Name: Dave Raney
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii
Contribution: Helped establish the nation's first marine national monument; member of the Sierra Club's Marine Action Team

Where is your favorite spot to go scuba diving? I'd say Micronesia. I took my first trip there in 1978. I remember being down about 80 feet, looking up, and seeing the bottom of the boat with the anchor rope attached. It looked like a kite, because I could see the sky and clouds above it and these big schools of fish that looked like birds.

I bet scuba diving has changed a lot since the 1970s. The technology was very simple back then. No buoyancy compensators or pressure gauges. When you were about to run out of air, you'd pull in a J-valve, and it would give you another 5 or 10 minutes of air—you hoped.

You played a significant role in starting the Sierra Club's Hawaii chapter. I moved to Hawaii in 1968, and the chapter got going soon after. I started as an Outings leader, which was a great way to get to know the islands. Eventually, I became active at the national level. I was on the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force and the Reserve Advisory Council for the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve, which became the nation's first marine national monument in 2006.  

Members may be surprised to learn that the Sierra Club was part of the coalition to establish that monument. Anything else you want us mainlanders to know? You've got to remember that most of the planet is blue water. National ocean policy starts with coastal waters, but it goes inland to deal with land-based sources of pollution. There are a lot of things that the heartland can do to protect the marine environment.  

What's the Marine Action Team doing to address climate change? We are starting to focus on adaptation—helping coastal communities develop wetlands and park areas that will allow a managed retreat from the coastline.

In the four decades that you've been scuba diving, you've probably witnessed the global decline of coral reefs. Do you get depressed about it? The work I do is a form of antidepressant. You just have to say, "I'm going to do the best I can where I am." If enough people around the planet do that, we stand a chance.

What's your favorite fish? The long-nosed butterfly fish, or lauwiliwilinukunuku'oi'oi. I also like sharks. They're very graceful. So far I get along fine with them.