Racing not only for a silver trophy but the health of the planet, OneWorld thinks globally and acts locally

By Emma Sutcliffe
November 30, 2002
Source: www.lvcup.com

As planet Earth blindly charges head first into a fatal collision with pollution, overpopulation and resource depletion, few people, organisations or governments integrate global health initiatives into their daily operations like their lives depended on it – which they should, because they do. Water, mineral and agricultural resources are milked for all they’re worth (and then some), fossil fuel emissions continue to pollute, animals continue to fall prey to extinction, and overpopulation increases on an uncontrollable rampant exponential growth curve. And as our planet faces a lethal untimely demise we sit back and watch pretty boats race around a few buoys and go about daily life as if nothing is wrong. If that sounds like a harsh indictment on our attitude to global health well it should because real life is, mon dieu, more than champagne and superyachts.

It’s all about perspective. The America’s Cup is the most prestigious race in the world and it’s attracted some of the most colourful characters throughout its history. It is at the forefront of design and technology and also one of the most entertaining sporting events around but at the end of the day, it’s just a boat race. Whilst it is all good and fun to talk billionaires, boats, fashion and glam, attention has to be given to matters of life and death – ones that may one day render the Cup impossible should they not be addressed today.

Taking notice of the state of the planet’s health is OneWorld Challenge, the Seattle team that aims to win “the oldest trophy in sports in the name of the health of the world's oceans”. Putting their money where their mouth is, OneWorld has committed itself to an extensive environmental programme. But, more than money, OneWorld also actively works towards global health through programs implemented by Sean Brealey, Director of Education and Environmental programs for the OneWorld team.

Initially employed as a teacher to set up a school for the kids of the syndicate in Seattle, Sean morphed the role from reading, writing and arithmetic to global awareness, care of community and stewardship of the environment. “The opportunity was there to blend my fascination with the Cup with my passion for the environment and global health issues,” says Sean. “We wanted to create awareness for global health.”

Going from teaching a few kids in his Seattle classroom, OneWorld has now reached over 25,000 kids around the world with their message of global stewardship. Going in with the profile that being an America’s Cup team brings, the educational program talks about the Cup, the boats and the sailors before moving on to issues of the oceans, biodiversity and global health.

Fundamental to the program are the seven pillars of global health which Sean quotes as being the basics in understanding the state of the planet. “The seven pillars of global health are based on the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio where a group of scientist put what they called ‘World Scientist Warning to Humanity’ which in my mind is one of the most important documents ever written,” says Sean. “Four Nobel science laureates worked on the document but it never really got any press.”

Using a curriculum that has been adapted from the United Nations by Professor David Suzuki, OneWorld has since visited 25,000 kids in Auckland and Seattle. “We go in and talk to the whole school with multimedia presentation, help describe help describe the yachts (sails, boat weight, keel, pressure and tensions). We teach contemporary Cup history and then move into global health, through the medium of art,” says Sean.

“Kids have taught me a lot about animals they love; kiwis, kakapos and albatrosses. Seattle kids knew next to nothing about the Cup but they knew a lot about the orca and about the water cycle such as washing cars on roads which runs off and affects the salmon which then affect the orca. In New Zealand it’s about kiwis and animals because they’re cute and cuddly. It’s a lot about bio diversity with kids although there are much more important issues: global warming, resource overuse, waters, the oceans, forest depletion, overpopulation, over consumption in Western world.”

“During the presentations we switch from the Cup and physics and history then move in through Chief Seattle. He was one of the greatest and noblest environmentalists and peacemakers of all times. All those things Chief Seattle said 150 years ago, when the Cup was just getting started, all things are interconnected,man did not web the weave of life he is merely a strand in it – whatever he does to the web he does to himself. We then put that theme into to art work.”

Not just for kids, the OneWorld environmental program involves every member of the team. “On the base we recycle whatever we can; paper, plastics, bottles, cans and also aluminum, lead, steel and titanium. We use rainwater to the wash boats. When you look at those things the impact seems pretty minimum but it’s the best we can do. Even if you’re waiting down on the dock there are nets for you to fish garbage out of the water. Wherever we can we initiate things to do. You wouldn’t find too many other sporting teams with the same attitude.”

Knowing they would be burning fossil fuels during their time in Auckland, the team carefully calculated the amount of fuel that would be burned and the oxygen burned by the emissions. They then determined how many trees would have to be planted to replace that oxygen, and hence planted over 10,000 trees along the race course. And if that’s not enough, on days off or no-wind day, team members and their families and other volunteers have been involved in beach clean ups around Auckland and Seattle.

On a more strategic level, OneWorld Challenge works with environmental agencies and supports the work they are doing: Oceanic Society, Oceana, Bluewater Network, Sierra Club and Conservation International. Each week a new partner is profiled through the syndicate’s activities. “Getting the broader messages going out is important, such as working with Olivia Newton-John and her program on the Outdoor Life Network,” says Sean. The program titled, ‘OneWorld’, is a remarkable new series for television. From the Galapagos Islands to Antarctica, Mexico to New Zealand and Australia, the Bahamas and Florida Keys to Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Olivia takes viewers to every corner of the revolving, evolving Earth, exploring the Planet's most remarkable marine habitats and the profound impacts imparted by the habitation of humans.

As more of the planet becomes accessible to travellers, Olivia (former United Nations Goodwill Ambassador for the Environment) reveals places and things never before seen by viewers, and stories all too often never heard. Other features of the show include interviews with Dr. Robert Ballard, discoverer of the Titanic and deep-ocean hydrothermal vents in the Atlantic and pacific, believed to be the origin of the earth; Dr. Bill Balantine, famed New Zealand marine conservationist; Australian conservationist Tim Allen and dolphin researcher Carole Scapaccio; and an exclusive interview with environmentalist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., on how a relatively small spill in the Galapagos turned out to be a wake-up call for the world in finding safer ways to transport oil.

The list goes on for what OneWorld is doing for the environment. Sean speaks passionately about the myriad of actions that need to be taken to reverse the trend of destruction that we are on. It seems like such a big task to try and save the planet however Sean believes it starts with the individual.

“If everyone did just one small thing…”