Splash Mob for an Amphibian Bill of Rights

I'm posting this on behalf of Aidan:

Issue:

Four hundred years ago, much of Lower Manhattan was covered with wetlands. The site of the new World Trade Center tower and memorial, for instance, used to be a brackish marsh. As the industrial revolution took hold, however, corporations and governments filled in many wetlands, expropriating them as bases from which to exploit workers and maximize profits. Today, wetlands such as the Arlington Marsh on Staten Island, and elsewhere in the United States, are increasingly under threat from real estate developers seeking to exploit every bit of seemingly available space in a crowded city. But wetlands perform an important role in the overall health of a bioregion’s social ecology and more must be down to protect them. Wetlands are important breeding grounds for many fish, bird, and amphibian populations and can also serve as cost effective and unobtrusive forces in pollution remediation. These habitats are especially critical for amphibian populations, given the dramatic decline in their numbers over the last 50 years. Worldwide, the amphibian population has dropped by more than 40% in the largest mass extinction since the dinosaurs! Our amphibian neighbors also play an important role in our social well-being. They help to control insect populations that have the potential to harm agricultural crops as well as pass along deadly viruses such as West Nile.

Idea:

To advocate for our amphibian neighbors by entreating the National Parks Service to pursue an “Amphibian Bill of Rights” by reclaiming habitat in Lower Manhattan, at least temporarily, through a “frog” inhabitation.

Time/Place:

Federal Hall National Memorial – the place where they first signed the Bill of Rights - around the statue of George Washington.

26 Wall St, New York, NY 10005

4:45pm, Friday February 26^th.

Tactics/methodology:

Dressed in business attire, at a signaled time (as designated by an assigned individual assuming the posture of a frog on the concrete pedestal in front of the statue) we will surround the giant green George Washington with many games of leap frog – please keep leap frog groups to 3 or 4 people so as to assure maximum hoppage. After 2 minutes of hopping around the statue and up and down the stairs of the Federal Hall, an assigned person will exclaim, “Please Mr. President” and all hopping will cease as we gather at the base of the statue. This person will continue, “Please Mr. President, support our ‘Amphibian Bill of Rights’. If you don’t”, this person will say, “we’ll all croak!” Upon these words, all leap froggers will die in a pile at the base of the statue. At this time, those so designated will pass out a pamphlet on the social and ecological importance of wetlands and amphibians to the hopefully assembled crowd. Those in the pile will one by one, extricate themselves from the group and hop away, gradually regaining their human form.

Any suggestions that people have to offer would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Aidan