Center for Biological Diversity


For Immediate Release, August 7, 2014

Contacts:  Valerie Love, (510) 274-9713 (on-site cell), vlove@biologicaldiversity.org    
Patrick Sullivan, 415-517-9364 (cell), psullivan@biologicaldiversity.org

 On Martha’s Vineyard, 'Frostpaw the Polar Bear' to Deliver Masks and Snorkels to
Obama Family to Highlight Sea-level Rise

'Hope You Can Swim' Video Lampoons Federal Inaction on Climate Crisis

MARTHA’S VINEYARD, Mass.— As President Obama vacations on Martha’s Vineyard, the Center for Biological Diversity’s “Frostpaw the Polar Bear” will try to deliver masks and snorkels to the First Family — including Bo, the First Dog — to emphasize the need for stronger federal action against sea-level rise and global warming.

Hope You Can Swim

In rallies around the island from Friday, Aug. 8, to Aug. 14, Frostpaw and fellow activists will also highlight “Hope You Can Swim,” a new online video lampooning weak federal action on the climate crisis.

“Sea level rise is going to put parts of Martha’s Vineyard and other coastal communities under several feet of water if we don’t do more to address the climate crisis,” said the Center’s Valerie Love. “If we’re going to avoid global warming’s most dangerous effects, President Obama has to set stronger power plant pollution standards and decisively reject dirty and dangerous fossil fuel projects like the Keystone XL pipeline.”

WHAT: “Frostpaw the Polar Bear” delivers masks and snorkels to President Obama and his family to highlight the need for stronger federal action on sea-level rise and global warming.

WHERE: Along the president’s motorcade route from the airport and then at other locations around Martha’s Vineyard. For details, call Valerie Love at (510) 274-9713 (on-site cell).

WHEN: Starting with the president’s arrival on the afternoon of Saturday, Aug. 9, through Thursday, Aug. 14.

Activists will also hand out fliers promoting “Hope You Can Swim,” a new public service announcement parody from the Ocean Overflow Protection Service. “Today we’re going to talk about the ocean — it’s big, it’s blue, and it’s closer than you think,” the spot’s narrator explains in the spot, which can be seen online at www.HopeYouCanSwim.com.

Rising oceans and global warming are already increasing flooding and storm surge dangers, according to the federal National Climate Assessment. America could suffer as much as 4 feet of sea-level rise and 10 degrees Fahrenheit of warming by 2100 without ambitious cuts to carbon pollution.

That could submerge parts of Martha’s Vineyard and other coastal communities, threaten airports and power plants around the country and bring water to the foot of some of Washington D.C.’s monuments. It also spells trouble for more than 200 endangered species, like loggerhead sea turtles and Hawaiian monk seals, which could lose some of their last remaining habitat.

“Politicians like Marco Rubio are shrugging off the science showing that global warming will redraw America’s coastlines,” Love said. “President Obama acknowledges the problem, but he’s not taking strong enough action. If we don’t cut carbon pollution much more quickly, snorkels and surfboards may one day be Americans’ best bet for surviving rising seas.”

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 775,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.


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