I’ve sat in rooms where the science was clear, the public support was overwhelming, and the decision went the wrong way anyway. I’ve been inside this system for over a decade. And I’ve been putting off this episode for a while, because it’s not easy to say out loud.
The system that’s supposed to protect the ocean is broken. Not in some abstract way. Broken in specific places, by specific choices, in ways we can name.
This episode is a map. Where conservation actually fails. Who’s responsible, including me. What works when it works. And why I keep doing this anyway, even knowing how broken it all is.
My son is sixteen months old. I think about what ocean he’s going to inherit. Whether I’ll be able to tell him I tried.
This is the episode I wish someone had given me ten years ago.
