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Thursday, January 31, 2013


Explore California's Love Affair with the Sea during Birch Aquarium at Scripps Lecture

Author David Helvarg to discuss new book focused on the California coastline

Scripps Institution of Oceanography / University of California, San Diego


Guest Speaker: David Helvarg, author of "The Golden Shore"
Date: Tuesday, Feb. 26
Time: 6:30-8 p.m.
Cost: $8
RSVP: 858-534-5771 or online.

How is it that California, the most populous state in the nation, has also learned to live well with the sea, protecting some of the most spectacular marine wildlife and scenic coastline on Earth?

Join David Helvarg at Birch Aquarium on Feb. 26 as he discusses California's relationship with its coastline.


In The Golden Shore: California's Love Affair with the Sea, author David Helvarg explores the history, culture and changing nature of California's coasts and ocean, including the ongoing relationship between San Diego and the Navy. Join Helvarg for a special lecture from 6:30-8 p.m. on Feb. 26 at Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, during which he will share his passionate tale of one of the most stunning human and natural habitats to be found anywhere on Earth: the 1,100-mile Pacific coastline.

Helvarg's new book takes the reader on both a geographic and literary journey along the Pacific coastline, from the Oregon border to the Mexican border and out into its whale-, seal- and shark-rich offshore seamounts, rock isles and kelp forests.

Part history, part travelogue, part love letter, The Golden Shore tells the story of California's majestic coastline and ocean. Helvarg captures the spirit of the Californian coast, its mythic place in American culture, and its role in a state whose ongoing natural disasters and unremitting sense of renewal are intimately linked to its deep connection with an ever-changing sea.

A booksigning will follow the presentation. Books will be available for purchase or can be pre-purchased through the aquarium Gift Shop by calling 858-534-8753.

Helvarg is founder and executive director of the Blue Frontier Campaign, a Washington, D.C.-based organization working for ocean and coastal conservation. An award-winning journalist, he has written for the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, Smithsonian, Popular Science, Sierra and Parade, and has produced more than 40 documentaries for PBS, the Discovery Channel and others. His previous books include Rescue Warriors and Saved by the Sea. He lives in the San Francisco Bay area.

About Birch Aquarium at Scripps
Birch Aquarium at Scripps is the public exploration center for the world-renowned Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego. Perched on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the aquarium features more than 60 habitats of fish and invertebrates from the cold waters of the Pacific Northwest to the tropical waters of Mexico and beyond. An interactive museum showcases research discoveries by Scripps scientists on climate, earth and ocean science and features five-dozen interactive elements. Accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, Birch Aquarium has an annual attendance of more than 436,000, including 40,000 school children.

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Note to broadcast and cable producers: University of California, San Diego provides an on-campus satellite uplink facility for live or pre-recorded television interviews. Please phone or e-mail the media contact listed above to arrange an interview.

About Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Scripps Institution of Oceanography at University of California, San Diego, is one of the oldest, largest and most important centers for global science research and education in the world. Now in its second century of discovery, the scientific scope of the institution has grown to include biological, physical, chemical, geological, geophysical and atmospheric studies of the earth as a system. Hundreds of research programs covering a wide range of scientific areas are under way today in 65 countries. The institution has a staff of about 1,400, and annual expenditures of approximately $170 million from federal, state and private sources. Scripps operates robotic networks, and one of the largest U.S. academic fleets with four oceanographic research ships and one research platform for worldwide exploration. Birch Aquarium at Scripps serves as the interpretive center of the institution and showcases Scripps research and a diverse array of marine life through exhibits and programming for more than 415,000 visitors each year. Learn more at scripps.ucsd.edu.


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