Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Names and faces
■ Actress and activist Jane Fonda is campaigning for a treaty to save marine creatures that are hunted for food, including sharks, swordfish, octopus and tuna, saying they feel joy, feel sadness when they lose their offspring and “are our brethren in the ocean.” A day after talks resumed at U.N. headquarters to forge a treaty to safeguard the world’s marine biodiversity, the 85-yearold Oscar winner said Tuesday that these marine creatures “play with us and they feel emotions — and how dare we so lack humility that we will risk killing them off for money and for food.” Fonda said she has been working with Greenpeace for almost four years, and she came to New York to deliver 5.5 million signatures from people in 157 countries demanding a strong Global Ocean Treaty to Rena Lee, president of the U.N. negotiations. A key aim is to turn 30% of the world’s oceans into marine sanctuaries where fishing is banned by 2030. Growing up in Santa Monica, Calif., Fonda said, she loved the ocean and was at the beach every day it was warm enough. And she said she’s been scuba diving at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, the Galapagos in Ecuador, the Caribbean and elsewhere in the world. “I’ve swum with some of the most magnificent creatures, and I know that they may very well be more intelligent than me,” Fonda said. “And I love them, and I think that we should all understand that we’re talking about saving the last great wild animals that are hunted for food.” Fonda said the world can’t survive without healthy oceans, but they are subject to overfishing and pollution, including pieces of plastic that fish eat, she said. The heating of the ocean as a result of climate change is also killing kelp beds that many marine creatures depend on, she said, and the leaching of fertilizer from industrial farms “is causing massive and expanding dead zones in the ocean.” “The ocean is our ally,” Fonda said. “Let us love and respect it.”
■ CNN anchor Don Lemon tweeted an apology to viewers for his remarks about Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley shortly before returning to work Wednesday, then stuck to the news. He made no mention of his comments last week that Haley was not in “her prime,” instead reporting on stories such as President Joe Biden’s trip to Ukraine, the Ohio train derailment and winter weather. Before he went on the air, Lemon tweeted that he appreciated the opportunity to return to work after being absent for three days. “To my network, my colleagues and our incredible audience — I’m sorry,” he tweeted. “I’ve heard you, I’m learning from you, and I’m committed to doing better.”