Meet Captain Dan Kipnis

08/25/08

Take one look at Dan Kipnis, and it’s clear you’re not looking at the average TCP presenter. (Of course, defining an “average” presenter would be nearly impossible anyway, but that’s another story.) Captain Dan, as he prefers to be called, is a Miami native and a fishing enthusiast who once lived in Colombia. He spoke with TCP staffer Alex Carey via email last week.
AC: What has most animated your concern about global warming and climate change?
DK: There are two things really. On the scientific side, losing our oceans to acidification ranks number one. The oceans are a huge, slow-moving machine that has ultra long-term effects on the environment. When we acidify the ocean in such a brief period the effect on marine life is dramatic and has a good chance of rendering the seas essentially a uni-species environment composed of jellyfish and phytoplankton. This has happened in the past with extreme acidification. Additionally, the oceans drive climatic change. Once we get it warming up in such a brief period of time, instead of over tens of thousands of years, undoing the damage we have sown with CO2 will take many thousands of years to bring back into balance. Do you think that we have even started to undo what we have sown?
AC:You clearly have a great passion for fishing. When and how did you become a fishing enthusiast?
DK: I grew up in Miami Beach on Palm Island. Surrounded by water, what else would I do? I started working on charter fishing boats at 13 as a wash down boy and by 15 was a mate. I was good at what I did and found a kinship with the "salty dogs" of the day. The old-time fishermen truly were of a different mettle. Being a seaman affords a feeling of independence not found in many modern-day venues. Each day at sea one really controls one’s destiny. I made a lot of money selling fish and working the boats. A drawer full of cash for a 16-year-old could easily enamor one to fishing.
AC: How has your interest in fishing and wildlife affected your view of environmental issues?
DK: I have realized that in the past I decimated and exploited large amounts of marine life. It seemed at the time that we had a never-ending resource. Wrong! I felt that it was time for me to give back to the resource that I had come to love and began to lobby for marine fisheries. That led me to seek the position of Commissioner on the Florida Marine Fisheries Commission. I became the youngest commissioner ever appointed. At a critical time for marine resources, in the late 80's, I helped change the face of marine management in the state of Florida. That led to what has become a strong desire to protect a resource that has continued to be degraded from all sides. With the effects of global warming on our oceans, the cause becomes even more pressing.
AC: You've spent time living in Colombia. What was that experience like?
DK: At the time I lived out in the Choco jungles on the Pacific coast of Colombia, it was really about as far out as one could get with the exception of Borneo or deep Amazonia. To begin with, we had to build our house (2400 sq. ft., 34,000-palm frond roof, 42 feet tall, on the beach) and boat (a 34-foot canoe carved out of one tree trunk) while we moved equipment from our base in Cali, Colombia to the jungle. No power tools. Hunt or catch what you ate each day. Malaria! Hot! Humid! Incredibly beautiful but challenging. The project took four years to complete and at the conclusion, the FARC guerrillas burned the house down. I feel that this was the most important experience of my life in molding my future decisions.
AC: To what sorts of groups have you given presentations? How has your message been received?
DK: I have given my “Global Warming – Our Changing Oceans” presentation to groups ranging from senior condominium groups to junior high school students. With almost 100 presentations since training with Al a year and a half ago, I have received very few heckles or jabs from the audience. It may be that my theme, dealing with a lot of the lesser-known and unpublicized effects of climate change, yet so critical to the global ramifications as a whole, gives them more cause for thought. It always seems to touch close to home when they see slides of their costal cities being flooded by sea level rise. I know how that feels, living in Miami Beach!
AC: Other than fishing and boating, what else do you do with your spare time?
DK: I am involved in many public issues regarding our global climate crisis. Besides running and promoting about a dozen “carbon neutral” fishing tournaments, I am initiating a boater-oriented fueling credit program called “The Green Button Project,” giving boaters the opportunity to purchase “climate mitigation credits” at the pump. The money collected will be used to capture methane from dairy farms and produce clean renewable electricity. I am also the chairman of the Economic, Health and Social Committee of the Miami Dade County Climate Change Advisory Task Force, a board member of Florida Wildlife Federation, member of the Biscayne Bay Restoration Coordination Team (more important now with our global issues), and I am still involved in fisheries management issues on a state, federal, and international level. I really don't have much spare time but truly enjoy all that I am privileged to do!

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