In the latest attack on Al Gore, right wing bloggers have seized upon yet another opportunity to accuse the former Vice President and presidential candidate of hypocrisy when, at his daughter's wedding rehearsal dinner, over-fished and illegally fished Chilean Sea Bass was served on the menu.
Daily Mail - Eco-warrior Al Gore serves up endangered fish at daughter's party
Only a week after Live Earth, eco-warrior Al Gore didn't do much for his green credentials when he shocked fellow environmentalists by serving up an endangered fish at his daughter's wedding rehearsal dinner.
The former US vicepresident provided 75 guests with Chilean sea bass - one of the world's most threatened fish species.
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Also known as Patagonian toothfish, the species is under huge pressure from illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing activities in the Southern Ocean, jeopardising the sustainability of remaining stocks.
It is known as one of the world's most endangered species of fish. Evidently a fact not known by the Gores.
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The gaffe will have been even more embarrassing for the Gores because they tried to make the wedding between Sarah Gore and businessman Bill Lee - who met at a function for An Inconvenient Truth - as green as possible.
Of course, the last time I checked, conservatives weren't really the party of conservation. I'm always hearing them complain about how because of those "greeny save the earth style" liberals, we can't drill for oil in Alaska or can't disrupt maritime marshes on the Gulf to allow for increased oil exploration and drilling or housing construction because it could upset the delicate balance of the environment and it's available species of distinct and unique species of animals.
So here's something conservatives can do, right now, if they really care about the fate of the Chilean Sea Bass, as well as conservation at large. Since they're so very good at organizing and coordinating smear campaigns against people for their own personal actions, perhaps they'd like to start a grassroots campaign to raise awareness to the threat to Chilean Sea Bass posed by overfishing and illegal fishing.
Take Action!
Today, Chilean Sea Bass are being seriously over-fished, largely by pirate fishing fleets. Scientists have been monitoring the decline for several years. International laws exist to protect the species from over-fishing, but these laws are ineffective and hard to enforce. Unless demand for the fish declines, estimates suggest that it may be commercially extinct within five years.
Do your part! Don't order Chilean Sea Bass in restaurants or shops. But first, sign the pledge below -- every voice counts.
Full Petition Text:
Whereas,
Chilean sea bass (Toothfish) may be commercially extinct within five years at the current rate of illegal fishing;
60% of Chilean sea bass sold on the international market is illegally obtained.
Between 1996 and 1999, 330,000 seabirds, including endangered species of albatross, were killed as they dove for the bait set for Toothfish, becoming hooked and drowned.
The restaurant industry accounts for 70% of all Toothfish sales in the United States.
Therefore, I will join consumers across the nation to "Take a Pass on Chilean Sea Bass" and will not order Chilean sea bass from the menus in any restaurant or buy it in a store until a scientifically reliable estimate of the population has been compiled, illegal fishing for it is eliminated and vessels hunting Chilean sea bass stop catching endangered seabirds on the fishing lines.
Signed by:
[Your name]
[Your address]
There's a petition that can be signed on that page as well.
My thought, however, was that if enough conservatives clammor together to raise awareness about this important issue, they can begin posting and cross-posting (like they do with smear campaigns) about this important issue, raise money, start ad campaigns, and perhaps even motivate Congress to take serious action on this front.
Who knows--perhaps if they generate enough noise about this worthy cause, even Matt Drudge will pick up on the story and run it as lead Monday morning.