Fortunate Blessings Foundation and the Weeden Foundation co-hosted a community screening and panel discussion of Sonic Sea in Litchfield, Connecticut.  Sonic Sea is a documentary about the impact of industrial and military ocean noise on whales and other marine life.  It tells the story of a former US Navy officer who solved a tragic mystery and changed forever the way we understand our impact on the ocean.  The film is narrated by Rachel McAdams and features Sting, in addition to the renowned ocean experts Dr. Sylvia Earle, Dr. Paul Spong, Dr. Christopher Clark and Jean-Michel Cousteau. Sonic Sea was produced by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Imaginary Forces in association with the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and Diamond Docs.  To learn more or find an upcoming screening near you visit www.sonicsea.org.

The panel discussion further explored current issues in marine ecology and conservation and how we can all get more involved to protect ocean and marine life.  The video of the panel discussion can be viewed in this blog post and directly on Maritime TV here.  

Panelists and moderator included:

  • Paul Anderson, PhD, Research Scientist at Mystic Aquarium
  • Peter Auster, PhD, Senior Research Scientist at Mystic Aquarium and Research Professor Emeritus in the Department of Marine Sciences and the Northeast Underwater Research Technology and Education Center at the University of Connecticut at Avery Point
  •  Sam Mackiewicz, Communications Associate at World Oceans Day and The Ocean Project
  • Lisa Piastuch, MS of Environmental Sciences and Management, former Research Assistant at the National Undersea Research Center
  • Paul Winter, 7-time Grammy® winner with a wide range of experience in musical traditions and natural environments of the Earth
  • William Spear, Founder of Fortunate Blessings Foundation and contributor to The Huffington Post

Since the film screening, both the Hawaii and New England sites that were being considered for protection were established as National Marine Monuments! Read more about it here!

To support Fortunate Blessings Foundation in providing more programs like this: