I wrote this as a comment to the incredibly supportive readers from West Seattle Blog. I made a decision to start including more of why I do what I do in this blog, and what’s going on inside the black box so to speak…

Here is the link to original post and thread

http://westseattleblog.com/2014/01/west-seattle-wildlife-seals-as-youve-seldom-seen-them/

First off, thanks for all the kind words and WSB for posting! You ALL are why I keep doing this! (and some perhaps misguided notion that if I keep sharing and you all keep caring and spreading the love for Puget Sound that together we can save this beautiful gift)

The song I used for this video is “Want it Back” by Amanda Palmer from her recent Album “Theater is Evil”. (HUGE thanks Amanda in case you happen to stumble on this video)

It is a great song with a fantastic beat, but it also felt somehow appropriately poignant for the video. Sad dying starfish in the background, lively seals playing in the foreground, Puget Sound the theater, and how much indescribable love I have for the subsurface world…

I have a tendency to incorporate my feelings from the dive and my feelings when I’m editing into the ‘art’ so to speak, on multiple levels. How a video is cut, how it mixes with the lyrics and beat…

I was editing this video and listening to the album and when the song started the thought crossed my mind that it echo’d well with my belief that if we don’t do everything we can to protect this delicate ecosystem that we’ll find ourselves looking back at a time (right now) when we were giving it away to big business and big industry who don’t mind externalizing the cost of doing business on the environment and by that token, we the people. And when we get to that point, that tipping point, that point of no return, no matter how badly we ‘want it back’ we’ve already given it away.

It was a vivid reminder how important it is that we, each and every one of usget involved and vote with our ballots, voices and dollars and support sustainable, cradle to cradle options that don’t fill our waterways with trash and pollutants, and use every opportunity to protect what we still have and as a community never ever just turn a blind eye and give it away again.

Here is a link to Amanda Palmers site where you can download the song (and donate if you like her music!)

and here it is… in all its pinneped golden fish hunting dying seastar glory..