David Helvarg
This article contains content that is written like an advertisement. (December 2019) |
David Helvarg | |
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Born | April 10, 1951 Long Island, New York | (age 73)
Known for | Author, Journalist, Executive Director of Blue Frontier |
Notable work | Blue Frontier, 50 Ways to Save the Ocean, Saved by the Sea |
David Helvarg (born April 10, 1951) is an American
Helvarg began his career as a
Early life
Helvarg was born April 10, 1951, in New York City, the son of refugees; his mother left
Works
Journalism
While still a student, Helvarg traveled to Northern Ireland in 1973.[4] The civil warfare known as "The Troubles" was at a height, and Helvarg submitted reports on the conflict to the Liberation News Service.[4][5][6][7] Helvarg focused on the role of women in the conflict,[4] and highlighted allegations that agents of the British government had participated in sectarian murders.[8] After graduating from college, he moved to San Diego to work as a freelance journalist. He published "Ireland Diary; A Day in the Life" in the underground publication San Diego Door,[9] and wrote for the weekly newspaper San Diego Newsline.[10]
From 1979 to 1983, Helvarg covered the U.S. role in
After returning to California, he qualified as a private investigator,
In the early 1990s, he began to research the conflict between the US
A visit to Antarctica in 1999 became material for several articles and books, and a daily log was published in Slate, the online news magazine. His professional exposure to green activism and his ocean sports activities intersected in marine conservation, which became his focus. While researching his second book Blue Frontier—Saving America's Living Seas (2001), Helvarg concluded that marine conservation needed its own focal point for activism in the United States, so he moved to Washington, D.C., and founded a lobbying organization: the Blue Frontier Campaign. He also became a member of the board of Reef Relief, a more specific marine conservation advocacy group, about which he had made a television documentary in 1994.
Helvarg attracted attention in early 2005 for a newspaper article in which he addressed comments made by conservative Christians (particularly
Books
The Golden Shore - California's Love Affair with the Sea
The Golden Shore "The Golden Shore" (in imprint of St. Martin's) 2013. "Boy, I loved this book. David Helvarg captures, in a really readable way, the quirky and head-over-heels love we have for our seas." - Ted Danson.
"Having lived in California for forty-four years, I was surprised by how much I learned from David Helvarg's book The Golden Shore. It blew my mind. If you have the same love affair for the beautiful California coast and ocean as I do, this marvelous and compelling book is a must-read." - Jean-Michel Cousteau.
Saved by the Sea -- A Love Story with Fish
"Saved by the Sea"(an imprint of St. Martin's) 2010. Ocean Explorer Sylvia Earle says, "This book has the power to change the way you think about the world, about yourself, and the future of humankind." Helvarg writes what he knows about the changes in his life and our Ocean world over the last half century.
"Rescue Warriors - The U.S. Coast Guard, America's Forgotten Heroes" (St. Martin's 2009)
Robert Kennedy Jr. says, "David Helvarg's terrific new book takes you to the cutting edge of adventure as he rides along with the men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard. This in-depth and lively look at the history and changing missions of America's 'Rescue Warriors' should be considered a must-read for anyone who loves the water or cares about the safety, security, and stewardship of our nation from sea to shining sea." Bill McKibben writes, "They say that 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help' is the ultimate oxymoron. But as this vivid book makes powerfully clear, in the case of the Coast Guard it's the simple truth. Stow this volume next to the chart case."
"50 Ways To Save the Ocean" (Inner Ocean, 2006)
Sylvia Earle writes, "Combining wisdom and humor, scientific accuracy and artistic genius, Helvarg and Toomey show why the ocean matters to us all...Everyone, from toddler to tycoon, can find inspiration for action in this must-have guide to ocean care." "This is a great book - it makes saving the oceans fun and doable (which it is, by the way)" adds actor Ted Danson "This book is an important guide for the public to saving our oceans." -
The War against the Greens
Helvarg's book The War against the Greens (1994) describes organized
Wisconsin Stewardship Network News described it as a book that "provides a fascinating and frightening insight into the violent fringe of the anti-conservation Wise Use movement [… and recommends it] in its entirety to readers who want a detailed examination of the origins, development and violent tendencies of Wise Use." The opposing view was put by Jesse Walker who, reviewing the book for American Enterprise, wrote that it "offers environmentalists a conspiracy theory to account for the populist backlash against their movement". Helvarg had accused Wise Use of astroturfing; Walker described his book as "a weapon in a propaganda war".
War against the Greens is widely cited by activists inside the environmental movement (for example Community Rights Counsel[14] and Land Tenure Center[15] ) and gave rise to numerous rebuttals from Wise Use and its supporters (including Ron Arnold).
Blue Frontier—Dispatches from America's Ocean Wilderness
Helvarg's second book, Blue Frontier— Dispatches from America's Ocean Wilderness (2001, revised 2006), was named on the Los Angeles Times "Best Books of 2001" republished in 2006. In it Helvarg explores the effects of human activity in general, and of commerce and policy in particular, on marine life. He postulates a trend towards destruction, and suggests that it is possible to reverse this. He then describes some of the people and groups that are working to preserve or enhance the marine environment.
This book prompted Senator John Kerry to observe that "David Helvarg underscores the full measure of the challenges before us: If we hope to explore the Blue Frontier, we must travel cautiously, repairing the damage we have done, understanding before we exploit, and always preserving the natural systems that have created it." It was also one of the catalysts for the establishment of the Blue Frontier Campaign and has become a definitive text for US marine conservation (characterized as 'the Seaweed rebellion').
The Ocean and Coastal Conservation Guide
Helvarg is the editor of Blue Frontier Campaign's first major publication: The Ocean and Coastal Conservation Guide (2005), a directory for those interested in the protection and restoration of United States coastal lands and waters. Blue Frontier Campaign plans to publish a new edition of the guide every two years.
This reference book lists over 2,000 organizations involved in the conservation of the oceans and coastal areas that border the United States. Each entry includes contact information and a brief description of that organization's activities. The directory is divided into four listings: a geographical listings of groups; relevant government agencies; academic marine programs; and marine and coastal parks, and protected areas.
Feeling the Heat
Helvarg contributed two chapters to Feeling the Heat—Reports from the Frontlines of Climate Change (2004): Chapter Eight 'Australia, Florida and Fiji: Reefs At Risk' and Chapter 10 'Antarctica: The Ice is Moving' are about threatened ecosystems.
The book is a development of a suite of articles that appeared in the October/November 2000 edition of E/The Environmental Magazine. The publishers "aimed to move beyond the scientific debate […] to document […] the evidence for a changing climate". Each chapter is a first person account of places threatened by global warming. According to Helvarg, warming waters are killing the world's coral and threatening the extinction of Australia's Great Barrier Reef and the reefs around the Florida Keys, while the rising waters threaten to engulf the entire ocean nation of Fiji. In Antarctica he observed scientists measuring the krill population and concludes that the reduction that they found is a consequence of increased water temperatures.
Broadcasting
Helvarg has produced more than 40 television documentaries broadcast by
His first documentaries drew upon his experiences as a war correspondent in Northern Ireland and Central America. When he moved to San Francisco he was commissioned to produce programs about AIDS awareness for the Hispanic community and these led to other documentaries about Hispanic health. In 1989 Globe TV commissioned a program about
As of 2005 he continues to plan a series of documentaries about ocean stewardship to support the work of the Blue Frontier Campaign.
Blue Frontier Campaign
In 2003 Helvarg founded the
Awards
Helvarg won his first national award in 1988 when he won an
Television and video works
- 1982: Where The Bombs Are, Internment Memories, and Where Are They Now? (KFMB CBS, San Diego).
- 1983: Reports from Central America (Swedish TV Channel One), Soldiers & Rebels (PBS National), and Amphibious Assault (KFMB CBS, San Diego).
- 1985: Each One, Teach One (Coalition of Hispanic Health).
- 1986: In The Shadow of Marcos, Sex, Inc., and Navy Town. (KQED, San Francisco).
- 1987: John Hoagland — Frontline Photographer (PBS), Zap, and Troubled Waters (KQED, San Francisco).
- 1988: Critical Condition and Sexual Roulette (AIDS Lifeline — Group W Syndication), Coming of Age (Coalition of Hispanic Health & Human Services) and John Hoagland — Frontline Photographer (Discovery Channel)
- 1989: Warriors of the Rainbow, Alex de Grassi's Music of Bolivia, and Treasure of Tiwanaku (Globe TV, A&E Channel) and Net Profits (KQED, San Francisco, MacNeil-Lehrer News Hour).
- 1990: Passive Smoking, Couples And Money, Handicapped Kids Go High Tech, and Inoculations Make Sense (Special Reports, Whittle) and Al Giddings Gear and Crime Lab (The Next Step, Discovery Channel).
- 1991: Traffic 2010 and Beat the Back-Up (KPIX CBS San Francisco), Nuclear Nightmare and Driftnet Pirates (Geraldo Rivera's Now It Can Be Told), and Who Bombed Judi Bari? (KQED San Francisco PBS & KCET Los Angeles PBS).
- 1992: Las Medicinas y Usted (Council On Family Health), Green For Life (KRON NBC San Francisco) and BDF — The Baja Expedition (Pacific Coast Marine).
- 1994: Wildlife Crime Lab, Seattle Spokes, Reef Relief and Clean Air Cabs (PBS National).
- 1995: Heroes of the Earth — Choi Yul's Korea (Golden Gate Productions) and Para Vivir Bien (Coalition of Hispanic Health & Human Services).
- 1996: Predator Friendly Wool (PBS National) and La Tardeada (Coalition of Hispanic Health & Human Services).
- 1997: International Rivers Network and Rainforest Action Network (Video News Releases).
- 1998: Demuestra tu Carino: Vacuna a tu Bebe (Coalition of Hispanic Health & Human Services).
- 1999: Antarctica's Giant Petrels and Antarctica — Cold facts on Climate Change (both for CNN).
- 2002: Blue Frontier (Video News Release).
Bibliography
- Books
- Helvarg, David, The War Against the Greens, (San Francisco: Sierra Club, 1994) ISBN 0-87156-459-9
- Helvarg, David, The War Against the Greens (Revised Edition), (Boulder: Johnson, 2004) ISBN 1-55566-328-1
- Helvarg, David, The War Against the Greens (Revised Edition), (Boulder: Johnson, 2004)
- Helvarg, David, Blue Frontier—Saving America's Living Seas, (New York: WH Freeman, 2001) ISBN 0-7167-3715-9
- Helvarg, David with Jim Toomey (Illustrator), 50 Ways to Save the Ocean (Inner Ocean Action Guide), (Maui, Hawai'i: Inner Ocean Publishing, 2006) ISBN 1-930722-66-4
- Helvarg, David (ed.), The Ocean and Coastal Conservation Guide (Island Press, 2005) ISBN 1-55963-859-1
- Motavalli, Jim (ed.), Feeling the Heat—Reports from the Frontlines of Climate Change, (New York: Routledge, 2004) ISBN 0-415-94655-7
- Helvarg, David, The Golden Shore: California’s Love Affair with the Sea, (Thomas Dunne Books, 2013) ISBN 9780312664961
- Selected Articles
- "Ireland Diary; A Day in the Life." — San Diego Door, August 1974.
- "On a mission with the Sandinistas." — Associated Press, June 19, 1979.
- "San Diego and Central America." — San Diego Newsline, June 27, 1984.
- "John Hoagland in life and Death." — San Diego Tribune, March 1984.
- "Jonas Salk - A Conversation with the Old Master." — San Diego magazine, November 1984.
- "Green War." — The Berkeley Monthly, August 1994.
- "Fiddling While Antarctica Burns." — The New York Times, March 17, 1999
- "Seaweed Rebellion" — Penthouse, March, 2001
- "On The Blue Frontier" — E Magazine, July/Aug. 2001
- "Otter Things in California" — Satya, January 2004
- "SpongeBob and Friends: Splendor in the Kelp" — Los Angeles Times, January 26, 2005
References
- ^ 'About the Blue Frontier Campaign', www.bluefront.org (Washington DC: Blue Frontier Campaign, 2006) Archived 2007-04-03 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 26 September 2008.
- ISBN 0-87156-459-9
- ^ a b c d Hamilton, Joan. 'Inside Sierra: Politics and Penguins', Sierra magazine, November/December 1999.
- ^ a b c David Helvarg. "Women Increasingly Active in Irish Struggle." Liberation News Service, April 1973.
- ^ David Helvarg. "Northern Ireland at Easter: Temperatures Rising." Liberation News Service, April 1973.
- ^ David Helvarg. "British Undercover Squad Tied to Sectarian Murders." — Liberation News Service, May 1973.
- ^ David Helvarg. "Armagh, Ireland — A Town Divided." Liberation News Service, May 1973.
- ^ David Helvarg. "British Undercover Squad Tied to Sectarian Murders." Liberation News Service, May 1973.
- ^ David Helvarg. "Ireland Diary; A Day in the Life." San Diego Door, August 1974.
- ^ David Helvarg. "Mining the Sea — The Race Begins." San Diego Newsline, Oct. 26, 1977. and subsequent issues.
- ^ David Helvarg. "On a mission with the Sandinistas." — Associated Press, June 19, 1979.
- ^ David Helvarg. "El Salvador: A retrospective." San Diego Newsline, June 8, 1983.
- ISBN 0-8476-8185-8
- ^ Community Rights Counsel: The Takings Project Archived 2005-04-05 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ LTC 157 Archived 2005-06-01 at the Wayback Machine
Sources
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (August 2008) |
- Fool's Wisdom, (Madison, Wisconsin: Clean Wisconsin, 1994)
- 'Ocean Resource Center', The Ocean Project (2004) Retrieved April 7, 2005.
- 'Coastal bibliography', Surfrider Foundation (2005) Retrieved April 7, 2005.
- Arnold, Ron. 'Overcoming Ideology' in Brick, Philip D. and Cawley, R. McGreggor. A Wolf in the Garden: The Land Rights Movement and the New Environmental Debate (Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 1996) ISBN 0-8476-8185-8
- Cockburn, Alexander. 'Manhunt: Anderson Pursues His Demon', Anderson Valley Advertiser (March 8, 2000)
- Hamilton, Joan. 'Inside Sierra: Politics and Penguins', Sierra magazine, November/December 1999.
- Helvarg, David. 'Diary: A weeklong electronic journal', Slate, January 1999, Retrieved April 7, 2005.
- Helvarg, David. 'Oil's Domestic Impacts', Multinational Monitor, Jan./Feb. 2003.
- Helvarg, David, 'Public Comment', Public Comments on U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy’s Preliminary Report (Washington DC: 2004).
- Helvarg, David. 'Stories by David Helvarg', Alternet Retrieved April 7, 2005.
- Helvarg, David. 'Biography of David Helvarg', Blue Frontier Campaign, (2004) Retrieved April 7, 2005.
- Helvarg, David. 'Come Helvarg and High Water', Grist magazine, January 3, 2005.
- Helvarg, David. 'Life in the sea is about reproduction, not family values', Los Angeles Times, (January 26, 2005).
- Lane, Les C. 'Keith Olbermann Hammers Dobson: Comments', Dispatches from the Culture Wars, (January 31, 2005) Retrieved April 7, 2005.
- Offutt, Chas. 'Books', Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (2005) Retrieved April 7, 2005.
- Walker, Jesse. 'Green Whine', American Enterprise #122, July/August 1995.