations are now underway for an August expedition to explore and map one of the least known areas of the Gulf of Mexico — Cuba’s northwestern coastal waters, including Cuba’s spectacular Los Colorados barrier reef. A joint effort of the University of Havana’s Centro de Investigaciones Marinas (Center for Marine Research) and the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, this, the fourth expedition in a multiyear project entitled, Proyecto Costa Noroccidental (Project of the Northwest Coast). (See Exploring, Studying Cuba’s Gulf of Mexico for details on this important effort.) The fourth expedition will concentrate study on Los Colorados, an area with remarkably healthy  coral reefs, despite the alarming decline in the health of coral reefs elsewhere in the Caribbean. This research is providing the most comprehensive biological picture yet of this little-explored region, and Cuba’s healthy corals may offer important clues for protecting and restoring corals elsewhere. (See Can Cuba’s Mysteries Help Save the World’s Coral Reefs? in OceanDoctor’s Blog.) Read more