Steve Stucko

This past week the battle to stop what most of the world deems as illegal whaling by the Japanese took a terrible turn as a large Japanese whaling ship struck the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society’s much smaller vessel the Ady Gil. Nearly taking the lives of the six-crew members and resulting in the loss of the Ady Gil in the Antarctic Sea.

The biodiesel powered Ady Gil was originally built by New Zealander Pete Bethune and christened Earthrace to bring attention to various environmental issues as it attempted and eventually set the world record for the fastest circumnavigation of the globe by a boat.

The Sea Shepherd organization has been actively fighting the annual whaling activities of the Japanese for more than three decades using controversial tactics such as throwing home-made stink bombs on to the whaling ship, attempting to foul their propellers with cables and at times even using their larger ships to disrupt (ram) the whalers to foil their pursuit of the whales. In more recent years the activities of the Sea Shepherd activists have been chronicled in the Animal Planet series Whale Wars, which is now in its second season.

This week’s altercation between the Ady Gil and the MV Shōnan Maru 2 has no doubt dealt a large blow to many, with the deepest blow being felt by Pete Bethune, who is currently in the Antarctic on another Sea Shepherd ship the Bob Barker as part of the Sea Shepherd’s mission Waltzing Matilda. I first met Pete in 2004 while he was still seeking funding for Earthrace was instantly impressed with his drive and focus of not just getting the boat built but for engaging as many people as possible in the message. After the incident in response to an email expressing my condolences Pete replied; Thanks for that mate. Yeah been a tough few days. Some good will come from this though I think.” It appears some good is already coming from it as it is focusing global attention on the plight of the whales. In addition it has created an outpouring of financial support which has Pete undertaking the building of a replacement vessel for the Sea Shepherd’s to be commissioned in time to participate in next year’s Antarctic mission. As you can imagine accusations of fault are flying from both sides, and honestly my never be resolved. Most of the evidence is contained in the following video footage which will be measured against the extremely complex maritime laws of right of way.

Video footage of the collision:

From the deck of the Shōnan Maru 2 

From the Bob Barker

The following is a reblog of a list Brad posted on his blog earlier today.

bradleystucko:

1. Spend as much time with kate as I possibly can.

2. Start slamming school.

3. continue helping and supporting the pump track.

4. Ride, a lot.

5. sport some sexy new Toms.

6. Tell my parents how great they are and how much I love them more often.

7. Get my new parts and have all three of my bike’s rideable at the same time.

8. Get a job.*

9. Work on getting Jacob back home.

10. Go shoot more. (photography)

11. Be more grateful.

12. Get Sydney to were I can really trust her off a leash.

13. Spend more time with my parents.

14. Stop stressing over things and just do something towards the problem.

15. Get a hair cut.

16. Rebuild the top half of the engine in my truck with my dad.

17. Make a draft of the house I want to build to show everyone whom I have tried to explain it too.

18. Save my money for my trip this summer.

19. Get the truck 100% ready for the trip.

20. Get my license.

21. HAVE THE MOST EPIC SUMMER YET!

(more to come I am sure)

I’m a pretty lucky father eh?

Solstice and Christmas are winding down. Now is a good time to reflect on them to see if mass consumerism overwhelmed and obscured the true essence and reasons for these annual traditions.
As I reflect back on the past week, I see many things, which didn’t quite fulfill my personal vision for Solstice.  My spirituality is not easily defined, as I follow a personal spirituality that would best be described as an Earth Religion with a dash of Buddhism thrown in. Thus, Solstice is where I find my holiday heart. This year, I am very pleased with the focus our family had on our love for each other and those around us who nourish our family. We shared time, sweet baked goods and a few small simple gifts which were purchased or made with thought and purpose. We have also shared a fair amount time outside, enjoying what the earth has for us. No, Hallmark didn’t steal the meaning away from our family. However I feel we did not spend nearly enough time celebrating our trip around the sun and preparing for the next, which has left me feeling a little empty, and out of focus instead of filled with excitement and promise as the sun begins to brighten more minutes of our days.
This shortfall is something that I will work to correct next year, but more importantly now. Whichever holiday(s) you find meaning in, it’s something which lives inside of you, and while it crescendos on a particular day, it lives within your heart all year long. I will take time to meditate, to dream and be truly grateful for everything which enriches and challenges my life. When outside will take time to relish what is there, and be grateful for all the earth has for us.
No twinkly lights required; it’s never too late to bring more of the true meaning of the holidays into your celebration - the celebration never ends.
Peace

When news and advertising for Avatar started appearing months ago, I paid no attention. I’m am not a science fiction fan, nor am I particularly enamored by war movies. But that all changed when Avatar was released and a friend, Mikki Willis of Elevate Films, wrote a moving review which you can read on his Facebook page. I greatly respect Mikki’s vision, and spirituality and he recommended it, not so much for the action or amazing computer graphics but for the messages it carries.

I was a skeptical but trusting Mikki we journeyed to the theater, a somewhat uncommon trip for me. As the movie opened I was less than excited, the special affects where outstanding, but it was all spaceships and war machines - not my cup of tea. Soon however my opinion quickly changed, as the stories of corporate greed, racism, spirituality and the fabric of natural communities began to emerge. I won’t give any more of the movie away, but I will say - you need to see this movie. Not only do you need to see it, I will say this is one of the very rare occasions when I would recommend spending the money to see it on the big screen. Because the graphics and imaginary are worth seeing in an all-consuming large format and you want to see this now.

It seems strange to say it, but this mostly computer animated sci-fi movie changed me. It takes elements many of us know; love, ecology, war, dirty politics, prejudice, egos and corporate greed and elevates their true meaning and impacts to new heights. It paints a picture of a future civilization that failed to learn from our past. Since watching it my mind has been flowing between the storyline and our current reality, where Europeans swept over North America, destroying the native people not for freedom but simply for money, and countless stories like it and how these atrocities continue to happen over and over again. Even as I write this, human beings and other creatures are being displaced, killed and even enslaved for nothing more than money.

Live as if all things share a physical and spiritual connection - because they do.

I am now feeding my blog to Facebook and have determined a focus for it. Please read my previous blog posts to learn what to expect from the blog and to read small selection of my published work.

Okay, I have figured it out, not world peace or why people put ridiculously loud exhaust systems on their diesel pickups, but rather what I’m going to do with this blog.

I am going to use this blog to put to print the daily questions, observations and science that rumble through my brain and across my desk.  The focus of most of these posts has always been an interest of mine and has grown to consume the majority of my brain cells for the last 10-15 years.  Our environment and our interaction and reformation of it. Sometimes local to the mountain town I live in, but often far reaching and without boundaries.

Our environment is not limited to old growth forests, climate change, whaling and fertilizer run-off, it also includes how our neighborhoods are designed and function, how we interact with our neighbors across the street and across the ocean, and how we care for each other.  I will be writing the ongoing discussions I have in my head.  trying to make sense out of media hype, by balancing it with facts, objective observations and of course my personal opinions which combine my personal beliefs with my education and experiencing.

I have no shortage of subjects as I am continually bombarded with new topics everyday.  The only question remaining is;

What Do I Call This Blog? Send me your suggestions.