Dear Mr. Trump, The Next Generation of Ocean Guardians Has Arrived

Dear Mr. Trump,

You have proven during the tyrannical reign of your stolen presidency two things: your absolute and utter disregard for all living things and your complete psychological ineptitude, as a human being, and as a leader.

Since becoming President, you've reversed protective environmental policies, pulled the United States from the Paris climate accord and touted climate change as a hoax in the face of mounting scientific data.

Meanwhile, the consequences of our deteriorating climate system are ever-present: raging wildfires in California and Australia, sea levels have risen and atmospheric CO2 is at an all time high. 2018 had the largest ocean heat content values on record measured over the upper 700 meters, with 2017 ranking second and 2015 third.

Further, you have left a Presidential legacy of human injustice: putting child migrants behind bars, separating immigrant families, implementing discriminatory travel bans, cutting funding for women’s rights - to name a few. The combination of all of these actions create a cloud of shame over your presidency.

You have been so busy destroying and dividing though that you've failed to see that generation of impassioned young people who now have risen to say, "No more." We who have bore the trauma in witness of your wrongs against humanity and the environment have risen to hold you accountable and stand against all in the end for what you seek to destroy.

I hold my Master's degree in Marine Conservation from the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School for Marine and Atmospheric Sciences and I have spent the last 5 years creating a popular online series of underwater photos conveying ocean conservation as a human issue.

From my experiences through these campaign, here is what I will tell you:

Hope spreads faster than fear.

Wonder inspires greatness.

Love heals the seemingly unmendable.

This is why, when I look out at the ocean today, grief-stricken at your molestations, I remember that no matter, you have already lost. The frenzied world of fantastical creatures and fragile ecosystems below the surface before me has a generation of young people to protect and serve; a generation that will stand, speak and vote for officials that serve the interests of humanity and the planet.

As an artist, I'm never entirely sure what impact my photography has but its the best way I know to convey emotion-driven messages. Through this work, I have connected with countless others that hold a vision of safeguarding, not destroying, our ocean resources for generations to come which gives me hope. This hope will and is spreading further and faster than any hate you can concoct.

If there is one thing I wish you to know, it is that the net sum of all your damaging and dangerous policies has been the unification of a generation to oppose and stand up for fairness, equality and respect. And long after you are gone from office, we will persist and remain, defending dignity and championing rights, for the environment and for humanity.

Signed,

Christine Ren

RESOURCE GUIDE

Protect What's Precious: The Making of the Campaign (The Underwater Woman blog)

6 Management Option for Bottom Trawling (The National Academies Press)

Collaboration of NGO and Industry to Improve the Impacts of Bottom Trawling (University of British Columbia)

Industrial fisheries that rely on bottom trawling wasted 437 million tonnes of fish over the last 65 years (ScienceDaily)

Ocean fishing: Bottom trawling causes deep-sea biological desertification (ScienceDaily)

CREDITS

Art director & model: Christine Ren, The Underwater Woman

Photography: Brett Stanley

Shoot coordinator: Bahama Island Excursions

BTS videographer & editor: Kristy Jessica of EmotePro

Lead safety divers: Shaun Osborne & Karen Richford