Margo Pellegrino is mid-way through her 500 mile paddle to Washington in support of healthy oceans legislation.

Margo's Blog: July 9 

Right now I'm enjoying being warm and dry, as opposed to cold in wet, which I always am when I come off the water, no matter how warm it is. I'm sitting here at an outdoor table at the Rod N Reel in Chesapeake Beach. Some geese  waddled over to check out the Fuze while it rests upside-down on the sand below me. One even tries to pull at the bungees before moving on to nibble the aiko (sp).

Let me back up here a bit. I'll let Carl blog about our great "break in" last week and my cousins Steve and Laurie will hopefully describe our paddle from "the big-a** bridge" (close to where they met me as I paddled from Baltimore) to Annapolis. I want to tell about the awesome event that Melissa Waage and the folks at NRDC put on with the good folks at the National Aquarium in Baltimore.

[Watch WBAL video here and hear the WYPR radio story here.]

Melissa Waage and Sarah Chasis were there from NRDC.  David Nemerson, of the Aquarium, described in pretty depressing  detail the recent scientific findings concerning our amazing ocean, from degraded water quality, to the bleaching of corals, to the plastic "Garbage Patch" in the Pacific, and the declining numbers of our large predator fish. He painted a pretty grim picture which only served to reinforce why I am now paddling against monster head-winds and through thunderstorms. We need to be shaken out of our complacency as trends continue to show the loss of our ocean resources.

Sarah Chasis explained why Oceans 21, a sound plan for ocean resource management on the national level,  is so imperative now. I competely agree with her, which is why I'm so thrilled and honored to be partnering with NRDC on this paddle. Sarah was positive in her message about what Oceans 21 will do and why things will improve if we take action now. Fortunately, Congressman John Sarbanes views ocean resource protection in a similar light. He also attended the press conference and spoke of his support for Oceans 21, as well as another piece of legislation he's introducing-"the no child left inside" billll that would get kids outside to learn "hands on" about nature. Given our current diconnect from nature, and the consequences resulting from this, especially regarding the degredation of our natural resources, this is another amazing piece of legislation to get behind.

I'm so glad that Congressman Sarbanes supports Oceans 21. It really is a "no brainer." After all, how secure is our future if we completely demolish our ocean resources and cause the various  industries which depend on them to collapse? Thank goodness Congressman Jim Saxton also sees things this way. He called me while I was on the water today (it was a wonderful break, and energized me fo my last few miles battling the wind). Like Congressman Sarbanes, he also understands the link between natural resources and security. We certainly cannot afford to squander them foolishly only to have nothing for the future. That would be like spending all the money you have in the bank!

A big "thank you" to the folks at NRDC and the aquarium for an amazing event! And a huge "thank you" to all of you who came out

On the waterfront today I soaked my bloody thumb in hydrogen peroxide. The dockmaster here told me of a recent doctor's visit where he learned that the water here is particularly dirty. Derrel, who provided me with the first aid stuff to cleanse my wound, said that he learned that 70 percent of the most serious medical cases are from crabbers who have open wounds, ignore them, and come in contact with the water of the Chesapeake Bay here. Needless to sat, I'm cleansed, bandaged, and am going to wrap my thumb in a non-latex glove for tomorrow. Boy do we need Oceans 21!