Helvarg on the "Forest of the Sea"

The tables turn on the latest episode of Rising Tide the Ocean Podcast as Blue Frontier’s Natasha Benjamin interviews Rising Tide co-host and author David Helvarg on his latest book, ‘Forest of the Sea – The Remarkable Life and Imperiled Future of Kelp’ (coming out May 5th).  As co-director of the award-winning kelp forest documentary ‘Sequoias of the Sea’ Natasha is also steeped in the mystery, wonder and peril of these great underwater forests of life and light.  So, their discussion ranges over both familiar territory – how a changing warming ocean is impacting kelp forests that have been around over 30 million years - to some of the newer things David discovered during his two years researching the book, interviewing and diving with a wide range of people and creatures from Alaska to California, Maine, Turkey, Palau – for his chapter ‘Kelp is the new Coral’ - and other far-flung waterfronts where the world’s kelp forests, cover an area larger than the Amazon rainforest.  He talks about how they’ve gotten into serious trouble even as they provide us half a trillion dollars of services a year including as ‘the mother seed’ for global food security in fishing and seaweed aquaculture.

It’s a fun romp through an entangling wonderland, which is why Rising Tide recommends you give a listen and then buy David’s book (preferably through your local independent bookstore).